Software Hang

What Does Software Hang Mean?

Software hang describes a situation when a software program on a computer seems frozen. These kinds of problems are diverse and caused by many different factors. In software hang, the computer does not crash, but just ceases to process commands.

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Techopedia Explains Software Hang

Experts who consider the causes of software hang are careful to separate several key causes of this kind of problem. One is non-terminating loops or other coding errors that can cause a computer to work on a given task indefinitely. Newer systems have become somewhat immune to non-terminating loops. Another cause is unexpected environments for running programs. Hardware incompatibility can also cause software hang. Finally, a computer or device that is processing extremely slowly can appear to be in a software hang situation, although it may still be working.

Typically, when a program is in software hang, other programs will continue to work. In a Windows operating system, users can engage the task manager to shut down the offending program and re-open it. Software hang may produce a “program not responding” error in some operating systems.

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Margaret Rouse

Margaret Rouse is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical, business audience. Over the past twenty years her explanations have appeared on TechTarget websites and she's been cited as an authority in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine and Discovery Magazine.Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages. If you have a suggestion for a new definition or how to improve a technical explanation, please email Margaret or contact her…