How to End All Processes in Windows 10/11

"Kill All Background Processes in Windows 10/11" Overview

Your system is made up of multiple processes running in the background. Each of these has the primary task of keeping your system running smoothly and preventing any errors that might cause problems. However, there may be times when you need to end a process that isn't responding or is slowing your system down.

Other reasons you might need to end a process include:

• Ensure smooth computation processes
• Boost program speed and memory performance
• Prevent deadlocks caused by circular wait

While it's not difficult to end these processes in Windows 10/11, it's best to follow the guide.

There are usually two ways to go about it. The first is to restart your system, which will fix any annoying errors. While this is the easiest solution, we've also listed five other methods that might help you in this article.

Solution 1: Terminate Background Processes via Task Manager

In Windows, the Task Manager is a built-in tool you can use to manage and control processes. It's very easy to kill background processes using the Task Manager.

Step 1: On your Windows 10/11 system, press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.

Step 2: Next, click on the "Processes" tab to view all running applications and processes in the Task Manager window, including background processes.

Step 3: Here, you can view all the background processes running on your Windows computer, select any unnecessary ones, and click on the "End Task" button to temporarily shut them down.

< strong > Step 4. < /strong> Check the CPU and memory usage in Task Manager to identify and end processes that are consuming too many resources.

Here, you can disable unnecessary third-party software and services that consume the most system resources. Make sure not to end critical system processes in the Task Manager.

Solution 2: Kill the Process via Command Prompt

If you want to stop all processes at once, rather than individually, try the following.

Step 1. Open the Command Prompt (Win + X) or search for CMD or Command Prompt in the Windows 10/11 search bar.

Step 2. To view the list of all running tasks on your Windows 10/11 system, type `Tasklist` and press Enter.

Step 3: A list of all running programs on your system will appear, and you can decide which ones to end.

Type the "Tasklist" command in CMD

Step 4: Typing in taskkill /IM /F won't work, as you haven't specified the file type yet.

Step 5: To learn more about file types, use the "TASKKILL /?" command. This will display a list of parameters, with explanations of which to add before the task name.

Step 6. We use the command 'taskkill /IM notepad.exe' to terminate all instances of Notepad currently running on the system. This command will now close all instances of Notepad running on the system.

Solution 3: Start your computer in a clean boot state to stop the process

A Clean Boot is an advanced troubleshooting technique that disables startup programs and services temporarily. This allows you to start Windows with the least number of drivers and programs. To make this solution work, you need to restart your computer.

Step 1: Start > Run > Type 'msconfig' > Press Enter

Step 2. Go to Start, Run, type msconfig, and press Enter. On the Services tab, check the box that says Hide all Microsoft services, and then click Disable All.

Step 3: Open Task Manager from the Start menu.

Step 4. Click on “Disable” next to each startup item.

Block all Microsoft services

Step 5: Restart your computer after closing the Task Manager.

Solution 4: Stop Third-Party Services on Windows

Many third-party software services can be found running in the Task Manager background processes. If you right-click on a service and select "End Task," it will be temporarily disabled and reactivate upon the next computer restart.

To prevent them from restarting when you reboot, go to Services and disable them.

Generally, there are two simple ways to open Windows services:

• Method 1: Find the software service you want to disable under the "Processes" tab in Task Manager. Right-click it and select "Open Service."
• Method 2: To open the Windows Services Manager, press Windows + R, type "msc" into the Run dialog box, and press Enter.

Then locate the service and double-click on it to open its Properties dialog, and under the “Startup type” dropdown, select “Disabled.” Click “Apply” to apply the changes and then “OK” to confirm. This should help reduce background processes in Windows 10.

Solution 5: End the Process via Desktop Shortcut

The last recommended solution is to create a desktop shortcut to end the suspend process. This method is a bit trickier, but it ensures a quick fix.

The first step is to get to your computer's desktop. Press the Windows + D keys to quickly minimize all windows and go to the desktop.

Step 2. Right-click on your desktop and select New, then Shortcut.

Step 3: When the "Create Shortcut" menu appears on your screen, type in the following command as the path for the item:

"Task ended /f /fi \"Status eq Not Responding"."

Step 4. Click “Next” to continue creating the shortcut.

Step 5: Name your shortcut, then click “Finish” to create it.

The shortcut should now appear on your desktop. When you double-click it, the program or software that crashed will be completely closed since the shortcut ends the hanging process.

Conclusions

To speed up your computer, you can stop processes that you no longer need. This will make your system more responsive and allow your computer to run more efficiently. Check in on your processes regularly to keep them under control. You can end processes using any of these methods in Windows 10/11.