2

I have a process with parent PID = 1.

The command kill -9 382 doesn't work. I am root.

What can I do?

root       382     1  0 07:29 ?        00:00:00 dsmrecall /ptstv/HVideo/2014/2014761/G201476100010007.mxf
2
  • 1
    Maybe this will explain everything: What if 'kill -9' does not work?
    – Amit24x7
    Jun 27, 2017 at 12:21
  • What is the exact error message that kill returns? If there is none, then most likely the process is defunc. Unless you have any idea why that is, which seems unlikely, the simplest solution is to restart the system. I would be tempted to assume that another important relevant process was killed improperly.
    – Julie Pelletier
    Jun 27, 2017 at 16:21

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
1

The owner of the process is root hence you should execute the kill command as user root.

You can do it by running:

sudo kill -9 382

Or in two steps:

  1. turn to be root using one of the below options:

    • su -
    • sudo su -
    • sudo -i

  2. kill the process as user root:

    kill -9 382

man su

   su allows to run commands with a substitute user and group ID.

   When called without arguments, su defaults to running an interactive
   shell as root.

More info about sudo vs su

7
  • The second option is not always possible. Better use sudo su -
    – Romeo Ninov
    Jun 27, 2017 at 11:32
  • 1
    @RomeoNinov - thanks for the comment! updated my answer
    – Yaron
    Jun 27, 2017 at 11:34
  • 1
    sudo su -? What's the purpose of that?
    – countermode
    Jun 27, 2017 at 11:38
  • 2
    @coutermode agreed, you should use sudo -i instead.
    – thecarpy
    Jun 27, 2017 at 11:56
  • Actually, I am already login with root. Is there something wrong with my system?
    – Hsing Yi
    Jun 27, 2017 at 13:25

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .