Using Command Prompt to Close All Open Apps on Windows
If you’re like me, sometimes your Windows machine just ends up with a bunch of apps running in the background, and it’s like trying to herd cats. Maybe your system’s feeling sluggish, or you’re troubleshooting something, and closing everything manually feels like too much hassle. So I looked into a way to do it all at once using Command Prompt. Honestly, it’s not perfect, but it sorta works — at least in a pinch.
But heads up — messing around with command lines can be risky. I learned this the hard way, especially if you kill the wrong processes. This method is really for folks who are okay with typing commands and understand there’s a chance some background system stuff might get closed if you’re not careful. And note: some apps might be stubborn or need admin rights, so don’t expect miracles every time.
How to Open Command Prompt with Admin Rights
First, you gotta open Command Prompt as administrator. On my Windows 10/11, pressing Windows key + X opens a little hidden menu. From there, look for Terminal (Admin) or Command Prompt (Admin). If it’s just Terminal, you can click that, then select Run as administrator from the dropdown. Or, you can type cmd in the Start menu, right-click on the Command Prompt app, and pick Run as administrator. When UAC asks for permission, click “Yes.” It’s a little risky, but you’re doing it at your own risk.
Commands to Shut Down All Apps
Once you’re in an admin Command Prompt, you can try a command that kills processes running under your username. Like this:
taskkill /F /FI "USERNAME eq %USERNAME%"This forcefully shuts down EVERYTHING tied to your user account, including Chrome, Edge, Word, etc. It’s pretty brutal—it closed my browser and even some background services I was kinda relying on. If you want a more targeted approach, you can specify particular apps or processes, but honestly, that’s more complicated and can be risky if you kill something important.
Be aware: doing this can cause data loss if you haven’t saved stuff, and it might close critical system processes; this could crash your system or cause Windows to act funky until it restarts. I once forced close Spotify and then my Wi-Fi disconnected for a bit—so yeah, use with caution.
Other Options: Using Third-Party Apps
If messing with command lines sounds too scary, there are third-party tools that do the same thing in a safer, visual way. For example, something like “Close All” (not fancy, but does the trick). You can find it on sites like SourceForge. Just make sure to scan anything you download—some apps come with bundled adware or are flagged by antivirus. Once installed, it gives a list of running apps, and you can tick off what to close, then hit a button. It’s way simpler than messing with commands, especially if you’re not super comfortable with terminal stuff.
However, always download from trusted sources and consider backing up your work first—killing apps en masse isn’t something to do lightly. Windows doesn’t have a native “close everything” button unless you script it yourself, which I’ve tried and failed multiple times.
Why Would You Want to Close All Apps Anyway?
This is actually pretty useful after major updates, troubleshooting, or if your PC is just acting painfully slow and you want a quick reset. Sometimes I do it before starting a resource-heavy project or game, hoping to free up RAM. Honestly, it’s kind of like resetting your desktop environment in one shot. But beware—some apps don’t appreciate being closed forcefully. I learned the hard way that some background services or critical apps can be resilient or, worse, crash Windows if they refuse to die.
And sometimes, if I just want a fresh start without rebooting, I’ll run that command and see what happens. For the most part, things close quickly, but you really need to be aware of what’s running. I once tried killing a QuickBooks process, and I accidentally closed my internet connection—lesson learned: don’t just blindly kill processes without checking what they are!
So, in a nutshell, whether you’re comfortable with command lines or prefer a GUI, there are options to close all apps pretty quickly. Just remember to double-check what you’re killing—using taskkill /F /FI "USERNAME eq %USERNAME%" is pretty risky if you don’t know what’s what. Like, you might close a critical process or cause your system to restart unexpectedly. It’s a bit of a gamble, but sometimes it’s the fastest way to clear the clutter.
Hope this helped — it took me way too long to figure it all out, and honestly, I wasted evening trying different commands. Anyway, maybe this saves someone else a weekend of frustration. Good luck, and stay cautious out there!