Technology Notebook

Windows XP::Client::Terminate Process

FROM TechTarget:
How to avoid 'end process' messages

When an application stops responding with the "not responding" message, Windows XP pauses for a short while before prompting a user to shut down the application. Choosing to end the process in Task Manager prompts the user with even more messages.

A simple registry hack allows XP to kill a hung process automatically, eliminating this problem altogether.

Step 1:
To make the change only for you:
Open REGEDIT and browse to HKEY_CURRENT_USER
To make the change for all users:
Open REGEDIT and browse to HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT


Step 2:
Open the Control Panel key
Open the Desktop key


Step 3:
In the right pane, select the AutoEndTasks value
Change the value to 1 to automatically end hung applications
A value of 0 is the default and prompts the user for the next step


Step 4:
Reboot the system for the setting to take effect.
Instead of rebooting, kill the explorer.exe process in Task Manager, then click File on the menu and select New Task (run). Enter explorer.exe in the dialog box and press Enter. This will force Windows to stop and, upon restarting, reread the registry.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Scott Simon is a senior network services administrator at Resurrection Health Care in Chicago. You can contact him at ssimon@reshealthcare.org.