--- title: "Stop-Process: find and stop a process in PowerShell" canonical: https://saasranked.com/guides/stop-process-powershell/ applies_to: Windows PowerShell 5.1, PowerShell 7 checked: 2026-09-14 (against Microsoft's documentation) updated: 2026-09-14 --- # Stop-Process: find and stop a process in PowerShell - Stop-Process -Name stops all instances with that name, while -Id stops only the process with that PID [1]. - Stop-Process doesn't ask for confirmation unless you add -Confirm, except for processes you don't own [1]. - To stop a process that another user owns, start PowerShell with the Run as administrator option [1]. - -Force stops the process without the confirmation prompt that appears for processes you don't own [1]. - Stopping a process can stop processes and services that depend on it, and in an extreme case it can stop Windows [1]. To stop a process in PowerShell, first find its name or process ID (PID) with Get-Process [2]. Then run Stop-Process -Name to stop every instance with that name, or Stop-Process -Id to stop one instance [1]. Add -WhatIf to see what would happen without stopping anything, or -Confirm to be asked before it stops [1]. ## Syntax Stop-Process picks a process by ID, by name or from a process object [1]. These are the two forms you will use most. ```powershell Stop-Process [-Id] [-PassThru] [-Force] [-WhatIf] [-Confirm] Stop-Process -Name [-PassThru] [-Force] [-WhatIf] [-Confirm] ``` - `-Id` is one or more process IDs, separated by commas. To find a PID, run `Get-Process` [1]. - `-Name` is one or more process names, separated by commas. Wildcards are allowed [1]. - `-WhatIf` shows what would happen if the cmdlet runs. The cmdlet is not run [1]. - `-Confirm` asks you before the cmdlet runs [1]. - `-Force` stops the process without asking. Without it, Stop-Process asks before it stops a process that the current user doesn't own [1]. - `-PassThru` returns an object for the stopped process. By default, Stop-Process returns no output [1]. ## Examples ### Find the process first Get-Process gets the processes on the local computer. You can name a process with `-Name` or pick one by PID with `-Id` [2]. ```powershell Get-Process -Name notepad ``` Its default table includes the columns NPM(K), PM(M), WS(M), CPU(s), Id, SI and ProcessName. The Id column is the PID [2]. ### Preview the stop with -WhatIf Run the command with `-WhatIf` first. The cmdlet does not run [1]. PowerShell lists the operation and the items it would affect instead [3]. ```powershell Stop-Process -Name "notepad" -WhatIf ``` ### Stop every instance by name This stops all instances of the Notepad process. Each instance runs in its own process, and they all share the same name [1]. ```powershell Stop-Process -Name "notepad" ``` It returns nothing by default [1]. ### Stop one instance by ID and confirm it This stops only the process with ID 3952. `-Confirm` makes PowerShell ask before it stops the process, and `-PassThru` shows the stopped process [1]. ```powershell Stop-Process -Id 3952 -Confirm -PassThru ``` Microsoft shows this output [1]: ```text Confirm Are you sure you want to perform this action? Performing operation "Stop-Process" on Target "notepad (3952)". [Y] Yes [A] Yes to All [N] No [L] No to All [S] Suspend [?] Help (default is "Y"):y Handles NPM(K) PM(K) WS(K) VM(M) CPU(s) Id ProcessName ------- ------ ----- ----- ----- ------ -- ----------- 41 2 996 3212 31 3952 notepad ``` Microsoft calls this best practice, because the prompt shows the process name as well as its ID [1]. ### Pipe a process from Get-Process You can pipe a process object to Stop-Process [1]. This lets you check the process with Get-Process, then stop the same one. ```powershell Get-Process -Name "notepad" | Stop-Process ``` It returns nothing by default [1]. ### Stop a process you don't own This needs a PowerShell window opened with **Run as administrator** [1]. Without `-Force`, PowerShell asks you to confirm. With `-Force`, the process stops without a prompt [1]. ```powershell Stop-Process -Id 3952 -Force ``` Be careful here. Stopping a process can stop processes and services that depend on it. In an extreme case, it can stop Windows [1]. ## Common errors **`Access is denied`.** Microsoft shows this message when a standard window tries to stop a process the user doesn't own [1]: ```text Stop-Process : Cannot stop process 'lsass (596)' because of the following error: Access is denied ``` In that example, the process can be stopped only by a member of the Administrator group on the computer. Open PowerShell with **Run as administrator** and try again [1]. **Too many windows closed.** `-Name` stops every instance with that name [1]. To stop just one, find its PID with Get-Process and use `-Id` [1][2]. **The process still shows up.** Stop-Process runs asynchronously. Wait with the Wait-Process cmdlet, or check the HasExited property of the process object [1]. **Get-Process output won't pipe to Stop-Process.** With `-Module` or `-FileVersionInfo`, Get-Process returns a different type of object. You can't pipe that output to a cmdlet that expects a process object, such as Stop-Process [2]. **You need to stop another PowerShell window, not this one.** Several PowerShell processes can share one name. The `$PID` variable holds the ID of the process that hosts your current session, so you can tell it apart from the others [2]. ## Questions **Is there a kill command in PowerShell?** Yes. On Windows, kill is an alias for Stop-Process. The alias spps works on all platforms [1]. **How do I find the PID of a process?** Run Get-Process. The Id column shows the process ID (PID) of each process [2]. To see who owns a process, add -IncludeUserName [2]. **Can Stop-Process stop a process on another computer?** No. Stop-Process works only on processes running on the local computer [1]. **Do I need administrator rights to stop a process?** Only for a process that the current user doesn't own. For those, start PowerShell with the Run as administrator option [1]. ## Sources 1. [Stop-Process (Microsoft.PowerShell.Management)](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.management/stop-process), Microsoft Learn, accessed 2026-09-14 2. [Get-Process (Microsoft.PowerShell.Management)](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.management/get-process), Microsoft Learn, accessed 2026-09-14 3. [about_CommonParameters](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.core/about/about_commonparameters), Microsoft Learn, accessed 2026-09-14 Checked against Microsoft's documentation on 14 Sept 2026.