Introduction to Stopping Processes with WMIIf ever you wish to stop or terminate a Windows
process, then this is the page for you. Before you begin killing processes, you may wish to list processes running on a the Windows Server 2003 or XP computer. Task Manager is a great utility to match the names of the programs
with their processes, you would not want to inadvertently kill the wrong process! Topics for Terminating a Process
Perhaps you wish to restart a process, if so, then obviously you need to stop the process before you can start it again. Before the WMI script,
can stop the program you need to know the precise name of the corresponding program.
One way to investigate the names would be to Launch Task Manager, select the Application tab, right click the Task and then choose, Go to Process. Examples of processes that you could terminate include, spoolsv.exe, outlook.exe. Another reason why you may wish to investigate, then kill processes is if a virus manages to launch itself as a process.
Once you spot the impostor, then the next step is to create a WMI script,
which terminates that virus \ process.
The purpose of this script is to terminate a process on the local Windows machine. Think of this script as a preliminary script leading the main event in Example 2. Prerequisites for your WMI Script
Run this script on Windows Server 2003 or XP.
Naturally, if the named process does not exist, there is nothing for the script to terminate. Therefore, you need to start the process referenced on line 9, in my example this process (program) is calc.exe.
Consider running my StartProcessScript first.
Note the .terminate method does not work with NT 4.0 or Windows 9x machines.
Instructions for Terminating a Process
- Copy and paste the example script below into notepad or a VBScript editor.
- Save the file with a .vbs extension, for example: ProcessKill.vbs
- Double click ProcessKill.vbs and check Task Manger, Application Tab. You may actually wish to start both Calc.exe and Task manager before your run the script.
' ProcessKillLocal.vbs
' Sample VBScript to kill a program
' Author Guy Thomas http://computerperformance.co.uk/
' Version 2.7 - December 2005
' ------------------------
-------------------------------'
Option Explicit
Dim objWMIService, objProcess, colProcess
Dim strComputer, strProcessKill
strComputer = "."
strProcessKill = "'calc.exe'"
Set
objWMIService = GetObject("winmgmts:" _
& "{impersonationLevel=impersonate}!\\" _
& strComputer & "\root\cimv2")
Set colProcess = objWMIService.ExecQuery _
("Select * from Win32_Process Where
Name = " & strProcessKill )
For Each objProcess in colProcess
objProcess.Terminate()
Next
WSCript.Echo "Just killed process " & strProcessKill _
& " on " & strComputer
WScript.Quit
' End
of WMI Example of a Kill Process
WMI Tutorial - Learning PointsFrom a WMI perspective
1) This script builds on the basic WMI command in Example 1. The heart of the script is the Win32_Process. Once we have selected the strProcessKill, then we call for the .Terminate method to
close the program without issuing any warning to the user. From a VBScript perspective 2) Study the VBScript syntax used just before the variable strProcessKill:
("Select *
from Win32_Process Where Name = " & strProcessKill). For example, see where the speech marks end in relation to the bracket. 3) Although the script only terminates one process, it still has to loop through all the running processes to select the process =
strProcessKill. For Each... In... Next handles this scripting structure.
This script builds on Example 1 and adds the ability to terminate a process on a remote machine. Prerequisites for your WMI Script
Naturally, if the named process does not exist, there is nothing for the script to terminate. Therefore, you need to start the process referenced on line 9, in my example this process (program) is calc.exe.
Note the .terminate method does not work with NT 4.0 or Windows 9x machines.
Instructions for Terminating a Process
- Copy and paste the example script below into notepad or a VBScript editor.
- Save the file with a .vbs extension, for example: ProcessKill.vbs
- Double click ProcessKill.vbs and check processes in Task Manger, there should be no calc.exe.
' ProcessKillRemote.vbs
' Sample VBScript to kill a program
' Author Guy Thomas http://computerperformance.co.uk/
' Version 2.9 - December 2005
' ------------------------
-------------------------------'
Option Explicit
Dim objWMIService, objProcess, colProcess
Dim strComputer, strProcessKill, strInput
strProcessKill = "'calc.exe'"
' Input Box to get name
of machine to run the process
Do
strComputer = (InputBox(" ComputerName to Run Script",_
"Computer Name"))
If strComputer <> "" Then
strInput = True
End if
Loop until strInput = True
Set objWMIService = GetObject("winmgmts:" _
& "{impersonationLevel=impersonate}!\\" _
& strComputer & "\root\cimv2")
Set colProcess = objWMIService.ExecQuery _
("Select * from Win32_Process Where Name = " & strProcessKill )
For Each objProcess in colProcess
objProcess.Terminate()
Next
WSCript.Echo "Just killed process " & strProcessKill _
& " on " & strComputer
WScript.Quit
' End of WMI Example of a Kill Process
WMI Tutorial - Learning PointsFrom a WMI perspective
1) This script builds on the basic WMI command in Example 1. The heart of the script is the Win32_Process. Once we have selected the strProcessKill, then we call for the .Terminate method to
close the program without issuing any warning to the user. From a VBScript perspective 2) Study the VBScript syntax used just before the variable strProcessKill:
("Select *
from Win32_Process Where Name = " & strProcessKill). For example, see where the speech marks end in relation to the bracket. 3) Although the script only terminates one process, it still has to loop through all the running processes to select the process =
strProcessKill. For Each... In... Next handles this scripting structure. This page
builds logically and is based on the assumption you have a Windows Server 2003 or XP machine. We start with a simple WMI script which lists the processes (programs) then echoes the result to the screen. The second example introduces the powerful .terminate method which kills
the named program without warning the users.
Their topics and material are ideal for getting you started with VBScript. The
videos are easy to follow and you can control the pace. Try their free demo material and then see if you want to buy the full package.
See more about VB Script Training CD.
See Also
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