Vista Can't End Process

Hi guys,

I'm sure other people have come across this problem before, although I
haven't been able to find any information on how to overcome this
problem.

When a third party software decides to 'stop responding' and I choose
to "Close program", the application's window is closed, but the
process is still running. If I select the persistent process and click
the "End Process" button, the precess does not end; and there is no
way I can force-close the process - except to restart the computer.

I am currently using Vista Ultimate, and I'm the Administrator. I've
also tried to end the process by command line (taskkill), but the
process is still there. I know certain system processes can't be
ended, but I'm not referring to those processes, I'm simply referring
to processes of third-party software (e.g. Firefox, WMPlayer,
PowerDVD, etc...)

Here's the strange thing: generally I can end any process through Task
Manager, until the program decides to stop responding, that's when I
am unable to end it's process. Bizarre!!
I might also add that when I'm unable to end a process, and I'm force
to restart or shutdown my computer, my computer can take up 30min+ to
restart/shutdown, when normally it would restart/shutdown in seconds.

I know it's a rather long post, but I'm trying to include as much
information as possible so we don't go over the same questions again.

Does anyone know of any way to overcome this problem? Or is there
really a way to force end/kill a persistent process?

Cheers,
Shawn

Shawn et. al.

Sorry if you were expecting a solution, but I just wanted to add my voice to
yours. I have two programs "not responding" right now (PowerDVD DX and Sony
Vegas Movie Studio), and I can do nothing to stop them. Not "Exiting" from
the program window itself, or "Closing" it from the task bar, or "Ending
Process" from Task Manager. The last time this happened (I think it was
PowerDVD again), the only solution was to reboot. I don't want to have to do
that every time this happened. And I would be especially p.o.'d if I had been
editing a video, which I would have been doing if this had happened a few
minutes later, and losing work.

Anyway, you are not alone. More bad news: I just saw a similar post to yours
from AUGUST and it was never responded to...

DJ.

"Shawn H" wrote:

> Hi guys,
>
> I'm sure other people have come across this problem before, although I
> haven't been able to find any information on how to overcome this
> problem.
>
> When a third party software decides to 'stop responding' and I choose
> to "Close program", the application's window is closed, but the
> process is still running. If I select the persistent process and click
> the "End Process" button, the precess does not end; and there is no
> way I can force-close the process - except to restart the computer.
>
> I am currently using Vista Ultimate, and I'm the Administrator. I've
> also tried to end the process by command line (taskkill), but the
> process is still there. I know certain system processes can't be
> ended, but I'm not referring to those processes, I'm simply referring
> to processes of third-party software (e.g. Firefox, WMPlayer,
> PowerDVD, etc...)
>
> Here's the strange thing: generally I can end any process through Task
> Manager, until the program decides to stop responding, that's when I
> am unable to end it's process. Bizarre!!
> I might also add that when I'm unable to end a process, and I'm force
> to restart or shutdown my computer, my computer can take up 30min+ to
> restart/shutdown, when normally it would restart/shutdown in seconds.
>
> I know it's a rather long post, but I'm trying to include as much
> information as possible so we don't go over the same questions again.
>
> Does anyone know of any way to overcome this problem? Or is there
> really a way to force end/kill a persistent process?
>
> Cheers,
> Shawn
>

I had this problem for months. Turns out directly related to ZoneAlarm
(despite their claims of Vista compatibility, which was the main
reason I grudgingly switched firewall proggies to ZA in the first
place).

If you have ZoneAlarm, I recommend an uninstall. Make sure you have
the serial written down and pull it out, because I disabled the run-on-
startup and still had the stuck processes (everything ranging from
Firefox to UTorrent to Enemy Territory to instant messaging software).
I moved to an alternative security suite and the problems immediately
vanished.