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

its Microsoft. they don't know how to answer a question directly. it is all misdirection so that you get frustrated, give up and reformat.

typical canned response by someone not reading the question completely.

I'm having the same issue with Windows 10 now.

Hi Nelson.

While your reply is detailed, and helpful in some respects, this is something that has happened with some desktop programs that were designed to run on Windows 8.x.

This leads me to believe it has something to do with the way the program is executed, or that when the program is told to close, or exit, that the code is so poorly written (either in the program, or in windows itself) that it elevates in a way that task manager simply has no access.

I'm thinking that the windows 8 task manager may not be running with the credentials of all users, (aka administrators, trustedinstaller, etc) even when the end user is logged in as an administrator.

This was not a problem in any version of windows before windows 8 that I can remember.

If enough people make a complaint about a bug, or issue with a Microsoft product on these forums, that information should be elevated to a support team that will actively look into identifying, and resolving the problem as a bug.

“There is no point in requesting. Microsoft has a cheap mindset. Instead of acknowledging that there is a bug, they are remaining silent just to cover up their defects. One bug is not a big deal. instead of being cheap and covering it up, had they stood up and declared that there is a bug, it would not only save customers' time but also would increase people's respect towards them. These kind of cheap policies only enrage people. I'm surprised that you are asking with a "please" on a 2 year old thread. If you are really serious, then start advocating piracy of MS products. These people are cheating customers. There is nothing wrong in cheating them in return “ – Vijyes Yechuri replied on April 3^rd^, 2014.

My Reply:

I normally don't reply to topics on the Microsoft forums, however after reading the many replies to this thread I just can't resist saying something. I myself started learning about computers when I was 15 years old (1995), over the years I have experienced many errors with Windows, Programs, & Viruses. Through experience I have learned how to solve many problems including manually removing Viruses & Browser Hi-Jacker's without the use of an Anti-Virus Program.

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). While I have yet to create my own program or to have a job in my field, I have knowledge about quite a few different problems that happen with Windows, Programs, & Viruses. Today I downloaded a program called "Belarc Advisor" in order to get my product key for Windows 8.1 on my Laptop because I can't find my Windows 7 Professional Disk right now & my Desktop computer is having some problems & needs to be repaired.

I looked up a way to download Windows 7 Professional in which it sent me to a Microsoft site where I could download an ISO to make another install disk. The only problem with that is that in order to download the ISO I need to provide my Product Key in order to download it. I bought Windows 7 Professional on disk in 2009 full price, however when I type in my Product Key the site tells me that my Windows 7 Professional is a factory pre-install or something along those lines. How can my Windows 7 Professional be a pre-install if I bought the disk & installed it myself as I custom built my Desktop computer in 2009 & did not get my computer premade by the factory?

Because it says my Product Key is a factory pre-install I can't download Windows 7 Professional from the Microsoft site & therefore until I find my Windows 7 Professional Disk I can't fix my Desktop computer. My next option was to download Windows 8.1 ISO & make a disk for that as it doesn't ask for the Product Key to download, however to install it I will need a Product Key & because Windows 8 & 8.1's Product Key is embedded in the BIOS instead of posted on a sticker on my Laptop, I needed a way to get the Product Key.

I downloaded Belarc Advisor which said that it could get the Product Key & thought it would be a simple process. Upon installing Belarc Advisor & running it, I noticed that it loads in task manager as a 32-Bit program, I'm on a 64-Bit computer. The site said it was for both 32-Bit & 64-Bit & there's only 1 download so I figured it would work on both. Upon running the program it couldn't connect to the server when checking for Security Updates so I ended up skipping that, then when it gets to Checking Your Local Network it again only gets to 23% then doesn't go any further so I try skipping it and hours later it still hasn't skipped & still says the 23%. I got fed up with it & Uninstalled it which removed most of the program apparently but like most Uninstalls using the Windows Add/Remove Program feature it left files behind.

After Uninstalling the program I opened Task Manager to see why the "WindowsInstallationMediaCreationTool.exe" Wasn't loading to create the Windows 8.1 Install Disk only to see that there are 3 instances of "Belarc Advisor Computer Inventory (32 bit)" running in Task Manager. When I click End Task on any of them it says that I'm not allowed to end the task or that the task can't be ended something to that extent. Therefore I looked up this topic to see if there was anything quick that I could do to end these & remove the file that they are from that was left behind in Local Disk (C:)/Program Files (x86)/Belarc/BelarcAdvisor which is where BelarcAdvisor.exe is located by itself & there's a System Folder as well with a file called NPBelv32.dll & another Folder called "local" that is empty.

  Well I haven't found anything that can be done quickly to end it without having to take the steps that I know how to do as I've done them many times before. Reading the comments on this post I have a few things to say here:

1. First off you all must realize that Microsoft Outsources their Technical Support Jobs to another country so that they don't have to pay as much for customer service. Like they always say, you get what you pay for therefore what you end up with is Technical Support agents that don't know much about Technology.
2. Because the Technical Support agents can be anyone that has been hired to fill that spot in the country that Microsoft has Outsourced it's work to, you are limited to whatever knowledge that person has as far as it goes to the Technological Field. This is why the majority of times that you ask a question you will notice that the Tech Support Agent that replies gives you a standard basic answer providing links to click on in their steps they want you to take in order to fix the problem. Sometimes the steps & links will help you fix the problem right away without any problems, however on more extensive questions you end up with the problem still existing & it can be frustrating.
3. When you ask a question, the tech support agent has documents that tell them the answer to numerous problems word for word, they search your problem in their private search engine which only they can access as employees. When they find a document that matches or is close to what you are asking they copy & paste as the answer to your problem. This explains why you may see the exact same answer for numerous questions in which the replies from Tech Support are almost word for word with the same links etc...
4. Based on these facts alone it really isn't appropriate to go off on the Tech Support Agents because they aren't the one's responsible and are limited only to what Microsoft provides them in regards to answering questions + the knowledge that they may have themselves in the Technology Field. The same goes for calling Microsoft's Customer Service, in my experience I've only called the Tech Support for Microsoft once & the person that I talked to was not able to help me unless I paid a one time Tech Support fee or an unlimited Tech Support for a year fee. The Tech Support Agent had no idea what I was talking about or even where to start when it came to the Browser Hi-Jacker "Browse And Surf" & was telling me that if I paid for a one time Tech Support fee they could remote access my computer & fix it. With that there was no way I was going to pay a fee to have someone that didn't even seem to know a thing about Browser Hi-Jacker's remotely try to fix my computer, instead I just backed everything up on DVD's & Formatted & Re-installed Windows 7 Professional from my disk.

If there's anyone to complain to here it wouldn't be the Tech Support Agents themselves, but instead it would be Microsoft here in America that would be the one's to complain to for not providing more information for their Tech Support Agents so that they could help us better by answering questions with more appropriate answers. Some programs to try to remove the problem of tasks not ending can be found at: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/489386/cant-stop-discount-buddy-bgexe-from-starting/ & if you want to manually solve this problem, my suggestion is following these steps:

Step 1: Open Windows Start Menu & use the "Run" box to type "msconfig.exe" into. On Windows 8 Computers + you will need to either right click the Windows Logo in the bottom left corner & Select "Run" or on all versions of Windows (I Believe) you can hold down the Windows Logo Button on your keyboard & Press R while holding it which will bring up the "Run" box.

Step 2: After you have typed "msconfig.exe" or “msconfig” (either work) into the "Run" box hit enter & Windows will open the application "Microsoft Configuration" in which you can manually select which programs you want to start when you start Windows. Look for the application you are having problems with & make sure you uncheck it in the list or disable it so that it doesn't start when Windows starts up. Also Disable any other programs that you don't want to start automatically when Windows starts.

Step 3: Save all your work as far as open documents, website’s, or anything else that you haven’t saved & restart your computer.

NOTE: 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.

Step 4: Once Windows loads either type “taskmgr.exe” or “taskmgr” (either work) in the “Run” bar or press “ALT + CTRL + DEL” & then select “Task Manager” from the options. Look in Task Manager under “Processes” to see if the application you are having problems with is running still (it shouldn’t be). If the application isn’t in the list of processes you can now Uninstall it by removing the remaining files that are on your computer & getting rid of any files that are associated with it. If the application is still running then it’s obviously a Virus & you need to use an Anti-Virus scanner to remove it.

Step 5: Another option you can use is to restart your computer & boot it into Safe Mode which will load only the drivers needed to run Windows. I would recommend selecting “Safe Mode With Networking” so that you have internet access.

Step 6: Once you are in Safe Mode you will see “Safe Mode” Written in all 4 corners, your graphics will be limited, your computer will be using a lot less resources & the program you are having problems with shouldn’t be running period. In Safe Mode you will need to completely remove all files associated with the program (Some programs may install in multiple locations so search your computer thoroughly).

Step 7: Using the “Run” box this time type in “regedit.exe” or “regedit” (either work). In the registry you will want to find any keys that are associated with the program & delete them. (Caution: DO NOT DELETE ANY KEY UNLESS YOU FOR SURE KNOW THAT IT BELONGS TO THAT PROGRAM OR YOU CAN MESS YOUR COMPUTER UP COMPLETELY). Use the “Find” function (CTRL + F) to search for the program so that the registry will find the keys associated with the program. Use “Find Next” (F3) to find the next key that is associated with the program.

Step 8: Once you have done this restart your computer & run it in Normal Mode, the program should be completely removed & you shouldn’t have any problems. If the program is not a virus & you are sure of that you should look up compatibility issues for the program & how to resolve them so you don’t have the problem re-occur. Another option is to right click the program & select “Properties” in the list. In “Properties” you should be able to change the program so that it will run compatible to the Operating System it was designed to work on & that should resolve your problems.

With all of this said, I really hope this helps someone out & that it works much better than the answer that was posted by Tech Support. If you need more help or have any questions it’s very possible that I may have an answer for you however I’m not on the Microsoft Forums much or any forum for that matter as I have a lot of other stuff such as looking for a job to do with my spare time, you can contact me by email at: ******@yahoo.com

Nelson

This is unacceptable Microsoft!

Can we please have an answer to this?

The thread has been ongoing since 2012, without resolution or acknowledge that this is an issue!

I have this issue with several unrelated programs.

First I thought that it must be a bug with Windows 8 and did a clean Windows 7 install.

The issue does not appear in Windows 7 so I thought it was because of my old Windows 8 installation.

I installed a clean Windows 8.1 and guess what? The issues are back!