We have all been confronted at least once with a blocked program which Windows says "stops responding" and cannot be closed (red cross, alt + F4)? Before rebooting, we can try several manipulations.
- Go through the windows task manager
- The TaskKill command
- L'alternative tskill
- The ultimate solution: the reboot?
Go through the windows task manager
It may then be necessary to kill the executable of this recalcitrant program in memory. But be careful, for reasons of security and stability of your computer, you should not kill a process without knowing what it corresponds to!
In most cases, this can be easily adjusted with the windows process manager (accessible with CTRL + ALT + DEL / DEL, "process" tab):
- Right click on the .exe in question
- click on "End the process"
Unfortunately, despite this manipulation, there are times when the process does not want to let itself be killed.
The TaskKill command
When we go through the windows manager, it is also this utility which is called. However, we weren't able to interfere with the kill options.
To do a TaskKill manually, open a Command Prompt ("Windows" + R then type cmd and validate)
If you have spotted a process to kill in the task manager, you know its name (Image name) and possibly its PID (to display the ProcessID, in the task manager menus: View> Select columns> PID ):
- With the command "taskkill / IM NomDeLimage.exe / F"
- With the command "taskkill / PID xxxx / F" (where xxxx is the PID number)
The meaning of the TaskKill options we have just seen:
- / F? Force processes to end
- / IM? Image name
- / PID? Process ID
You can view all the options available with:
- /? ? Show help
Normally, if all went well, you should read a message telling you that the process has been killed and it no longer appears in the manager.
L'alternative tskill
On some machines, taskkill.exe does not exist. It has been replaced by tskill.exe
The operation is similar:
- With the command "tskill Nom_de_limage.exe"
- With the command "tskill PID_du_processus"
Options:
- /AT ? to finish the process on all sessions
- / V? to end the process on the session only
- /? ? Aide
The ultimate solution: the reboot?
If you get to this point of the trick, everything we've tested before hasn't worked. Too bad, I am myself in this situation ... However, I have had the confirmations that the processes have been killed, but they are still visible in the task manager. If I try to relaunch the application, I get an error message telling me that the process is already started and I need to close it before relaunching it.
A specificity of Windows Vista?
Anyway, for the moment, I have no other solution to offer you than to reboot. It's radical, but disturbing, especially when it comes to launching your favorite internet browser ... So, if you find a solution, do not hesitate to complete the trick.
