Lets face it, however much we’d like to think that Mac OS X is the perfect operating system, it isn’t actually perfect. Sometimes, albeit not as often as with Windows, the Finder crashes, freezes, or has some other problem that would require it to be relaunched. Many people may just hold down the power button to reboot the whole computer, but chances are your issue can be fixed much quicker and easier by relaunching the Finder itself. Here are the three methods to do so that are built right in to Mac OS X.

Relauch Using Force Quit

1. Type Command+Option+Escape to open the Force Quit window.
2. Select “Finder” in the Force Quit window.
3. Click “Relaunch”.

Relaunch Using The Dock

1. If you keep your Dock hidden, move your mouse over it so it pops up.
2. Hold down Control+Option on your keyboard and click on the Finder icon in your Dock.
3. Click “Relaunch”.

Relaunch Using Terminal

1. Open the Terminal.
2. Type in the following command:
   

   killall Finder

3. Press Enter.