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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Kill a process with access denied ?

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

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🌐 r/sysadmin
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August 19, 2019
Fix: Unable to terminate process ‘Access is denied’
This problem occurs with users who try to terminate a process from the Task Manager. Once you select the process and click the End Task button, you will More on appuals.com
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September 5, 2024
Windows 10 Can’t kill process access denied what is waynotana and why is there nothing on google about it?!!?
I'd upload a copy of this file to VirusTotal. It might be something brand new. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/windows
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January 4, 2021
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 ... More on answers.microsoft.com
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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 - Could the domain admin kill processes like notepad, calculate of the standard users? 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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Windows 10 Forums
tenforums.com › general-support › 206245-taskill-via-batch-issue.html
Taskill via Batch Issue Solved - Windows 10 Forums
Until recently a batch file containing taskkill commands worked w/o issue. Now one of the commands fails (ERROR ... access denied) and the only thing different now from then is the recent windows update. I do know it does work if I open a command window and type the taskklill command there.
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Appuals
appuals.com › home › microsoft windows › windows troubleshooting
Fix: Unable to terminate process 'Access is denied'
September 5, 2024 - Right-click Command Prompt from the search results and select Run as administrator. Type taskkill /im process-name /f and press Enter. You can get the process name by right-clicking the process you want to kill (from the Task Manager) and selecting ...
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MiniTool System Booster
systembooster.minitool.com › home › boost pc › how to fix unable to terminate process access is denied?
Unable to Terminate Process Access Is Denied? Fix It Now!
July 22, 2024 - WMIC (Windows Management ... process access is denied Windows 10” message. Follow the guide to do that: 1. Type cmd in the Search box and choose Run as administrator. 2. Run the following command and replace ProcessName with the name of the process you want to terminate and press Enter. wmic process where name=’processname.exe’ delete · You can use the taskkill command in ...
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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 - WD Blue SA510 2.5 1000GB SSD as ... You should not need any tools. 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....
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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 - Well, we’ve shown 3 ways to force-quit a program, and right here we’re going to show you how to fix “Access is denied” error. First, you can execute the TASKKILL command to kill the task.
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Audministrator
audministrator.wordpress.com › 2018 › 05 › 17 › windows-taskkill-error-access-denied
Windows – Taskkill Error Access denied | audministrator
May 17, 2018 - Even if you run it with Admin privileges Example : Taskkill /IM notepad.exe /T /F SOLUTION : Just use the WMIC cmdline tool instead wmic process where name='notepad.exe' delete Enjoy !
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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 - If you keep receiving the “unable to terminate process access is denied” error message, your computer may have been attacked by a virus. In this situation, you need to use antivirus software such as Windows ...
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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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Reddit
reddit.com › r/windows › windows 10 can’t kill process access denied what is waynotana and why is there nothing on google about it?!!?
Windows 10 Can’t kill process access denied what is waynotana and why is there nothing on google about it?!!? : r/windows
January 4, 2021 - Check your Services and see if anything is out of the ordinary. Try to boot into Safe Mode and see if the process still runs. You can also download and run AutoRuns and see if you can disable it from from at Start Up. Dragonborne2020 · • 5y ago · I would run Malwarebytes.
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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 in Windows 11
Then, open Command Prompt as an administrator and type taskkill /PID <PID> /F replacing “<PID>” with the actual process ID. This command will terminate the process forcefully.
Published   June 18, 2025
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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 - Here are some of the frequently asked questions about Can't End Task and Access Denied errors: It's likely that the app the user is trying to end in Task Manager is protected by Windows services.
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Techwalla
techwalla.com › tech support › how to
How to Kill a Process if Your Access Is Denied | Techwalla
December 11, 2018 - Right-click on the "Command Prompt" icon and click "Run as Administrator." ... Once you have the command line open, type "taskkill /IM "[process-name]" /T /F" and press enter, where "process-name" is the name of the process as listed in the ...
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Appuals Community
community.appuals.com › windows troubleshooting
Fix: Unable to terminate process 'Access is denied' - Windows Troubleshooting - Appuals Community
April 26, 2024 - Originally published at: Fix: Unable to terminate process 'Access is denied' This problem happens with users who tries to terminate a process from the Task Manager. Once you select the process and click the End Task button, you will see an error message telling you that the operation could ...
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MS.Codes
ms.codes › blogs › task-manager › can-t-end-process-in-task-manager-access-denied
Can’t End Process In Task Manager Access Denied
February 29, 2024 - Firstly, make sure you have administrative privileges and try running Task Manager as an administrator. If that doesn't work, check if the process is being run by another user or system service.