To kill a mocki..., er, errant PROCESS...

Let's say for instance that you have a login id of "goofus". You've been working merrily along in poorly written program, or your favorite design tool, and find yourself wedged uncomfortably between a funny looking screen and the back of your chair. Panic sets in. Then frustration. Then you reach for the phone to call your trusty and faithful sysadmins... BUT WAIT, no need to track down the dynamic duo... YES, YOU CAN DO IT YOURSELF!!! And you can even do it without hurting yourself or your workstation. (However, you may lose any unsaved work, but you will lose it if you call the admins too... :-(

step one: IDENTIFY the PROBLEM and look for the culprit PID

In the following example we will first look to see who is logged into the machine, and for how long, and what processes they are running. You'll also find out what a PID is.
-----------------------------------------------------

using the "w" command

goofus@smart99 [/home/goofus] >--> w
 12:26pm  up 139 days,  3:24,  5 users,  load average: 2.08, 2.00, 1.72
User     tty           login@  idle   JCPU   PCPU  what
goofus   console       8:59am195:20      1      1  /usr/sbin/getty console console
goofus   pts/0         8:59am    29                -csh
goofus   pts/1         8:59am 75:27                /bin/csh
goofus   ttyp1         9:32am671:30  77:15  77:15  /applications/Kludge-soft/SuchADisaster/bin/Such
goofus   ttyp2        12:26pm                      w

----------------------------------------------------- The "w" command indicates that this workstation has been up and running for 139 days, don't try this with NT though, it won't happen. Looking at the user activity, we see we're logged into the console (at the machine vs. logged in over the network), that we have a C shell open, and an application running called Such Designer. We can also see that we just ran the "w" command. The load average being over 1.xx indicates that something is taking up CPU time and loading the machine down more than expected. This might indicate that there is a defunct process on the system, sometimes they become "zombies", something that won't die. (If the kill -9 command doesn't kill it, and it remains after you log out and log back in, it's a "zombie" and the machine will have to be rebooted.) It could also mean that there is a CPU intensive application running at this time. We will need to look at the specific processes to determine more. Typically an application that is poorly written or unusual user actions may result in a process "losing it's marbles" and going off on it's own. In most cases UNIX will clean up this errant process and continue, but sometimes it requires the user to log completely out and back in. If that doesn't terminate the process admin intervention in the form of a reboot is required. -----------------------------------------------------

using the "ps" command

goofus@smart99 [/home/goofus] >--> ps -ef | grep goofus
  goofus  1753  1678  0  Jun 22  ?         0:03 /usr/dt/bin/dtsession
  goofus  1796  1753  0  Jun 22  ?         0:00 /usr/dt/bin/dtterm -session dta07960
  goofus  1795  1753  0  Jun 22  ?         0:02 /usr/dt/bin/dtterm -session dta07959 -C -ls -name Console -t
  goofus  1785     1  0  Jun 22  ?         0:00 /usr/dt/bin/ttsession -s
  goofus  2372     1  0  Jun 24  ?         0:00 /usr/bin/X11/hpterm -sb -sl 500 -iconic -title >SuchADisaste
  goofus  2414  2373  1  Jun 24  ?         0:00 
  goofus  2603  1753  0 12:08:14 ?         0:00 /usr/dt/bin/dtexec -open 0 -ttprocid 1.tRxBV 01 1785 1342177
  goofus  1799  1796  0  Jun 22  pts/1     0:00 /bin/csh
  goofus  2373  2372 206  Jun 24  ttyp1    77:21 /applications/Kludge-soft/SuchADisaster/bin/Such
  goofus  1800  1795  0  Jun 22  pts/0     0:00 -csh
  goofus  2201     1  0  Jun 23  ?         0:00 /bin/sh -c hlpsrv 
  goofus  2413  2410  0  Jun 24  ?         0:00 Licensex 2373 smart99:0.0 62914574
  goofus  2202  2201  0  Jun 23  ?         0:00 hlpsrv
  goofus  2604  2603 47 12:08:14 ?         1:35 /usr/dt/bin/dtscreen -mode rotor
  goofus  2410  2373  0  Jun 24  ?         0:00 /bin/sh -c Licensex 2373 smart99:0.0 62914574 
  goofus  2632  2608  0 12:26:37 ttyp2     0:00 grep goofus
----------------------------------------------------- TO READ the output from ps -ef:
  UID     PID   PPID    other stuff...           COMMAND 
  -------------------------------------------------------
  goofus  2372     1  0  Jun 24  ?         0:00 /usr/bin/X11/hpterm -sb -sl 500 -iconic -title >SuchADisaste
  goofus  2414  2373  1  Jun 24  ?         0:00 
  goofus  2603  1753  0 12:08:14 ?         0:00 /usr/dt/bin/dtexec -open 0 -ttprocid 1.tRxBV 01 1785 1342177
  goofus  1799  1796  0  Jun 22  pts/1     0:00 /bin/csh
  goofus  2373  2372 206  Jun 24  ttyp1    77:21 /applications/Kludge-soft/SuchADisaster/bin/Such
Look at the COMMAND column and see if you can spot the offending process or a defunct process. Then look for the PID.
       note:
	    PID = Process ID
    	    PPID = Parent Process ID
	    UID = User ID
In the example above PID 2414 is the defunct process, it's PPID is 2373. 2373 is SuchADisaster. Therefore, if you're workstation is "wedged" and SuchADisaster is frozen, it is the offending process. You will need to kill it.

step two: surgically extract and terminate the offending PID


It should only be necessary to kill the master process for SuchADisaster, in this case PID 2372. >--> kill 2372
Verify that it has been removed from the process table by repeating the ps command used earlier. If you are using a POSIX shell (bourne, korn or posix shell) you only need to hit the escape key and the letter "k" to scroll through your history file until you see the "ps -ef | grep goofus" command, then hit return. If you're using C shell, shame on you, you have to retype the command all over, or use your secret decoder ring to extract the appropriate numbered history command. >--> ps -ef | grep goofus At this point PID's 2372, 2414 and 2373 should not be displayed. If they are, you can repeat the kill command using the "dash nine" option to force the kill. >--> kill -9 2372 2414 2373 Repeat the ps command. If the PID's remain, try logging out and logging back in. If the PID's remain, then contact your sys admins. They may attempt to kill the PID's as root, otherwise they will need to reboot the workstation.

ebook:
Full Size
Jeep Buyer's
Guide
ebook:
Practical Suggestions
for Microsoft
Windows
Linux Tackles Microsoft
12 hour Video Course by john:
The Art of Linux System Administration
published by O'Reilly Media
Study Guide for the LPIC-2 Certification Exams
search for:
on the internet, or:
JohnMeister.com-fotos
LinuxMeister-Linux
BibleTech-
Bible overview


An overview of Biblical history:
"Promises and Prophets"

Wagoneers

FULL SIZE JEEPS

JeepMeister
"Jeep is America's
only real sports car."
-Enzo Ferrari


MeisterTech
Diesels +

One Page Overview of Linux Commands

click for an image of the 5 essential Linux commands

An Intro to Linux
AMSOIL product guide,
or, AMSOIL web, or 1-800-956-5695,
use customer #283461

Amsoil dealer since 1983
purchase AMSOIL
at Midway Auto on SR9 in Snohomish,
or at Northland Diesel in Bellingham, WA


SJ - 1962-1991

XJ - 1984-2001

WJ - 1999-2004

KJ - 2002-2007

WK - 2005-2010

Find the recommended
AMSOIL synthetics
for your Jeep

CJ-10A - 1984-1986

Jeepsters

MJ - 1984-1992

Willys - 1946-1965

Other Jeeps (FC)