The Windows Club

TheWindowsClub covers authentic Windows 11 tips, tutorials, how-to, features, freeware. Created by Anand Khanse, MVP.

How to force quit a Full-Screen Always-On-Top Program or Game in Windows 11

Download Windows Speedup Tool to fix errors and make PC run faster

Let us say that you have a Program or a Game open in full-screen always-on-top mode, where even your Taskbar is not visible, and the application freezes, and you find yourself in a position where there is seemingly nothing you can do except restarting your Windows 11/10 computer. What can you do?

Force quit a Full-Screen Always-On-Top Program

Force quit a Full-Screen Always-On-Top Program in Windows 11

Here’s how to force-terminate a hung or unresponsive full-screen, always-on-top application or game. Since you do not have access to the Taskbar, you will have to follow these suggestions to kill the frozen application:

  1. Use Alt+F4 keys
  2. Use Ctrl+Shift+Esc and then Alt+O
  3. Open Task Manager in a Virtual Desktop
  4. Use Command Line
  5. Use a free tool.

How to exit Full Screen on Windows 11

Force quit a Full-Screen Always-On-Top Program

1] Use Alt+F4 keys

First, click on the frozen application you want to close and then press the Alt+F4 keys together and leave them after the application closes. Does this help?

2] Use Ctrl+Shift+Esc and then Alt+O

To force quit a Full-Screen Always-On-Top Program in Windows 11/10:

  • Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to launch the Task Manager.
  • Now although the Task Manager opens it will be covered by the always-on-top full-screen program.
  • Next press Alt+O to open the Options menu.
  • Finally, press Enter to select Always on Top.
  • When you do this, the Task Manager will get the preference to stay on the top.
  • You will now be able to use it to kill the process or application by right-clicking on the process and selecting End task.

If your Task Manager is set to open in the Compact Mode, press More details to open it in Details Mode.

3] Open Task Manager in a Virtual Desktop

If the game keeps covering Task Manager:

  • Press Win+Tab.
  • Click New Desktop.
  • Open Task Manager there.
  • End the frozen application.

4] Use Command Line

Press Win+R to open the Run box. Type this command and hit Enter.

taskkill /f /im game.exe

Here, replace game.exe with the actual name of your game.

Add TheWindowsClub as a Preferred Source on Google Search

5] Use a free tool

If this does not work for you, you can use a free tool to forcefully terminate a full-screen application or game.

This post will show you how to force close a Program that Task Manager cannot terminate.

AnandK@TWC

Anand Khanse is the Admin of TheWindowsClub.com, a 10-year Microsoft MVP (2006-16) & a Windows Insider MVP (2016-2022). Please read the entire post & the comments first, create a System Restore Point before making any changes to your system & be careful about any 3rd-party offers while installing freeware.