Windows 10: Kill a Process in Windows 10

Discus and support Kill a Process in Windows 10 in Windows 10 Tutorials to solve the problem; How to: Kill a Process in Windows 10 [img] Information A process is an instance of a program that is being executed. Each process running in... Discussion in 'Windows 10 Tutorials' started by Geoff Daniell, Mar 18, 2016.

  1. Kill a Process in Windows 10


    How to: Kill a Process in Windows 10

    Kill a Process in Windows 10 [​IMG]
    Information A process is an instance of a program that is being executed. Each process running in Windows is assigned a unique decimal number called the process ID, or PID.

    If you notice a running process is reducing your computer's performance because it's hung, not responding, using a high percentage of CPU and/or memory resources, then you can kill the process to end it.

    This tutorial will show you different ways on how to kill a process in Windows 10.

    CONTENTS:




    OPTION ONE [/i] To Kill a Process in Task Manager Processes Tab

    Kill a Process in Windows 10 [​IMG]
    Note The Processes tab in Task Manager will show you a list of all apps, background processes, and Windows processes that are currently running under only your account.

    1. Open Task Manager in more details view.

    2. Do step 3 (parent) or step 4 (child) below for which process your want to kill.


    3. To Kill Parent Process and its Child Processes

    Kill a Process in Windows 10 [​IMG]
    Note For example, to kill Google Chrome and all of its opened tabs and windows.

    A) Click/tap on the Processes tab. (see screenshots below)

    B) Select a parent process you want to kill, and perform one of the actions below:
    • Press the Delete key.
    • Click/tap on the End task button. Explorer will have a Restart button instead.
    • Right click or press and hold on the process, and click/tap on End task.
    C) When finished, go to step 5 below.


    Kill a Process in Windows 10 [​IMG]

    Kill a Process in Windows 10 [​IMG]


    4. To Kill Only a Child Process

    Kill a Process in Windows 10 [​IMG]
    Note For example, to only kill a subprocess (ex: opened drive) instead of all "Windows Explorer" processes.

    A) Click/tap on the Processes tab. (see screenshot below)

    B) Expand open the parent process (ex: "Windows Explorer) of the child process (ex: "MyBook F:") you want to kill.

    C) Select the child process you want to kill, and perform one of the actions below:
    • Press the Delete key.
    • Click/tap on the End task button.
    • Right click or press and hold on the process, and click/tap on End task.
    D) When finished, go to step 5 below.


    Kill a Process in Windows 10 [​IMG]

    5. You can now close Task Manager if you like.





    OPTION TWO [/i] To Kill a Process in Task Manager Details Tab

    Kill a Process in Windows 10 [​IMG]
    Note If you are signed in as a standard user, the Details tab in Task Manager will show you a list of all processes currently running under only your account and a description of each process.

    If you are signed in as an administrator, the Details tab in Task Manager will also show you a list of all processes currently running on the computer from all users.

    1. Open Task Manager in more details view.

    2. Click/tap on the Details tab, select a process you want to kill, and perform one of the actions below: (see screenshot below)
    • Press the Delete key.
    • Click/tap on the End task button.
    • Right click or press and hold on the process, and click/tap on End task.

    Kill a Process in Windows 10 [​IMG]

    3. Click/tap on End process to confirm. (see screenshot below)
    Kill a Process in Windows 10 [​IMG]

    4. When finished, you can now close Task Manager if you like.





    OPTION THREE [/i] To Kill a Process in Command Prompt
    1. Open a elevated command prompt.

    2. Type tasklist into the command prompt, and press Enter to see a list of all currently running processes. Make note of the Image Name and PID of the process (ex: OneDrive) you want to kill. (see screenshots below)
    Kill a Process in Windows 10 [​IMG]

    Kill a Process in Windows 10 [​IMG]

    3. Do step 4 (Image Name) or step 5 (PID) below for how you want to kill the process.


    4. To Kill Process using Image Name
    A) Type the command below you want to use into the command prompt, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)

    (To forcefully kill only this process)
    *Arrow taskkill /IM Image Name /F

    OR

    (To forcefully kill this process and any child processes started by it)
    *Arrow taskkill /IM Image Name /T /F


    Kill a Process in Windows 10 [​IMG]
    Note Substitute Image Name in the command above with the actual Image Name (ex: "OneDrive.exe") from step 2 above for the process you want to kill.

    For example: taskkill /IM OneDrive.exe /F

    Kill a Process in Windows 10 [​IMG]
    Tip If you would like to kill multiple processes at once in one command line, then you would just add an additional /IM Image Name for each process.

    For example:

    (Two processes)
    taskkill /IM Image Name /IM Image Name /F

    (Three processes)
    taskkill /IM Image Name /IM Image Name /IM Image Name /F

    Kill a Process in Windows 10 [​IMG]


    5. To Kill Process using PID
    A) Type the command below you want to use into the command prompt, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)

    (To forcefully kill only this process)
    *Arrow taskkill /PID PID /F

    OR

    (To forcefully kill this process and any child processes started by it)
    *Arrow taskkill /PID PID /T /F


    Kill a Process in Windows 10 [​IMG]
    Note Substitute PID in the command above with the actual PID (ex: "5228") from step 2 above for the process you want to kill.

    For example: taskkill /PID 5228 /F

    Kill a Process in Windows 10 [​IMG]
    Tip If you would like to kill multiple processes at once in one command line, then you would just add an additional /PID PID for each process.

    For example:

    (Two processes)
    taskkill /PID PID /PID PID /F

    (Three processes)
    taskkill /PID PID /PID PID /PID PID /F

    Kill a Process in Windows 10 [​IMG]

    6. When finished, you can close the command prompt if you like.

    Kill a Process in Windows 10 [​IMG]
    Note If you get an Access is denied error message, then it means you will need to run the command in an elevated command prompt instead.






    OPTION FOUR [/i] To Kill a Process in PowerShell

    Kill a Process in Windows 10 [​IMG]
    Note To see more usage options for the Stop-Process command, see: Stop-Process | Microsoft Docs

    1. Open elevated PowerShell.

    2. Type Get-Process into PowerShell, and press Enter to see a list of all currently running processes. Make note of the ProcessName and Id (PID) of the process (ex: OneDrive) you want to kill. (see screenshot below)
    Kill a Process in Windows 10 [​IMG]

    3. Do step 4 (Name) or step 5 (ID) below for how you want to kill the process.


    4. To Kill Process using Name
    A) Type the command below into PowerShell, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)

    *Arrow Stop-Process -Name "ProcessName" -Force


    Kill a Process in Windows 10 [​IMG]
    Note Substitute ProcessName in the command above with the actual ProcessName (ex: "OneDrive") from step 2 above for the process you want to kill.

    For example: Stop-Process -Name "OneDrive" -Force

    Kill a Process in Windows 10 [​IMG]
    Tip If you would like to kill multiple processes at once in one command line, then you would just add an additional "ProcessName" separated by a comma for each process.

    For example:

    (Two processes)
    Stop-Process -Name "ProcessName","ProcessName" -Force

    (Three processes)
    Stop-Process -Name "ProcessName","ProcessName","ProcessName" -Force

    Kill a Process in Windows 10 [​IMG]


    5. To Kill Process using ID (PID)
    A) Type the command below into PowerShell, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)

    *Arrow Stop-Process -ID PID -Force


    Kill a Process in Windows 10 [​IMG]
    Note Substitute PID in the command above with the actual Id (ex: "11312") from step 2 above for the process you want to kill.

    For example: Stop-Process -ID 11312 -Force

    Kill a Process in Windows 10 [​IMG]
    Tip If you would like to kill multiple processes at once in one command line, then you would just add an additional PID separated by a comma for each process.

    For example:

    (Two processes)
    Stop-Process -ID PID,PID -Force

    (Three processes)
    Stop-Process -ID PID,PID,PID -Force

    Kill a Process in Windows 10 [​IMG]

    6. When finished, you can close PowerShell if you like.

    Kill a Process in Windows 10 [​IMG]
    Note If you get an Access is denied error message, then it means you will need to run the command in an elevated PowerShell instead.


    That's it,
    Shawn


    Related Tutorials

    :)
     
    Geoff Daniell, Mar 18, 2016
    #1
  2. GNJha Win User

    Boot Process

    Hi,

    Please suggest me a link that can explain the boot process step by step of ...

    • Windows 7,
    • Windows 8.1,
    • Windows 10,
    • Windows Server 2008 R2 and
    • Windows Server 2012 R2

    With Regards

    InTech
     
    GNJha, Oct 26, 2019
    #2
  3. Non-existent process needs killing!

    Hi,

    Thank you for posting in Microsoft community.

    Follow the steps below and check if it helps.

    I would like to inform you that, sometimes task manager doesn't kill the process. It's also possible to kill processes from command line with
    'taskkill'.

    taskkill /im process-name /f
    taskkill /pid process-id /f


    This can be done by clicking Windows logo+x and selecting Command prompt (admin).

    if issue persist, I suggest you to boot in safe mode and check if that helps.

    Check the link below to boot in safe mode:

    http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/start-your-pc-in-safe-mode


    Hope this helps. Get back to us for further assistance.
     
    Swathi Ravichandran, Oct 26, 2019
    #3
  4. dalchina Win User

    Kill a Process in Windows 10

    Auto-kill a process


    As I said, a trivial Autohotkey script - a permanent loop
    loop {
    If process exists - kill it
    sleep n
    }

    (very roughly)
     
    dalchina, Oct 26, 2019
    #4
  5. borgus Win User
    Auto-kill a process


    Appreciate the suggestion. I use a .bat file here to do essentially what you describe, but my aim is to automate the process - no user intervention. A specified process opens; it spots and kills it. Closest that I have seen is an app that claims to do this on a schedule.
     
    borgus, Oct 26, 2019
    #5
  6. Ahhzz Win User
    Windows 10 Tweaks

    Pressing “Windows+Pause Break” (it’s up there next to scroll lock) opens the “System” Window.

    Windows 10: In the new version of Windows, Explorer has a section called Quick Access. This includes your frequent folders and recent files. Explorer defaults to opening this page when you open a new window. If you’d rather open the usual This PC, with links to your drives and library folders, follow these steps:

    • Open a new Explorer window.
    • Click View in the ribbon.
    • Click Options.
    • Under General, next to “Open File Explorer to:” choose “This PC.”
    • Click OK


    credit to Lifehacker.
     
    Ahhzz, Oct 26, 2019
    #6
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Kill a Process in Windows 10

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