Mac OS X: Classic Quits Unexpectedly or Stops Responding ("Freezes")

Note: This technical document covers one aspect of troubleshooting the Classic environment. For more information, see "Mac OS X: Troubleshooting the Classic Environment"

Symptom

You may receive an alert box with this error message:

"The Classic Environment is Not Responding. You may click Cancel and attempt to save any changes to open documents..."

If you have this message, stop here and go to "Mac OS X 10.1: 'The Classic Environment is Not Responding' Message".

These signs indicate that Classic has quit:

• No alert box appears, but the Dock no longer indicates that individual Classic applications are open.
• In the Classic pane of the System Preferences application, you see the message "Classic is not running."

These signs indicate that Classic is running but not responsive:

• Even though the Classic pane of the System Preferences application says "Classic is running" or "Classic is starting," you cannot open any Classic applications.
• You are using a Classic application that no longer accepts input (a "freeze").
• A blank menu bar appears when you attempt to bring a Classic application to the foreground

Solution

Quit the nonresponsive Classic application or environment

Choose Force Quit from the Apple Menu or use the Command-Option-Escape key combination to access the Force Quit dialog box.

Note: With Mac OS X 10.1.3, you can force quit individual Classic applications. With Mac OS X 10.1.2 and earlier, force quitting has the same effect as force quitting the entire Classic environment.

Determining the cause

An extensions conflict may contribute to undesirable behavior in Mac OS 9 or the Classic environment. You should first try extensions troubleshooting. For information on extensions troubleshooting, see:

106679: "Mac OS X: Classic Will Not Finish Starting Up - Extensions Conflict or 'Bus Error'"
30929: "Mac OS: Extension Conflict Troubleshooting/Extensions Manager Features"

If extensions troubleshooting does not resolve the issue, some files or system software may have been damaged become unusable. This may happen over time, particularly if the computer has often been improperly shut down or improperly restarted.

• Try reinstalling the applications that are in use when Classic quits.
• If that does not help, perform a clean installation of Mac OS 9. For information on a clean installation, see:
  
  58176 "Mac OS 8.5, Mac OS 9: Performing a Clean Installation"
  107383: "Mac OS X 10.2: How to Perform Mac OS 9 Clean Installation With 10.2 Restore CDs"
  
  Warning: Be sure to use a Mac OS 9 "installation" disc and not a "restore" disc. A restoration disc is clearly labeled, such as "Power Macintosh G3 Software Restore." These installers differ significantly in the way they work. Recovery from a software restore situation is covered by "Mac OS X 10.0: How to Reinstall Mac OS 9 or Recover From a Software Restore".