Unable to kill process on Vista

[Ashu]

Hi,
There has been many instances with different processes that I am not
able to kill them. This has happed with processes like outlook, firefox,
yahoo messenger, and many more.

I tried to kill them using windows task manager (with /F switch also),
process explorer, using my own code which used TerminateProcess API. All
of these report success, but the process continues to run.

When I looked further into these process, I always noticed that these
process had only one thread running.
All these threads had the entry point in NTDLL.dll (the entry points
were either beginthreadx or endthreadx usually)

Any idea what is the problem? Is there some bug in vista??

--
Regards,
Ashutosh Bhawasinka
email: (e-mail address removed)
MCSA - Messaging,
MCTS - .Net Win Apps
MCPD - Win App

 

[Jolly Polly]

Hi,
There has been many instances with different processes that I am not
able to kill them. This has happed with processes like outlook, firefox,
yahoo messenger, and many more.

I tried to kill them using windows task manager (with /F switch also),
process explorer, using my own code which used TerminateProcess API. All
of these report success, but the process continues to run.

When I looked further into these process, I always noticed that these
process had only one thread running.
All these threads had the entry point in NTDLL.dll (the entry points
were either beginthreadx or endthreadx usually)

Any idea what is the problem? Is there some bug in vista??

why would you want to stop/kill explorer.exe?

 

[CBoom]

This is strange, but I have not seen such behaviour so I guess its not a
general bug of vista.

Scan for SPYWARE! using spybot "search and destroy"

also

google for "process explorer" download it and use it, it's a better more
powerful tool that task manager

also take a look at this http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000960.htm

 

[Steve Thackery]

why would you want to stop/kill explorer.exe?

I don't think he says that, does he?

SteveT

 

[Steve Thackery]

google for "process explorer" download it and use it, it's a better more

powerful tool that task manager

The OP says he's already using it.

SteveT

 

[Jolly Polly]

I don't think he says that, does he?

SteveT

sorry - my mistake

 

[Peter Foldes]

--
Peter

Please Reply to Newsgroup for the benefit of others
Requests for assistance by email can not and will not be acknowledged.

 

[CBoom]

yeah sorry...

didn't notice it...

The OP says he's already using it.

SteveT

 

[Peter Foldes]

Because Steve is using a proper and correct newsreader and not Forte Agent as you
are.

 

[Peter Foldes]

Ignore

 

[Kirk]

I'm having the same problem and have posted in
microsoft.public.windows.vista.performance_maintenance. No answers there
yet.

Kirk

 

[+Bob+]

I'm having the same problem and have posted in
microsoft.public.windows.vista.performance_maintenance. No answers there
yet.

Kirk

I've seen this problem too, with IE7 hangs, FFox hangs, etc. After it
happens, Vista will refuse to shut down or log off... a hard power
shut down is required. FWIW, I've found that task manager will
terminate the hard guys more often than proc. exp - sort of the
opposite of XP.

Yet another Vista bug.

 

[Kirk]

I'm not sure that this is a Vista bug. I've been running Vista since the
RCx days on my Dell XPS Gen3 (which just recently celebrated it's 5th
birthday and retirement) and have never seen this. I just finished building
my new computer with the following main componenets:

OS: Windows Vista Ultimate Service Pack 1 (build 6001)
Processor: 3.15 gigahertz Intel Core2 Duo
MB: ASUSTeK Computer INC. Rampage Formula Rev 1.xx (not overclocked)
Mem: 4 gigabytes DDR2
Video: NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT (I had an EVGA GeForce 9800GT video card,
but it was giving me problems so I upgraded and am waiting for my new card
to get here)

I finished putting the system together the week after Thanksgiving and about
a week later is when I started noticing the problem. I've updated every
driver I can with the supposed latest-and-greatest, but I'm still having
this problem. I'm also beginning to see system restarts happening
spontaneously. I'm beginning to wonder if I don't have an issue with my new
CPU as well.

Kirk

 

[+Bob+]

I have the same problem - Vista Ultimate on laptop with 2gb.

End Process, End Process Tree, Taskkill - all report success, but the
process does not go away. The only solution is a reboot, which just
takes too long, if it happens at all! so I have taken to just holding
the power button. Crude but effective.
There was a suggestion that logoff would work - it doesn't. logoff is
also ignored.
This seems to happen with many different processes - Firefox often -
not too much of a hardship - I can switch to Explorer or Chrome. Other
software is much more of an issue - like the programs that manage my
cell phone modem dongle thing. If that hangs, I have to reboot to get an
internet connection.
It is so frustrating - who is the boss here? me or my laptop?
There must be some way to get rid of a rogue process. I tried
debugging, but the debugger cannot attach to a "crashing" process.

I alway log on with full admin privs, so it cannot be a permissions
issue, and I can kill other processes, as long as they are not in a
"crashing" state.

It seems that Vista is asking the process "is it OK to terminate you?"
then waiting patiently for the process to say OK. The process is dead -
it is never going to answer!

Yep, a popular issue. Any time a program fails, Vista goes into "can't
log off, can't shut down" mode. Hard power down is the only solution.

Yet another MS enhancement in Vista.