you must kill child process too if any spawned to kill successfully your process

taskkill /IM "process_name" /T /F

/T = kills child process

/F = forceful termination of your process
Answer from aaa on Stack Overflow
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python - Port 8000, PID 4, not able to kill, taskill /f /pid 4, Access Denied - Stack Overflow
C:\>taskkill /f /pid 4 ERROR: The process with PID 4 could not be terminated. Reason: Access is denied. More on stackoverflow.com
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Task manager: access denied when I attempt to end a task!
In windows 7 this is absolutely ... "error: access denied". Please FIX this! I can't even imagine how annoying this would be if I needed to remove malware or something! I'm banging my head against the wall here! I'm trying very hard to like Windows 8, truly I am. Apart from this I don't have many other complaints, but I NEED to be able to end troublesome tasks on an as needed basis without the operating system questioning me! I'm using an admin level account. I've tried using taskkill /PID ### /f and ... More on answers.microsoft.com
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May 29, 2016
I tried "taskkill /F /PID (number" but no effect - access denied
I know you are an administrator. But are you opening your command line by right clicking and "run as administrator"? More on reddit.com
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3
0
November 14, 2019
Kill a process with access denied ?

Try using PSEXEC to launch CMD as SYSTEM then taskkill the pid.

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August 19, 2019
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Microsoft Learn
learn.microsoft.com › en-us › answers › questions › 184056 › kill-other-users-process-in-task-manager-access-de
Kill other users process in Task Manager "Access Denied" Server 2019 - Microsoft Q&A
December 2, 2020 - Please use domain admin account to locally log onto the server and then run command prompt as administrator. Input command"taskkill /f /PID processID" to try again.
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The Windows Club
thewindowsclub.com › the windows club › unable to terminate process, access is denied in windows 11
Unable to terminate process, Access is denied, The operation could not be completed
To force kill a Windows process when access is denied, open Task Manager, locate the process, and note its PID. Then, open Command Prompt as an administrator and type taskkill /PID <PID> /F replacing “<PID>” with the actual process ID.
Published   June 18, 2025
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SmartTechWays
smarttechways.com › home › taskkill error access denied
Taskkill Error Access denied - SmartTechWays - Innovative Solutions for Smart Businesses
January 8, 2026 - C:\Users>taskkill /F /PID 10124 ERROR: The process with PID 10124 could not be terminated. Reason: Access is denied. C:\Windows\system32>TASKKILL /F /FI "USERNAME eq NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM" /PID 10124 SUCCESS: The process with PID 10124 has been terminated.
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4iT
4it.com.au › knowledge base › error: the process with pid xxxx could not be terminated. reason: access is denied
ERROR: The Process with PID xxxx could not be terminated. Reason: Access is denied
December 1, 2022 - We have found that the best way to kill a process in Windows where you are getting an Access denied message is to use a tool like Process Hacker. Sometimes there are processes however which can’t be killed without rebooting the machine.
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EaseUS
easeus.com › computer instruction › can't end task access denied (cuauses & solutions)👍
Can't End Task Access Denied (Cuauses & Solutions)👍
July 10, 2025 - And it's quite easy to do as well, ... and open the command prompt. Step 2. Type the following task kill command: "taskkill /im process-name /f" Step 3....
Find elsewhere
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Eleven Forum
elevenforum.com › windows support forums › general support
Access Denied when trying to kill stuck processes | Windows 11 Forum
February 2, 2024 - Create a shortcut with target C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /c taskkill /im explorer.exe /f & start explorer.exe Name it Kill Explorer (or whatever) Right click on the shortcut. select properties general tab-advanced-check run as administrator shortcut tab- change the shortcut icon to one of your choosing Apply-OK You can pin this icon to taskbar or start menu. ... I am not sure but I think the "kill not responding processes" I have added to context menu does the same and fails with the "access denied" error.
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Eleven Forum
elevenforum.com › windows support forums › general support
killing stubborn processes | Windows 11 Forum
June 20, 2025 - Reason: Access is denied. C:\>taskkill /f /t /PID 10296 ERROR: The process with PID 10296 (child process of PID 11824) could not be terminated. Reason: Access is denied. C:\>taskkill /f /t /PID 11824 ERROR: The process "11824" not found. 3. Try to kill with wmic.
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/commandline › i tried "taskkill /f /pid (number" but no effect - access denied
r/commandline on Reddit: I tried "taskkill /F /PID (number" but no effect - access denied
November 14, 2019 -

Of course i'm administrator in my pc, windows 8.1.

I changed ownership of folder and subfolders in safe mode to my account. But it doesn't help. In services.msc start and stop are grayed out. I was able to change startup to manual but this program still started automatically. If i try to delete this program, i get message than i have to get permission by administrator. But i am administrator.

Shortly: WTF?

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iSumsoft
isumsoft.com › home › task manager access denied, unable to terminate process [soloved]
Task Manager Access Denied, Unable to Terminate Process [SOLOVED]
September 8, 2020 - Execute the taskkill command like this: taskkill /im filename.exe /t Note: Replacing filename.exe with whatever filename the program you want to close is using. The /t option makes sure any child processes are closed as well. If in the very rare situation that you don’t know the filename, but do know the PID (process ID), you can execute taskkill like this instead:
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MiniTool
minitool.com › home › news › 5 fixes to unable to terminate process access is denied
Quick Fixes: Unable to Terminate Process Access Is Denied
November 29, 2024 - Remember to replace the process name with the actual one. If you keep receiving the “unable to terminate process access is denied” error message, your computer may have been attacked by a virus.
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Overclockers
overclockers.com › home › forums › software › microsoft operating systems
How do I kill an 'access denied' process? | Overclockers Forums
May 18, 2005 - http://www.petri.co.il/download_free_reskit_tools.htm Use kill instead of 'taskkill' as the article suggests - Eg: Kill <PID>
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Broadcom Community
community.broadcom.com › symantecenterprise › communities › community-home › digestviewer › viewthread
Taskkill - Access Denied | Endpoint Protection
We have a server running an app that has an uptime requiremtne of 24/7 with 1 scheduled monthly reboot. The server is 2008 R2 Standard running 12.1.6 MP4 and h
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/sysadmin › how is this even possible? not able to kill process, either from task manager -> end task or command prompt administrator.
r/sysadmin on Reddit: How is this even possible? Not able to kill process, either from Task Manager -> End Task or command prompt administrator.
June 14, 2025 -

Windows 11 with today update complete.

C:\Windows\System32>tasklist | findstr /I photoshop
Photoshop.exe 110556 Console 1 4.824.320

C:\Windows\System32>taskkill /F /PID 110556
ERROR: The process with PID 110556 could not be terminated.
Reason: There is no running instance of the task.

https://imgur.com/a/CIpNGEa