Terminating Running EXE

[Tantrum3k]

I know about all the "examples" here on vbforums and I have searched around but all, and I mean all, literally, the examples didn't work for me. I have XP Pro SP2.

Could someone kindly help me out with this problem? How to close a process by it's EXE name. So far I've tried TerminateProcess, KillApp, KillAppByName, TerminateEXE, etc. None seem to work for me. When it's called, it simply doesn't do anything and the process keeps loading.

I would appreciate a responce on this.

[Luke K]

I know exactly what you mean Tantrum3k, I was in the same position you were before writing this myself and dis-regarding everyone's examples. I also have XP Pro SP2 so this should definately work for you. I'v commented it so you can really know what it is doing

Private Declare Function CreateToolhelp32Snapshot Lib "kernel32" (ByVal lFlags As Long, ByVal lProcessID As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function Process32First Lib "kernel32" (ByVal hSnapshot As Long, lppe As PROCESSENTRY32) As Long
Private Declare Function Process32Next Lib "kernel32" (ByVal hSnapshot As Long, lppe As PROCESSENTRY32) As Long
Private Declare Function OpenProcess Lib "kernel32" (ByVal dwDesiredAccess As Long, ByVal bInheritHandle As Long, ByVal dwProcessId As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function TerminateProcess Lib "kernel32" (ByVal hProcess As Long, ByVal uExitCode As Long) As Long
 
Private Const TH32CS_SNAPPROCESS As Long = 2&
Private Const MAX_PATH As Integer = 260
 
Private Type PROCESSENTRY32
    dwSize As Long
    cntUsage As Long
    th32ProcessID As Long
    th32DefaultHeapID As Long
    th32ModuleID As Long
    cntThreads As Long
    th32ParentProcessID As Long
    pcPriClassBase As Long
    dwFlags As Long
    szExeFile As String * MAX_PATH
End Type
 
Private Sub Form_Load()
Dim lLng As Long, lA As Long, lExCode As Long
Dim procObj As PROCESSENTRY32
Dim hSnap As Long
Dim lRet As Long
Dim sExeNam As String
 
sExeNam$ = "YourProgramName.exe"
hSnap = CreateToolhelp32Snapshot(TH32CS_SNAPPROCESS, 0&) 'create a snapshot of the system process information
procObj.dwSize = Len(procObj)
lRet = Process32First(hSnap, procObj) 'Query information on the top-most running process
 
Do While Process32Next(hSnap, procObj) 'loop through all the processes
    If InStr(1, LCase(procObj.szExeFile), LCase(sExeNam$)) > 0 Then 'Your exe name has been found
        lLng = OpenProcess(&H1, ByVal 0&, procObj.th32ProcessID) 'Open the process as to get its handle
        lA = TerminateProcess(lLng, lExCode) 'Terminate the process
        Exit Do
    End If
Loop
End Sub

[Tw1sted L0gic]

Will this also work for other versions of Windows? (Such as 98, ME, NT, 2K etc.)

[ice_531]

Kill App.path & "/myprogram.exe"

[BrianS]

That just deletes an .exe file, not stop a running process.

Kill App.path & "/myprogram.exe"

[RobDog888]

You can not delete an exe if it is currently running. You get an error if you try.

[Danial]

Also keep in mind that when you run an VB Exe normally it runs with the Logged in User credential, so if the process you want to terminate is a System Process then those API wont work unless the Logged in user is part of Administrator user Group.

Just thought I will point that out incase that is the cause of process not terminationg...

[Wokawidget]

I have used the following code for years, and it's never failed me, and works perfectly.

Option Explicit

Private Declare Function Process32First Lib "kernel32" (ByVal hSnapshot As Long, lppe As PROCESSENTRY32) As Long
Private Declare Function Process32Next Lib "kernel32" (ByVal hSnapshot As Long, lppe As PROCESSENTRY32) As Long
Private Declare Function CloseHandle Lib "Kernel32.dll" (ByVal Handle As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function OpenProcess Lib "Kernel32.dll" (ByVal dwDesiredAccessas As Long, ByVal bInheritHandle As Long, ByVal dwProcId As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function EnumProcesses Lib "psapi.dll" (ByRef lpidProcess As Long, ByVal cb As Long, ByRef cbNeeded As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function GetModuleFileNameExA Lib "psapi.dll" (ByVal hProcess As Long, ByVal hModule As Long, ByVal ModuleName As String, ByVal nSize As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function EnumProcessModules Lib "psapi.dll" (ByVal hProcess As Long, ByRef lphModule As Long, ByVal cb As Long, ByRef cbNeeded As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function CreateToolhelp32Snapshot Lib "kernel32" (ByVal dwFlags As Long, ByVal th32ProcessID As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function GetVersionEx Lib "kernel32" Alias "GetVersionExA" (lpVersionInformation As OSVERSIONINFO) As Long
Private Declare Function TerminateProcess Lib "kernel32" (ByVal hProcess As Long, ByVal uExitCode As Long) As Long

Private Type PROCESSENTRY32
  dwSize As Long
  cntUsage As Long
  th32ProcessID As Long
  th32DefaultHeapID As Long
  th32ModuleID As Long
  cntThreads As Long
  th32ParentProcessID As Long
  pcPriClassBase As Long
  dwFlags As Long
  szExeFile As String * 260
End Type

Private Type OSVERSIONINFO
  dwOSVersionInfoSize As Long
  dwMajorVersion As Long
  dwMinorVersion As Long
  dwBuildNumber As Long
  dwPlatformId As Long
  szCSDVersion As String * 128
End Type

Private Const PROCESS_TERMINATE = &H1
Private Const VER_PLATFORM_WIN32_WINDOWS = 1
Private Const PROCESS_QUERY_INFORMATION = 1024
Private Const PROCESS_VM_READ = 16
Private Const TH32CS_SNAPPROCESS = &H2

Private Function CheckVersion() As Long
Dim tOS As OSVERSIONINFO
  tOS.dwOSVersionInfoSize = Len(tOS)
  Call GetVersionEx(tOS)
  CheckVersion = tOS.dwPlatformId
End Function

Private Function GetEXEProcessID(ByVal sEXE As String) As Long
  Dim aPID() As Long
  Dim lProcesses As Long
  Dim lProcess As Long
  Dim lModule As Long
  Dim sName As String
  Dim iIndex As Integer
  Dim bCopied As Long
  Dim lSnapShot As Long
  Dim tPE As PROCESSENTRY32
  Dim bDone As Boolean
  
  If CheckVersion() = VER_PLATFORM_WIN32_WINDOWS Then
    'Windows 9x
    'Create a SnapShot of the Currently Running Processes
    lSnapShot = CreateToolhelp32Snapshot(TH32CS_SNAPPROCESS, 0)
    If lSnapShot < 0 Then Exit Function
    tPE.dwSize = Len(tPE)
    'Buffer the First Processes Info..
    bCopied = Process32First(lSnapShot, tPE)
    Do While bCopied
      'While there are Processes List them..
      sName = Left$(tPE.szExeFile, InStr(tPE.szExeFile, Chr(0)) - 1)
      sName = Mid(sName, InStrRev(sName, "\") + 1)
      If InStr(sName, Chr(0)) Then
        sName = Left(sName, InStr(sName, Chr(0)) - 1)
      End If
      bCopied = Process32Next(lSnapShot, tPE)
      If StrComp(sEXE, sName, vbTextCompare) = 0 Then
        GetEXEProcessID = tPE.th32ProcessID
        Exit Do
      End If
    Loop
    
  Else
    'Windows NT
    'The EnumProcesses Function doesn't indicate how many Process there are,
    'so you need to pass a large array and trim off the empty elements
    'as cbNeeded will return the no. of Processes copied.
    ReDim aPID(255)
    Call EnumProcesses(aPID(0), 1024, lProcesses)
    lProcesses = lProcesses / 4
    ReDim Preserve aPID(lProcesses)
    
    For iIndex = 0 To lProcesses - 1
      'Get the Process Handle, by Opening the Process
      lProcess = OpenProcess(PROCESS_QUERY_INFORMATION Or PROCESS_VM_READ, 0, aPID(iIndex))
      If lProcess Then
        'Just get the First Module, all we need is the Handle to get
        'the Filename..
        If EnumProcessModules(lProcess, lModule, 4, 0&) Then
          sName = Space(260)
          Call GetModuleFileNameExA(lProcess, lModule, sName, Len(sName))
          If InStr(sName, "\") > 0 Then
            sName = Mid(sName, InStrRev(sName, "\") + 1)
          End If
          If InStr(sName, Chr(0)) Then
            sName = Left(sName, InStr(sName, Chr(0)) - 1)
          End If
          If StrComp(sEXE, sName, vbTextCompare) = 0 Then
            GetEXEProcessID = aPID(iIndex)
            bDone = True
          End If
        End If
        'Close the Process Handle
        CloseHandle lProcess
        If bDone Then Exit For
      End If
    Next
  End If
End Function

Public Function TerminateEXE(ByVal sEXE As String) As Boolean
  Dim lPID As Long
  Dim lProcess As Long
  
  lPID = GetEXEProcessID(sEXE)
  If lPID = 0 Then Exit Function
  lProcess = OpenProcess(PROCESS_TERMINATE, 0, lPID)
  Call TerminateProcess(lProcess, 0&)
  Call CloseHandle(lProcess)
  
  TerminateEXE = True
End Function

Add that to a module, then in your form do:

Private Sub cmdCloseApp_Click()
Dim blnRet As Boolean
   blnRet = TerminateEXE("Woof.exe")
   If Not blnRet Then
       MsgBox "Terminate failed!"
   End if
End Sub

Hope that helps.
I know the code above is a little messy.
If anyone wants me to tidy it up then I will.

Woka

[gbshahaq]

This is excellent!
I've been looking for a way to check whether a specific app is running or not, and act accordingly.
This code works fine - slightly adapted, using it as a Boolean Function

thanks..!

Private Declare Function CreateToolhelp32Snapshot Lib "kernel32" (ByVal lFlags As Long, ByVal lProcessID As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function Process32First Lib "kernel32" (ByVal hSnapshot As Long, lppe As PROCESSENTRY32) As Long
Private Declare Function Process32Next Lib "kernel32" (ByVal hSnapshot As Long, lppe As PROCESSENTRY32) As Long
Private Declare Function OpenProcess Lib "kernel32" (ByVal dwDesiredAccess As Long, ByVal bInheritHandle As Long, ByVal dwProcessId As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function TerminateProcess Lib "kernel32" (ByVal hProcess As Long, ByVal uExitCode As Long) As Long
 
Private Const TH32CS_SNAPPROCESS As Long = 2&
Private Const MAX_PATH As Integer = 260
 
Private Type PROCESSENTRY32
    dwSize As Long
    cntUsage As Long
    th32ProcessID As Long
    th32DefaultHeapID As Long
    th32ModuleID As Long
    cntThreads As Long
    th32ParentProcessID As Long
    pcPriClassBase As Long
    dwFlags As Long
    szExeFile As String * MAX_PATH
End Type
 
Private Sub Form_Load()
Dim lLng As Long, lA As Long, lExCode As Long
Dim procObj As PROCESSENTRY32
Dim hSnap As Long
Dim lRet As Long
Dim sExeNam As String
 
sExeNam$ = "YourProgramName.exe"
hSnap = CreateToolhelp32Snapshot(TH32CS_SNAPPROCESS, 0&) 'create a snapshot of the system process information
procObj.dwSize = Len(procObj)
lRet = Process32First(hSnap, procObj) 'Query information on the top-most running process
 
Do While Process32Next(hSnap, procObj) 'loop through all the processes
    If InStr(1, LCase(procObj.szExeFile), LCase(sExeNam$)) > 0 Then 'Your exe name has been found
        lLng = OpenProcess(&H1, ByVal 0&, procObj.th32ProcessID) 'Open the process as to get its handle
        lA = TerminateProcess(lLng, lExCode) 'Terminate the process
        Exit Do
    End If
Loop
End Sub

[/QUOTE]

[Mahdi Jazini]

I know exactly what you mean Tantrum3k, I was in the same position you were before writing this myself and dis-regarding everyone's examples. I also have XP Pro SP2 so this should definately work for you. I'v commented it so you can really know what it is doing

Private Declare Function CreateToolhelp32Snapshot Lib "kernel32" (ByVal lFlags As Long, ByVal lProcessID As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function Process32First Lib "kernel32" (ByVal hSnapshot As Long, lppe As PROCESSENTRY32) As Long
Private Declare Function Process32Next Lib "kernel32" (ByVal hSnapshot As Long, lppe As PROCESSENTRY32) As Long
Private Declare Function OpenProcess Lib "kernel32" (ByVal dwDesiredAccess As Long, ByVal bInheritHandle As Long, ByVal dwProcessId As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function TerminateProcess Lib "kernel32" (ByVal hProcess As Long, ByVal uExitCode As Long) As Long
 
Private Const TH32CS_SNAPPROCESS As Long = 2&
Private Const MAX_PATH As Integer = 260
 
Private Type PROCESSENTRY32
    dwSize As Long
    cntUsage As Long
    th32ProcessID As Long
    th32DefaultHeapID As Long
    th32ModuleID As Long
    cntThreads As Long
    th32ParentProcessID As Long
    pcPriClassBase As Long
    dwFlags As Long
    szExeFile As String * MAX_PATH
End Type
 
Private Sub Form_Load()
Dim lLng As Long, lA As Long, lExCode As Long
Dim procObj As PROCESSENTRY32
Dim hSnap As Long
Dim lRet As Long
Dim sExeNam As String
 
sExeNam$ = "YourProgramName.exe"
hSnap = CreateToolhelp32Snapshot(TH32CS_SNAPPROCESS, 0&) 'create a snapshot of the system process information
procObj.dwSize = Len(procObj)
lRet = Process32First(hSnap, procObj) 'Query information on the top-most running process
 
Do While Process32Next(hSnap, procObj) 'loop through all the processes
    If InStr(1, LCase(procObj.szExeFile), LCase(sExeNam$)) > 0 Then 'Your exe name has been found
        lLng = OpenProcess(&H1, ByVal 0&, procObj.th32ProcessID) 'Open the process as to get its handle
        lA = TerminateProcess(lLng, lExCode) 'Terminate the process
        Exit Do
    End If
Loop
End Sub

Thank you very much it worked g8

How can we do (Exit Process Tree) using VB6?

[Nightwalker83]

How can we do (Exit Process Tree) using VB6?

You are better off creating you own topic to ask the question is instead of hijack someone else's topic.