There are thousands of free and premium apps available for Windows. You can install these apps from Microsoft Store or download the program files from third-party websites. However, problem comes when the app suddenly stops working or crashing frequently. If you are stuck up with a crashing app, here is how to repair and fix the app in Windows 11 computer.
Why Apps Crash in Windows PC?
Microsoft continuously releases updates for Windows operating system to add new features and fix security issues. Unfortunately, not all app developers cope up with the software development cycle and release updates for their apps. This will result to incompatibility and lead to the app frequently crashing or completely stopped working. Unfortunately, there are nothing you can do with the outdated app other than deleting to protect your system from security risks. To avoid this situation, you can always check the system requirements before installing an app. This is easy with Microsoft Store from the app information page. However, you may need to manually check the details in developer’s website for third-party apps.
Fix App Crashing Issues
What we discuss in this article is to repair and fix a compatible app that is meant to work on Windows 11 computers.
1. Repairing an App in Windows 11
Follow the below instructions when you find an app is frequently crashing.
- Press “Win + I” keys on your keyboard to launch the Settings app.
- Go to “Apps” section and click on the “Apps & features” option.
- Scroll down a bit to find the “App list” section showing all installed apps on your computer.
- Type app name in the search box to filter it from the list.
- Click the three vertical dots icon showing against the app and select “Advanced options”.
- On the next screen, scroll down to “Reset” section where you can find the options for repairing and resetting the app. Note that the options may vary depending upon the app. Some apps will have both repair and reset while others may only have repair option.
Click on the “Repair” button and Windows will try to fix the corrupted installation files. You will see the progress while the repairing is running and finally a small check mark indicating the process finished successfully.
Now, check whether the app works properly after repairing.
2. Terminate App and Its Services
Before repairing or resetting an app, we recommend you to try terminating the app and its services. Sometimes, the app service may be hanging and got stuck without response. Normally, you can use Task Manager app to view and close non-responsive apps. However, Windows 11 also offers an option to completely terminate the app from the settings page.
Simply click on the “Terminate” button to close the app its related processes. You will not see any warning or success message in this case. Reopen the app and check whether it works in stable condition.
3. Resetting App in Windows 11
If repairing did not solve your problem, you can try resetting the app. However, there is a big difference between repairing and resetting an app. Repair action will NOT delete any data associated with the app like its documents and history. However, resetting an app will delete all the data associated with the app and reset to original factory state. If you are aware of what you are doing, then click on the “Reset” button.
You will see a warning that Windows will delete all app’s data, preferences and sign-in details. Confirm the action by clicking “Reset” button in the pop-up.
It will take few seconds to complete the process and you will see the progress bar showing the status. After successfully resetting the app, you will see a small tick mark next to the reset button.
This should mostly fix the app especially if the problem is related to the app data or its cached content.
4. Uninstall and Reinstall Apps
Unfortunately, “Advanced options” is not available for all the apps. You can find this for most of the installed apps from Microsoft Store. However, apps installed from third-party websites like Google Chrome will not show this option. In such a case, you can uninstall and then reinstall the app again to see if that helps to fix your problem.
5. Using Online Repair for Fixing App Problems
Some programs like Microsoft Office offers a different approach for repairing the apps. In this case, you will see “Modify” option instead of “Advanced options” when clicking on three vertical dots icon.
Select that option and Windows will offer you to fix the app with quick and online repair. First try to apply the quick repair and check if that fixes the app. If not then go for online repair which may take considerable time and stable internet connection.
6. Update Windows and App
As mentioned, Windows updates though meant for stability can easily affect third-party apps if the developer did not update the app for compatibility.
- If the third-party app is causing the issue, contact the developer and get the updates for your app. This may not work for free apps and you may need to find alternatives in such case.
- For Microsoft Store apps, go to the Store and get the latest app updates.
- To update Windows OS, go to Settings app and navigate to “Windows Update” section. Click on “Check for Updates” button to download and install the latest build. You can pause the updates for up to 5 weeks which could be the reason you are not getting the latest build. In this case, you will see a “Resume updates” button, click on it to check and install the latest version.
7. Using Control Panel to Repair Apps in Windows 11
Instead of using Windows Settings app, you can also use the Control Panel to repair and fix the frequently crashing app.
- Click the lens icon showing in taskbar, type “control panel” in the search box to find and open Control Panel app.
- When you are in Control Panel, arrange the items by “Category” for easier navigation.
- Now, click “Uninstall a program” link showing below the “Programs” category.
- This will show the list of installed programs on your computer and select the program that you want to repair or uninstall.
- Depending on the app, the header bar will show action buttons like “Uninstall”, “Change” and “Repair”.
- Click on “Repair” button and follow the process the fix the app. Otherwise, click on “Uninstall” to delete the app from your computer.
Note: Windows will prompt you for the installation source for repairing apps you have downloaded from third-party websites. Therefore, make sure you have the source installer package ready before trying to repair third-party apps.
8. Reverting Back Windows Updates
If you face the app crashing problem after the latest Windows update then you have an option to revert back the update and restore the system to its previous state.
- When you are in Control Panel, click on “Programs” link and go to “View installed updates” section.
- Select the latest update and click “Uninstall” button.
- Confirm the pop-up to uninstall the update and restore the system to previous version.
To avoid such problems in future, we recommend disabling automatic Windows updates and delay up to 5 weeks from the settings page as mentioned above.
Final Words
In most cases, terminating, repairing and resetting apps from the settings page will resolve the crashing problems. Especially this work perfectly for system apps like Edge and apps installed from Microsoft Store. However, if you are facing problems with third-party apps, then you may need to uninstall and reinstall the app or revert back the latest Windows update to fix the problem.
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