Kill process with cmd

[cclloyd9785]

What would be the command to kill a process like explorer.exe or wininit.exe through cmd?

 

[logicearth]

C:\Windows\system32>taskkill /?

TASKKILL [/S system [/U username [/P [password]]]]
         { [/FI filter] [/PID processid | /IM imagename] } [/T] [/F]

Description:
    This tool is used to terminate tasks by process id (PID) or image name.

Parameter List:
    /S    system           Specifies the remote system to connect to.

    /U    [domain\]user    Specifies the user context under which the
                           command should execute.

    /P    [password]       Specifies the password for the given user
                           context. Prompts for input if omitted.

    /FI   filter           Applies a filter to select a set of tasks.
                           Allows "*" to be used. ex. imagename eq acme*

    /PID  processid        Specifies the PID of the process to be terminated.
                           Use TaskList to get the PID.

    /IM   imagename        Specifies the image name of the process
                           to be terminated. Wildcard '*' can be used
                           to specify all tasks or image names.

    /T                     Terminates the specified process and any
                           child processes which were started by it.

    /F                     Specifies to forcefully terminate the process(es).

    /?                     Displays this help message.

Filters:
    Filter Name   Valid Operators           Valid Value(s)
    -----------   ---------------           -------------------------
    STATUS        eq, ne                    RUNNING |
                                            NOT RESPONDING | UNKNOWN
    IMAGENAME     eq, ne                    Image name
    PID           eq, ne, gt, lt, ge, le    PID value
    SESSION       eq, ne, gt, lt, ge, le    Session number.
    CPUTIME       eq, ne, gt, lt, ge, le    CPU time in the format
                                            of hh:mm:ss.
                                            hh - hours,
                                            mm - minutes, ss - seconds
    MEMUSAGE      eq, ne, gt, lt, ge, le    Memory usage in KB
    USERNAME      eq, ne                    User name in [domain\]user
                                            format
    MODULES       eq, ne                    DLL name
    SERVICES      eq, ne                    Service name
    WINDOWTITLE   eq, ne                    Window title

    NOTE
    ----
    1) Wildcard '*' for /IM switch is accepted only when a filter is applied.
    2) Termination of remote processes will always be done forcefully (/F).
    3) "WINDOWTITLE" and "STATUS" filters are not considered when a remote
       machine is specified.

Examples:
    TASKKILL /IM notepad.exe
    TASKKILL /PID 1230 /PID 1241 /PID 1253 /T
    TASKKILL /F /IM cmd.exe /T
    TASKKILL /F /FI "PID ge 1000" /FI "WINDOWTITLE ne untitle*"
    TASKKILL /F /FI "USERNAME eq NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM" /IM notepad.exe
    TASKKILL /S system /U domain\username /FI "USERNAME ne NT*" /IM *
    TASKKILL /S system /U username /P password /FI "IMAGENAME eq note*"

 

[StalkeR]

^^

Here's tutorial for that on SF .

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/22704-task-management.html

 

[cclloyd9785]

When I use taskkill or tasklist to kill a process, it seems to bring up a dialog asking what to do with windows (shutdown, hibernate, logoff etc.) instead of killing the process. Tested with explorer.exe

 

[mjf]

what specific process are you trying to kill.

 

[cclloyd9785]

explorer.exe and wininit.exe, separately.

 

[logicearth]

You are trying to kill wininit?! Are you trying to BSOD the computer?

 

[cclloyd9785]

Well... not my computer

 

[Corazon]

OK, so why do you want to kill wininit.exe? It's a critical system process. If you're issuing a command to shut down this process I'm not surprised that you end up with a standby/shutdown/restart dialog...

 

[cclloyd9785]

Yes, but it did the same thing for explorer.exe and even chrome.exe

 

[Corazon]

You still haven't given a reason why you're doing this. explorer.exe is the Windows shell; if you kill that process you lose the taskbar, notifications and all desktop icons. And what's wrong with exiting Chrome by closing its window like any other program?

I just don't see the point in this.

 

[mjf]

I've had the need to end the explorer.exe process on occasion because of something using it then restart it again. However, I've never personally seen the need to do it at the command line level.

 

[Corazon]

I actually learned a neat trick to end explorer.exe safely instead of killing it from Task Manager:

Click on the start orb, then hold down CTRL and SHIFT and rightclick in an empty space inside the Start menu. The context menu (which usually just says Properties) will then include the option Exit Explorer.

 

[StalkeR]

I actually learned a neat trick to end explorer.exe safely instead of killing it from Task Manager:

Click on the start orb, then hold down CTRL and SHIFT and rightclick in an empty space inside the Start menu. The context menu (which usually just says Properties) will then include the option Exit Explorer.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/3937-explorer-exe-kill-all-processes-once.html

 

[mjf]

I actually learned a neat trick to end explorer.exe safely instead of killing it from Task Manager:

Click on the start orb, then hold down CTRL and SHIFT and rightclick in an empty space inside the Start menu. The context menu (which usually just says Properties) will then include the option Exit Explorer.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/3937-explorer-exe-kill-all-processes-once.html

Not ALL processes just kill explorer instances.
The ctrl+shift+esc is the short way to task manager. Personally I find I'm in task manager when I find it's explorer I temporarily need to kill then start again.