Batch Script - Process

In this chapter, we will discuss the various processes involved in Batch Script.

Viewing the List of Running Processes

In Batch Script, the TASKLIST command can be used to get the list of currently running processes within a system.

Syntax

TASKLIST [/S system [/U username [/P [password]]]] [/M [module] | /SVC | /V] [/FI filter]
[/FO format] [/NH]

Following are the description of the options which can be presented to the TASKLIST command.

S.No.	Options & Description
1.	/S system Specifies the remote system to connect to
2.	/U [domain\]user Specifies the user context under which the command should execute.
3.	/P [password] Specifies the password for the given user context. Prompts for input if omitted.
4.	/M [module] Lists all tasks currently using the given exe/dll name. If the module name is not specified all loaded modules are displayed.
5.	/SVC Displays services hosted in each process.
6.	/V Displays verbose task information.
7.	/FI filter Displays a set of tasks that match a given criteria specified by the filter.
8.	/FO format Specifies the output format. Valid values: "TABLE", "LIST", "CSV".
9.	/NH Specifies that the "Column Header" should not show in the output. Valid only for "TABLE" and "CSV" formats.

Examples

TASKLIST

The above command will get the list of all the processes running on your local system. Following is a snapshot of the output which is rendered when the above command is run as it is. As you can see from the following output, not only do you get the various processes running on your system, you also get the memory usage of each process.

Image Name                    PID       Session Name       Session#     Mem Usage
========================= ========    ================ =========== ============
System Idle Process             0        Services            0              4 K
System                          4        Services            0            272 K
smss.exe                      344        Services            0          1,040 K
csrss.exe                     528        Services            0          3,892 K
csrss.exe                     612        Console             1         41,788 K
wininit.exe                   620        Services            0          3,528 K
winlogon.exe                  648        Console             1          5,884 K
services.exe                  712        Services            0          6,224 K
lsass.exe                     720        Services            0          9,712 K
svchost.exe                   788        Services            0         10,048 K
svchost.exe                   832        Services            0          7,696 K
dwm.exe                       916        Console             1        117,440 K
nvvsvc.exe                    932        Services            0          6,692 K
nvxdsync.exe                  968        Console             1         16,328 K
nvvsvc.exe                    976        Console             1         12,756 K
svchost.exe                  1012        Services            0         21,648 K
svchost.exe                   236        Services            0         33,864 K
svchost.exe                   480        Services            0         11,152 K
svchost.exe                  1028        Services            0         11,104 K
svchost.exe                  1048        Services            0         16,108 K
wlanext.exe                  1220        Services            0         12,560 K
conhost.exe                  1228        Services            0          2,588 K
svchost.exe                  1276        Services            0         13,888 K
svchost.exe                  1420        Services            0         13,488 K
spoolsv.exe                  1556        Services            0          9,340 K

tasklist > process.txt

The above command takes the output displayed by tasklist and saves it to the process.txt file.

tasklist /fi "memusage gt 40000"

The above command will only fetch those processes whose memory is greater than 40MB. Following is a sample output that can be rendered.

Image Name                    PID      Session Name     Session#     Mem Usage
=========================   ======== ================ =========== ============
dwm.exe                        916     Console             1        127,912 K
explorer.exe                  2904     Console             1        125,868 K
ServerManager.exe             1836     Console             1         59,796 K
WINWORD.EXE                   2456     Console             1        144,504 K
chrome.exe                    4892     Console             1        123,232 K
chrome.exe                    4976     Console             1         69,412 K
chrome.exe                    1724     Console             1         76,416 K
chrome.exe                    3992     Console             1         56,156 K
chrome.exe                    1168     Console             1        233,628 K
chrome.exe                     816     Console             1         66,808 K

Killing a Particular Process

Allows a user running Microsoft Windows XP professional, Windows 2003, or later to kill a task from a Windows command line by process id (PID) or image name. The command used for this purpose is the TASKILL command.

Syntax

TASKKILL [/S system [/U username [/P [password]]]] { [/FI filter] 
[/PID processid | /IM imagename] } [/T] [/F]

Following are the description of the options which can be presented to the TASKKILL command.

S.No.	Options & Description
1.	/S system Specifies the remote system to connect to
2.	/U [domain\]user Specifies the user context under which the command should execute.
3.	/P [password] Specifies the password for the given user context. Prompts for input if omitted.
4.	/FI FilterName Applies a filter to select a set of tasks. Allows "" to be used. ex. imagename eq acme See below filters for additional information and examples.
5.	/PID processID Specifies the PID of the process to be terminated. Use TaskList to get the PID.
6.	/IM ImageName Specifies the image name of the process to be terminated. Wildcard '*' can be used to specify all tasks or image names.
7.	/T Terminates the specified process and any child processes which were started by it.
8.	/F Specifies to forcefully terminate the process(es).

Examples

taskkill /f /im notepad.exe

The above command kills the open notepad task, if open.

taskill /pid 9214

The above command kills a process which has a process of 9214.

Starting a New Process

DOS scripting also has the availability to start a new process altogether. This is achieved by using the START command.

Syntax

START "title" [/D path] [options] "command" [parameters]

Wherein

title − Text for the CMD window title bar (required.)
path − Starting directory.
command − The command, batch file or executable program to run.
parameters − The parameters passed to the command.

Following are the description of the options which can be presented to the START command.

S.No.	Options & Description
1.	/MIN Start window Minimized
2.	/MAX Start window maximized.
3.	/LOW Use IDLE priority class.
4.	/NORMAL Use NORMAL priority class.
5.	/ABOVENORMAL Use ABOVENORMAL priority class.
6.	/BELOWNORMAL Use BELOWNORMAL priority class.
7.	/HIGH Use HIGH priority class.
8.	/REALTIME Use REALTIME priority class.

Examples

START "Test Batch Script" /Min test.bat

The above command will run the batch script test.bat in a new window. The windows will start in the minimized mode and also have the title of “Test Batch Script”.

START "" "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Winword.exe" "D:\test\TESTA.txt"

The above command will actually run Microsoft word in another process and then open the file TESTA.txt in MS Word.