PsKill v1.17
By Mark Russinovich
Published: March 30, 2023
Download PsTools (5 MB)
Introduction
Windows NT/2000 does not come with a command-line 'kill' utility. You can get one in the Windows NT or Win2K Resource Kit, but the kit's utility can only terminate processes on the local computer. PsKill is a kill utility that not only does what the Resource Kit's version does, but can also kill processes on remote systems. You don't even have to install a client on the target computer to use PsKill to terminate a remote process.
Installation
Just copy PsKill onto your executable path, and type pskill with command-line options defined below.
Using PsKill
See the September 2004 issue of Windows IT Pro Magazine for Mark's article that covers advanced usage of PsKill.
Running PsKill with a process ID directs it to kill the process of that ID on the local computer. If you specify a process name PsKill will kill all processes that have that name.
Usage: pskill [- ] [-t] [\\computer [-u username] [-p password]] <process name | process id>
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| - | Displays the supported options. |
| -t | Kill the process and its descendants. |
| \\computer | Specifies the computer on which the process you want to terminate is executing. The remote computer must be accessible via the NT network neighborhood. |
| -u username | If you want to kill a process on a remote system and the account you are executing in does not have administrative privileges on the remote system then you must login as an administrator using this command-line option. If you do not include the password with the -p option then PsKill will prompt you for the password without echoing your input to the display. |
| -p password | This option lets you specify the login password on the command line so that you can use PsList from batch files. If you specify an account name and omit the -p option PsList prompts you interactively for a password. |
| process id | Specifies the process ID of the process you want to kill. |
| process name | Specifies the process name of the process or processes you want to kill. |
PsKill Microsoft KB Article
This Microsoft KB article references PsKill:
810596: PSVR2002: "There Is No Information to Display in This View" Error Message When You Try to Access a Project View (https://support.microsoft.com/kb/810596)
Download PsTools (5 MB)
PsTools
PsKill is part of a growing kit of Sysinternals command-line tools that aid in the administration of local and remote systems named PsTools.
Runs on:
- Client: Windows 8.1 and higher.
- Server: Windows Server 2012 and higher.