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Non responding windows 7 system


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I read on the groups somewhere about the system not responding.

 

I am having this issue with the latest version where there is no processor activity but yet the system is not responding very quickly. After hitting ctrl + shift + ESC to bring up task manager and then killing both the meprox64.exe and macexp.exe my system to returns to normal.

 

I then am unable to execute macro express again as it just kills the machine as before. I have to do a reboot for me to be able to open macro express again.

 

I was wondering if this is still an issue for people

 

Windows 7 64bit

Macro Express 4.1.5.1

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I had exactly the same thing happen to me yesterday and I informally reported it to ISS. Was not able to reproduce. I had another episode where it appeared Windows Explorer simply became unresponsive so taskbar and all such things froze. I could open Task Manager but it would never propagate the list of apps and became unresponsive. The odd thing it that I could see Outlook in the background still processing incoming email, giving alerts and such and by desktop background changed. IOW it seemed like all the other apps behind were running just fine. Go figure.

 

I've been busy with other projects so just this week I've been able to sit down and work on a backlog of macro work and I have to admit I was getting pretty frustrated with crashes and short comings like the Split command with a large array or the several second long Clear Variables. I hope the new version is released soon and solves some of these problems. Although for what I am doing I should really be using a proper programming platform.

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Well It happened again. I guess it is something to do with keyboard shortcuts as it only seems to happen when I have been using other applications shortcut keys.

 

I have the "Auto Restore the keyboard and mouse hooks" off in the hope that it was this that was the problem but it made no difference today.

 

Is there anyway to make Macro Express ignore all shortcut keys as I don't really use them and it might help to determine if in fact it is keyboard shortcuts that are the issue.

 

:huh:

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So, further reports of frozen systems.

 

Here too.

 

It is puzzling. I had a few weeks when it did not seem to happen.

 

Like others, forcing MacroExpress Pro to close – I use this "C:\Program Files\Sysinternals Suite\pskill.exe" -t macexp.exe – brings it back to life.

 

I was wondering if it isn't really MacroExpress Pro that is at fault.

 

One way to test this would be to find another process that I can kill without risking doom and destruction on my PC.

 

In that way I can test to see if it is just the act of forcing something to shut that breathes life back into the PC.

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Marvin Metal Man? Is that an alias for Marvin the Paranoid Android? ;-)

 

One thing I noticed is that it appears under normal circumstances I have only one MEProx64 but when the hang happened I found two of them.

 

It's odd that several people have just started experiencing this problem even though we have not changed versions. This often points to something else changing. Like a Windows Update perhaps.

 

I don't think there's a normal way to disable the keyboard hooks but you can disable the clipboard hook. I believe that the other molasses (See our other large thread about a situation where inputs slow to a crawl under no CPU load) experience is cured by disabling the clipboard hooks.

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I'm pleased to see someone keeping an open mind on the cause of an ME problem. While the chances are that it is related to ME, it's foolish to assume symptom equals cause. When I suggested that some weeks back it was met with howls of (polite) derision. Since then I have a perfect example of symptom not equalling cause:

 

My ATi TV app is old and I always expected to get problems with future XP updates. I found that the app was causing more and more problems and crashing when running in the background. It turns out the problem was Nero. At some point Nero installed a dll that was used by ATi TV. It installed the dll in its own folder and deleted the original copy. ATi TV still functioned but at times conflicted with other apps running. I only found the problem when a recent Nero update deleted the dll and installed an updated version with a different name. ATi TV lost some of its functionality completely. After investigating, I installed a copy of the original dll from an old backup, re-registered in Windows and now ATi TV works perfectly.

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That's why it's not-so-affectionately called "DLL Hell". I cannot tell you how many hours I've spent there but then again i was billing hours for at least some of it. But you're right, it's never that simple.

 

If you remember with the molasses I'm the one who suggested that it's a conflict with the clipboard. However in my purist view when a program fails it's always a design flaw. If your ATI app had a problem had a problem with that DLL it should have given a warning and gracefully shut itself down instead of crashing in the background. With MEP I think something is causing a feedback loop. Perhaps RDClip.exe and the MEP clipboard hook are tickling the clipboard in a way that causes the other to think there's been a change and they start going round and round. MEP should have some logic that identifies hyper frequent updates and backs off if there's more than 1000 a second or whatever. Even if the real root of the problem was RDClip doing something wrong. Processes are like people in a small town. They all have different functions and work together under structure and rule. But they lock their doors and never assume the other guy will yield to his right at the intersection.

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Cory - You are indeed correct it is Marvin the Paranoid Andriod I just love Hitch Hikers ever since I heard the Radio broadcast years and years ago. Then the TV Series that was great. And I quite like the film to even though there is loads missing.

 

Back to the problem I agree that its not always a single program thats causing the issue but a clash of programs. I shall try disabling the clipboard hook for a while but I have a few macros that use it so this will be an annoyance.

 

I agree that perhaps ME could do some further coding to check if clipboard hook is getting heavy hits and pause it or something. At least we could then test it and see if it improved. But for now I shall disable the clipboard hook which sort of in a way cripples half the application for what I was using it for.

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I am creating a new macro in Macro Express 4.1.5.1. I am using the Get Control item. When I drag the crosshairs to a program window, the Get control item highlights a windows with the black line areound the window. Then my system stops responding. I must reset and reboot to get the system back working again. I have a Windows 7 64bit system. Any help would be appreciated.

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I am creating a new macro in Macro Express 4.1.5.1. I am using the Get Control item. When I drag the crosshairs to a program window, the Get control item highlights a windows with the black line areound the window. Then my system stops responding. I must reset and reboot to get the system back working again. I have a Windows 7 64bit system. Any help would be appreciated.
First you should contact ISS support and start an incident with them and probably even report it as a bug on their website. Second this should really be the beginning of a seperate thead as it is slightly OT. However you might want to drop a pointer here as they could possibly be related. However the symptoms are different.

 

I am W7U-64 as well and I have no problem using the control pointer as you described. There may be a problem with your system.

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well turning off the clipboard catching has not worked as today it did the normal and locked up the machine until killing the ME process.

 

I just wish I could replicate this so at least I could make sure I can avoid it and then give the developers a clue.

 

Mind you this time I had word open and after killing the ME process word then fell over aswell ?

 

I am just getting frustrated with it at the moment.

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Well I killed a few other programs when it first happened thinking it might have been them. But it still did not unfreeze until I killed the Macro Express processes meprox64 and macexp

 

So I will make the assumption it was the Macro express software

OK. Thanks for that.

 

Someone else had the same thought and beat me to it on the experiment front.

 

Saves me the trouble, although a single experiment isn't definitive, this seems to be pretty good evidence to me.

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One thing I noticed is that it appears under normal circumstances I have only one MEProx64 but when the hang happened I found two of them.

 

Ditto.

 

Mine slows to impossibly slow crawl with no CPU load until I kill Macro Express Pro (v4.1.5.1).

Two "MEProx64" process running each time this happens.

When only one "MEProx64.exe" process running system is OK.

 

 

I have tried to explore further with Process Explorer, etc. but system too hopelessly slow when this occurs and gave up.

Came to ME-forum to see if others having same issue.

 

Just in case, I disabled my few 'scheduled' macros but problem still occurs. I have no idea how, when or why that 2nd "MEProx64.ex" shows up but always there when system goes into molasses mode. I quit processes to near retail Win7 minimum but slow down only clears when finally (or first) killing ME.

 

I re-wrote my most used scripts in AutoIt and quit using ME as a startup until fix is hopefully found.

 

I have been loving and using ME since 2003.

234 macros currently indexed (though maybe 25% are obsolete and disabled).

 

Scott

 

 

Brand new (3 day old) Win 7 64bit Home Premium desktop box (ASUS Essentio-CG5275)

Intel i5 650 3.2GHz CPU , 8GB, 1TB

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I am hoping that I have managed to track down how I get the issue and it seems to do with the macro that I have that looks for a window title.

 

I have a macro that looks for the window title of "Downloads" and then fires off the macro and sort the relevant extensions into the relevant folders. If I have for example Microsoft Word or iTunes or BBC iPlayer open and open the downloads folder vis the task bar quick link the marco then fires off creates a second mexprox64 process and the system then goes.

 

The same also happens if I just open explorer whilst these apps are open and the watch for folder macro is triggered. So to test this theory at the end of the macro I told it to restart ME once it has finished to see if it would stop the system from at least slowing down. It correctly fired off the macro and then restarted ME but I noticed that for some reason it was restarting ME constantly without me doing anything and then eventually crashed with a ntdll.dll error.

 

I then disabled this macro and tried to recreate the error by having those apps open and trying a different macro that was not watching for a window name for example a clipboard one and that did not seem to cause any issues. So I enabled the watch folder macro again and did the same and straight away it caused the issue ?

 

Perhaps people could try that to see if they have that issue the macro is below or perhaps its the macro itself. Which ever it is I have turned it off and dont use the find window option at the moment.

 

 

 

----------Download Sort Macro------------

 

 

<TEXT BOX DISPLAY Title="Bug Tracker" Content="{\\rtf1\\ansi\\ansicpg1252\\deff0\\deflang2057{\\fonttbl{\\f0\\fnil Tahoma;}}\r\n\\viewkind4\\uc1\\pard\\f0\\fs16 \r\n\\par }\r\n" Left="Center" Top="Center" Width="278" Height="200" Monitor="1" OnTop="TRUE" Keep_Focus="TRUE" Mode="\x01" Delay="0" _ENABLED="FALSE"/>

<REPEAT WITH FOLDER Path="C:\\Users\\marvin\\Downloads\\" OnlyFiles="TRUE" Destination="%FileName%" FullPath="TRUE" ProcSubfolders="FALSE"/>

<VARIABLE SET FROM FILE Filename="%FileName%" Option="\x01" Extension="%FileExtension%" Expand="FALSE" Flags="\x08"/>

<IF VARIABLE Variable="%FileExtension%" Condition="\x00" Value=".wmv" IgnoreCase="FALSE"/>

<WAIT FOR FILE TO BE READY Filename="%FileName%" Time="2" Indefinite="TRUE" Hours="0" Minutes="0" Seconds="0"/>

<DATE/TIME Format="ss-mm-hh" Flags="\xB0" Date="30/03/2010 07:22:49" Day_Offset="0" Month_Offset="0" Year_Offset="0" Hour_Offset="0" Minute_Offset="0" Second_Offset="0" Left="Center" Top="Center" Monitor="1" Variable="%txtNowTime%" IsDateVar="FALSE"/>

<UPDATE TEXTBOX Header="Bug Tracker" Content="{\\rtf1\\ansi\\ansicpg1252\\deff0\\deflang2057{\\fonttbl{\\f0\\fnil\\fcharset0 Tahoma;}{\\f1\\fnil Tahoma;}}\r\n\\viewkind4\\uc1\\pard\\f0\\fs16 Time Now : \\f1 %txtNowTime%\r\n\\par \r\n\\par \\f0 File Extension : \\f1 %file_extension%\r\n\\par \r\n\\par \\f0 File Name : \\f1 %FileName%\r\n\\par }\r\n" _ENABLED="FALSE"/>

<MOVE FILE/FILES Source="%FileName%" Dest="C:\\Users\\marvin\\Downloads\\Movies\\%txtNowTime%.wmv" Progress="FALSE" Recurse="FALSE"/>

<END IF/>

<IF VARIABLE Variable="%FileExtension%" Condition="\x00" Value=".mpg" IgnoreCase="FALSE"/>

<WAIT FOR FILE TO BE READY Filename="%FileName%" Time="1" Indefinite="TRUE" Hours="0" Minutes="0" Seconds="0"/>

<DATE/TIME Format="ss-mm-hh" Flags="\xB0" Date="30/03/2010 07:22:49" Day_Offset="0" Month_Offset="0" Year_Offset="0" Hour_Offset="0" Minute_Offset="0" Second_Offset="0" Left="Center" Top="Center" Monitor="1" Variable="%txtNowTime%" IsDateVar="FALSE"/>

<UPDATE TEXTBOX Header="Bug Tracker" Content="{\\rtf1\\ansi\\ansicpg1252\\deff0\\deflang2057{\\fonttbl{\\f0\\fnil\\fcharset0 Tahoma;}{\\f1\\fnil Tahoma;}}\r\n\\viewkind4\\uc1\\pard\\f0\\fs16 Time Now : \\f1 %txtNowTime%\r\n\\par \r\n\\par \\f0 File Extension : \\f1 %file_extension%\r\n\\par \r\n\\par \\f0 File Name : \\f1 %FileName%\r\n\\par }\r\n" _ENABLED="FALSE"/>

<MOVE FILE/FILES Source="%FileName%" Dest="C:\\Users\\marvin\\Downloads\\Movies\\%txtNowTime%.mpg" Progress="FALSE" Recurse="FALSE"/>

<END IF/>

<IF VARIABLE Variable="%FileExtension%" Condition="\x00" Value=".mp4" IgnoreCase="FALSE"/>

<WAIT FOR FILE TO BE READY Filename="%FileName%" Time="1" Indefinite="TRUE" Hours="0" Minutes="0" Seconds="0"/>

<DATE/TIME Format="ss-mm-hh" Flags="\xB0" Date="30/03/2010 07:22:49" Day_Offset="0" Month_Offset="0" Year_Offset="0" Hour_Offset="0" Minute_Offset="0" Second_Offset="0" Left="Center" Top="Center" Monitor="1" Variable="%txtNowTime%" IsDateVar="FALSE"/>

<UPDATE TEXTBOX Header="Bug Tracker" Content="{\\rtf1\\ansi\\ansicpg1252\\deff0\\deflang2057{\\fonttbl{\\f0\\fnil\\fcharset0 Tahoma;}{\\f1\\fnil Tahoma;}}\r\n\\viewkind4\\uc1\\pard\\f0\\fs16 Time Now : \\f1 %txtNowTime%\r\n\\par \r\n\\par \\f0 File Extension : \\f1 %file_extension%\r\n\\par \r\n\\par \\f0 File Name : \\f1 %FileName%\r\n\\par }\r\n" _ENABLED="FALSE"/>

<MOVE FILE/FILES Source="%FileName%" Dest="C:\\Users\\marvin\\Downloads\\Movies\\%txtNowTime%.mp4" Progress="FALSE" Recurse="FALSE"/>

<END IF/>

<IF VARIABLE Variable="%FileExtension%" Condition="\x00" Value=".gif" IgnoreCase="FALSE"/>

<WAIT FOR FILE TO BE READY Filename="%FileName%" Time="1" Indefinite="TRUE" Hours="0" Minutes="0" Seconds="0"/>

<DATE/TIME Format="ss-mm-hh" Flags="\xB0" Date="30/03/2010 07:22:49" Day_Offset="0" Month_Offset="0" Year_Offset="0" Hour_Offset="0" Minute_Offset="0" Second_Offset="0" Left="Center" Top="Center" Monitor="1" Variable="%txtNowTime%" IsDateVar="FALSE"/>

<UPDATE TEXTBOX Header="Bug Tracker" Content="{\\rtf1\\ansi\\ansicpg1252\\deff0\\deflang2057{\\fonttbl{\\f0\\fnil\\fcharset0 Tahoma;}{\\f1\\fnil Tahoma;}}\r\n\\viewkind4\\uc1\\pard\\f0\\fs16 Time Now : \\f1 %txtNowTime%\r\n\\par \r\n\\par \\f0 File Extension : \\f1 %file_extension%\r\n\\par \r\n\\par \\f0 File Name : \\f1 %FileName%\r\n\\par }\r\n" _ENABLED="FALSE"/>

<MOVE FILE/FILES Source="%FileName%" Dest="C:\\Users\\marvin\\Downloads\\Pictures\\" Progress="FALSE" Recurse="FALSE"/>

<END IF/>

<IF VARIABLE Variable="%FileExtension%" Condition="\x00" Value=".avi" IgnoreCase="FALSE"/>

<WAIT FOR FILE TO BE READY Filename="%FileName%" Time="1" Indefinite="TRUE" Hours="0" Minutes="0" Seconds="0"/>

<DATE/TIME Format="ss-mm-hh" Flags="\xB0" Date="30/03/2010 07:22:49" Day_Offset="0" Month_Offset="0" Year_Offset="0" Hour_Offset="0" Minute_Offset="0" Second_Offset="0" Left="Center" Top="Center" Monitor="1" Variable="%txtNowTime%" IsDateVar="FALSE"/>

<UPDATE TEXTBOX Header="Bug Tracker" Content="{\\rtf1\\ansi\\ansicpg1252\\deff0\\deflang2057{\\fonttbl{\\f0\\fnil\\fcharset0 Tahoma;}{\\f1\\fnil Tahoma;}}\r\n\\viewkind4\\uc1\\pard\\f0\\fs16 Time Now : \\f1 %txtNowTime%\r\n\\par \r\n\\par \\f0 File Extension : \\f1 %file_extension%\r\n\\par \r\n\\par \\f0 File Name : \\f1 %FileName%\r\n\\par }\r\n" _ENABLED="FALSE"/>

<MOVE FILE/FILES Source="%FileName%" Dest="C:\\Users\\marvin\\Downloads\\Movies\\%txtNowTime%.avi" Progress="FALSE" Recurse="FALSE"/>

<END IF/>

<IF VARIABLE Variable="%FileExtension%" Condition="\x00" Value=".flv" IgnoreCase="FALSE"/>

<WAIT FOR FILE TO BE READY Filename="%FileName%" Time="1" Indefinite="TRUE" Hours="0" Minutes="0" Seconds="0"/>

<DATE/TIME Format="ss-mm-hh" Flags="\xB0" Date="30/03/2010 07:22:49" Day_Offset="0" Month_Offset="0" Year_Offset="0" Hour_Offset="0" Minute_Offset="0" Second_Offset="0" Left="Center" Top="Center" Monitor="1" Variable="%txtNowTime%" IsDateVar="FALSE"/>

<UPDATE TEXTBOX Header="Bug Tracker" Content="{\\rtf1\\ansi\\ansicpg1252\\deff0\\deflang2057{\\fonttbl{\\f0\\fnil\\fcharset0 Tahoma;}{\\f1\\fnil Tahoma;}}\r\n\\viewkind4\\uc1\\pard\\f0\\fs16 Time Now : \\f1 %txtNowTime%\r\n\\par \r\n\\par \\f0 File Extension : \\f1 %file_extension%\r\n\\par \r\n\\par \\f0 File Name : \\f1 %FileName%\r\n\\par }\r\n" _ENABLED="FALSE"/>

<MOVE FILE/FILES Source="%FileName%" Dest="C:\\Users\\marvin\\Downloads\\Movies\\%txtNowTime%.flv" Progress="FALSE" Recurse="FALSE"/>

<END IF/>

<IF VARIABLE Variable="%FileExtension%" Condition="\x00" Value=".exe" IgnoreCase="FALSE"/>

<WAIT FOR FILE TO BE READY Filename="%FileName%" Time="1" Indefinite="TRUE" Hours="0" Minutes="0" Seconds="0"/>

<MOVE FILE/FILES Source="%FileName%" Dest="C:\\Users\\marvin\\Downloads\\EXE Files\\" Progress="FALSE" Recurse="FALSE"/>

<END IF/>

<IF VARIABLE Variable="%FileExtension%" Condition="\x00" Value=".zip" IgnoreCase="FALSE"/>

<WAIT FOR FILE TO BE READY Filename="%FileName%" Time="1" Indefinite="TRUE" Hours="0" Minutes="0" Seconds="0"/>

<MOVE FILE/FILES Source="%FileName%" Dest="C:\\Users\\marvin\\Downloads\\Compressed Files\\" Progress="FALSE" Recurse="FALSE"/>

<END IF/>

<END REPEAT/>

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It seems that this is impossible to get round outside of ME being revised. There should never be more than one instance of the exe. It could be that in the restart test, on every restart the new instance is re-running the restart command, adding one every time.

 

I don't have x64 so I can't run any tests. The "Download" file issue can surely be dealt with quite simply if it is related to "Wait for" type activation. Run the macro at intervals (every hour, day?) to move the files out of the download folder. Personally I'd do it that way anyway (or manually). How important is it for it to be done "right now"? I don't like surprise activations, possibly messing up stuff I'm doing manually (and as I've often mentioned before in the forum, anything of that nature I precede with a 10 sec grace period with audible warnings). If the macro is working overnight, who cares if the files are not sorted and moved until 5am? Temporary resolutions are up to you and your priorities of course.

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

We have made a number of changes to correct this problem. The feedback we have received indicates that Macro Express Pro v 4.1.6.1 has corrected this issue. We advise all to upgrade to the latest version of Macro Express Pro.

Sorry, but this statement is no longer true.

 

I have just experienced my worst MEP lockup ever! With MEP v4.1.6.1 loaded but not running any macros, suddenly my machine slowed down in the same way I've reported before. Bringing up Task Manager under Windows 7 Professional x64 proved difficult, but after perhaps 5 minutes I ended up with multiple copies running. Killing "MacExp.exe *32" didn't solve the problem. But killing MEProx64.exe allowed the machine to return to normal.

 

Then, for the first time ever, restarting MEP immediately brought my machine to its knees again. This time I killed the 2 MEP processes in reverse order, and it was only after the 2nd process had been terminated that the machine returned to its usual excellent performance.

 

My only solution was to reboot, as logging out and back in also failed to solve the problem.

 

I'm almost certain the problem is caused by some strange failure by MEP to interact with other processes. At the time of this failure, I had a video editing program running (VideoRedo TV Suite v4.20.5.600) and I was playing Backgammon (GNU v0.90-mingw 20100220). I had just saved an edited video when the problem occurred.

 

MEP is clearly the culprit, even if the original cause is (as I suspect) a video problem of some sort. There is absolutely no possibilty whatever that any other program is to blame. Otherwise the unloading and reloading of MEP would not immediately cause the same problem to disappear and reappear, over and over again.

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I too have experienced a MEP bog down that has twice forced me to do a hard reset on my W7 64 bit system. I reported it to ISS and even included a video recording. In both cases I was in the scripting editor and tried to test run a simple macro with F9. The macros failed to execute and quickly the title bar appended the "Not Responding". My mouse could still move but start menu was unresponsive. Some things like some windows could be focused but clicking or typing would not work anywhere. The three finger salute allowed me to pull up the task manager but it would never propagate the processes tab. I tried to CTRL+ALT+DEL again to shutdown Windows to no avail. Finally I had to push the reset button to force a hard reboot. The macro in question worked once before the freeze and after the reboot and is a fairly simple macro so I doubt that's the culprit. Anyway I'm sure they're working on it.

 

Besides that I have not experienced the "molasses" the way I would before and the symptoms are different his time so it seems like it's a different thing.

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Like others, forcing MacroExpress Pro to close – I use this "C:\Program Files\Sysinternals Suite\pskill.exe" -t macexp.exe – brings it back to life.

 

Do you run that from a shortcut? Or from Run? Or ...? In the 'frozen' state I even have trouble getting XP Task Manager open.

 

--

Terry, East Grinstead, UK

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You might consider using TaskKill.exe instead. Just type "TaskKill.exe /?" from a command prompt for usage. I believe PSKill is a Sysinternalls and has to be downloaded and installed. TaskKill comes with Windows and I think will do most things PSKill will.

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You might consider using TaskKill.exe instead. Just type "TaskKill.exe /?" from a command prompt for usage. I believe PSKill is a Sysinternalls and has to be downloaded and installed. TaskKill comes with Windows and I think will do most things PSKill will.

 

Do you find it possible to open a command prompt, enter and successfully execute that from a frozen state?

 

--

Terry, East Grinstead, UK

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