Stop!

[Let'sgoflying!]

How do you get your computer to discontinue a task?
Seems like this is one area of User Control for which we have little control!
Usually it is an internet download.

I have tried:

-turn off the internet access switch on the side of the computer.... sometimes the browser will freeze although it does stop downloading.
-Escape button: does nothing usually.
-CtrlAltDel: Eventually will allow a program to completely quit which is overkill.
-Jab the Kill Button; the usual last resort.

 

[wbarnhill]

Alt+F4 / Ctrl+C are usual "Quit" commands (as in Terminate the program), but as for stopping the program from doing a function like downloading, the only options are usually clickable buttons, or the escape key. :/

 

[Maverick]

Assuming it's a Windows computer you can Terminate applications and/or processes using the task manager. To terminate an application bring up the task manager, highlight the application on the applications tab and click end task. To terminate processes, on the processes tab, you really need to know what process to kill. That isn't so apparent unless you are really familiar with what procresses are normally running on your computer. Kill the wrong process and your computer is likely do exhibit rather strange behavior.

Too bring up the task manager either right click on the task bar or use ctl/alt/delete and choose the task manager.

hope this helps.

Jeannie

 

[Let'sgoflying!]

Too bring up the task manager either right click on the task bar or use ctl/alt/delete and choose the task manager. hope this helps. Jeannie

not really but all suggestions are welcome!
Like I said, it seems overkill to end the program and like you said, finding the process in hundreds is pretty darned hard.

Alt+F4 / Ctrl+C are usual "Quit" commands (as in Terminate the program), but as for stopping the program from doing a function like downloading, the only options are usually clickable buttons, or the escape key.

huh. AltF4 and Ctrl C are new ones, maybe it will at least be faster than ctrlaltdel>End Task. The clickable buttons usually...aren't! The escape key, like I said, usually does nothing - what does yours do.

Thanks

 

[wbarnhill]

Using Firefox, Escape stops loading the current page. Alt+F4 will kill the program.

 

[jesse]

The reason that it takes awhile to end a task is because first the kernel asks the process to close itself. After a certain amount of time (not sure how long) the kernel kills the process itself.

I *really* wish there was a button to just tell the kernel to end the process/program without asking the program to end itself. It would be quite useful.

Something simliar to (this is linux):

kill -9 processname

 

[Brian Austin]

The reason that it takes awhile to end a task is because first the kernel asks the process to close itself. After a certain amount of time (not sure how long) the kernel kills the process itself.

I *really* wish there was a button to just tell the kernel to end the process/program without asking the program to end itself. It would be quite useful.

Something simliar to (this is linux):

kill -9 processname

If you use the Processes tab instead of the Applications tab for killing the app, it doesn't take as long.

 

[wbarnhill]

Expanding on Jesse's post, a quick lesson on program signals.

As a program (we're going to call it a process for the sake of this...) executes it generates a process ID number, which the computer's processor keeps track of. While the process is running, you can send a signal, which will have the processor temporarily cease processing the program and handle the signal. A few common signals...

SIGINT - Signal Interrupt - This asks the program to terminate immediately. A lot of times, this will be handled by the program cleaning up any temporary files and then terminating itself. This signal can be caught and handled or ignored. (Ctrl+C / Alt+F4 / Close button are general SIGINT interfaces)

SIGQUIT - Signal Quit - This also asks the program to terminate immediately, but is usually handled with less regard to clean up and more to terminating the process. This allows a programmer to look at where the process hung up. This signal can be caught and handled or ignored.

SIGKILL - Signal Kill - This signal instructs the process to terminate immediately and CANNOT BE IGNORED. If you send a SIGKILL to a process and it does not die, you may consider it to be an operating system bug that should be resolved.

I'm not sure which signal the Task Manager uses, but Windows does not come with a command line kill option. There is, however, a freeware program called PsKill that you can download.

Back to your regularly scheduled thread

 

[mikea]

The reason that it takes awhile to end a task is because first the kernel asks the process to close itself. After a certain amount of time (not sure how long) the kernel kills the process itself.

I *really* wish there was a button to just tell the kernel to end the process/program without asking the program to end itself. It would be quite useful.

Something simliar to (this is linux):

kill -9 processname

You wanna try lower level signals first.

Do a kill <processnumber> first.

Then put the signal number on there and you can try higher ones until you do the -9.

kill -HUP <processnumber>
kill -5 <processnumber>

As my first *ix guru said about -9 signal (SIGKILL) "It's rude." It doesn't let the app have a chance to exit cleanly if it can.

BTW, this works on Mac OS X. Got "top" and everything. There is a GUI monitor for the GUI impaired but it takes me a LOT longer to find that and it doesn't tell as much about what's going on.

 

[Brian Austin]

Expanding on Jesse's post, a quick lesson on program signals.
...

Kinda like asking if anyone has flown into a particular airport and getting the full IFR approach plates with a rundown on the personalities of all of the local ATC personnel. Sheesh.

 

[jesse]

You wanna try lower level signals first.

Do a kill <processnumber> first.

Then put the signal number on there and you can try higher ones until you do the -9.

kill -HUP <processnumber>
kill -5 <processnumber>

As my first *ix guru said about -9 signal (SIGKILL) "It's rude." It doesn't let the app have a chance to exit cleanly if it can.

It all depends on what you are doing.

90% of the time if I've resorted to using the kill command, I don't want the app to clean itself up. I want that thing stopped like RIGHT now. You of course have to understand what you are doing. It could be writing to a database, or some file, and if it is you are going to end up with some nasty results.

 

[wbarnhill]

Kinda like asking if anyone has flown into a particular airport and getting the full IFR approach plates with a rundown on the personalities of all of the local ATC personnel. Sheesh.

You don't want to know that John likes the Georgia Bulldogs before you go and ask him for that Bravo transition?