Task manager - Can't end processes (Access Denied)

Anonymous

Recently I've been having problems ending processes. Whenever I try to end a certain processes I keep getting an access denied error and I have no other way of removing processes as it wont go away even if I turn off my computer. This is pretty weird considering what I'm trying to end is game processes. So now I can't play certain games as I keep getting "Program is already opened" errors when I try to play them and there's no way I can play them. Some of the games that still play even without me having to kill the task completely now have multiple copies of the process and I can't end any of them.

I've tried messing with the permissions on the files and it didn't work, I also tried messing with the admin rights and such but no luck. My account is an admin

Can anyone help me out?

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Anonymous

Hi HyperXII,

Thank you for posting this question in Microsoft Community Forums!!

I see that you aren’t able to end tasks in Task Manager.

I will certainly guide you in the right direction to get the issue fixed.

But before we continue to the resolution, could you give us more information?

1. Do all the game processes point to a single task?

Here’s what you can try:

Method 1: Perform Safe Mode and Clean Boot.

Step 1: Follow the steps given in the link below to check if the issue occurs in Safe Mode.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/windows-startup-settings-including-safe-mode

Choose Safe Mode as the Startup Setting.

If you still can’t end the processes, continue to perform Step 2.

Step 2: Clean Boot

Follow the steps given in the link below to perform Clean Boot.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135

Check if you are able to end the processes in Clean Boot.

Note: Please go through step 3 of the Kb to keep the computer in normal startup after fixing the issue

Method 2: Re-install the games and check if the issue continues.

**Step 1:**Uninstall the games and check if you are able to end the tasks.

Step 2: Follow the link below to get help to install the games.

http://support.microsoft.com/mats/Program_Install_and_Uninstall/

Please get back to us with the results.

If you have any further questions about Windows, write to us anytime.

We are happy to help!!

Regards,

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61 additional answers

Anonymous

2013-03-07T23:11:19+00:00

This is not really the solution. The problem he said happens to me too but the only way to get rid of the processes is to restart the computer. I want windows to kill the process without restarting the computer.
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Anonymous

2013-04-04T03:46:02+00:00

This is not really the solution. The problem he said happens to me too but the only way to get rid of the processes is to restart the computer. I want windows to kill the process without restarting the computer.

I've had this happen mostly with games, some installed before I 'upgraded' to Win8 and some after.

It usually prevents the software from launching (since it's already running!) and I have to restart the computer to get the process to end. If I dig deeper, try to use command line options or the Details panel of the Task Manager, I get Access Denied. If I try to End Task from the Process tab, I get no feedback whatsoever.

Games this has happened to:

BioShock Infinite

Star Trek Online (launcher, at least)

Borderlands 2

In all cases, I get "Access Denied" occasionally when the program doesn't shut down cleanly and I have to End Task.
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Anonymous

2013-05-01T14:40:42+00:00

I'm getting this problem with Skype (v6.3+ although I've seen other prople with this problem from v6.0 onwards).

The problem must be Win8 related because as a local admin, I've never not had a problem ending a process via TaskManger or TaskKill.exe in Win8. The app is running under my logged in account so it is bizarre that it should say "Access Is Denied" when using TaskKill (and nothing when using Task Manager > End Process).

As Skype for Desktop won't shut down, I cannot relaunch Skype. I shouldn't need to reboot my whole computer to get around this silly problem.
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Anonymous

2013-10-16T14:15:50+00:00

I had the same problem with Skype and it got fixed by going to Run (Win + R) and typing "%appdata%" navigate to "Skype" and rename the folder "Skype_old"

This will take all your settings and chat history with it but you will not need to restart your PC for Skype to work.
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