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

2015-09-09T01:46:27+00:00

“As of August 11th, 2014 I graduated from the University of Phoenix Online College with my Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology: Software Development (Software Engineering).

(...)

When you restart your computer it should clear the memory however if you reload & find that the program you are having problems with is still running there is a chance that the memory wasn’t cleared on the restart. Your best bet is to shutdown your computer & unplug the power cord for at least a minute as power is what keeps the memory alive, with no power the memory will be cleared 100% guaranteed."

Oh my god! So funny! :D
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Anonymous

2015-08-23T01:21:11+00:00

When processes do not terminate, either by the 'X', or the normal close, OR via the Task manager - use the DOS TASKKILL command. I ran into not being able to kill Thunderbird (version 38.2 on Windows 7 Home Premium) no matter what I did, which INCLUDES using the Task Manager. The DOS TAKSKILL command worked great. But when you run a DOS command thru the Start box, right click on 'cmd' when it shows up and start if as the Administrator.

To learn about the TASKKILL command go to both http://www.computerhope.com/taskkill.htm for the command format/syntax, and to X:\Vince4\Personal\Tips\Windows\Software\Windows 7\windows 7 - Why can't I kill a process - Super User.mht as an example (the killing of Thunderbird).

Of course, there is a deeper reason why Task Manager is not able to kill the process, but this technique will usually allow you to kill processes without having to reboot.

Vincent LaVallee (******@ix.Netcom.com)

08-22-2015
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Anonymous

2015-08-19T17:43:01+00:00

I am also experiencing this issue, with all processes. IE, Chrome, explorer, cmd, everything. I get access denied. I'm on 8.1 OEM from Lenovo on a laptop.

I would upgrade to windows 10 again but that wasn't a good experience. Starting with everything having the 'Your trial period has expired', so I reset the pc, to then get 'boot drive not found'. reinstalled from manufacturer to then have searchUI.exe crash the computer randomly unless I disabled indexing. So I rolled back to 8.1 again.
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Anonymous

2015-08-12T02:28:35+00:00

Noooo, don't reformat! What process are you trying to kill?

I'm not from microsoft.

-Alex
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