Path.GetDirectoryName produces Win32Exception 'Access is denied' - c#

Hi I am currently trying to obtain the directory of a running process and keep obtaining the Error
System.ComponentModel.Win32Exception: 'Access is denied'
The following code I am using below and I am currently using a try catch to prevent this error, however a try catch proves to be a slow method requiring valuable processing time, and I am here to ask if there is a method to detect if a process's data is accessible via boolean to prevent a try catch statement from being required and therefore decrease processing time.
string dir = System.IO.Path.GetDirectoryName(process.MainModule.FileName)

If you look at the documentation for the Process.MainModule property, you can see that it throws a Win32Exception if a 32-bit process tries to access a 64-bit process. You can check whether this is the case by looking at the Win32Exception.ErrorCode (I assume 0x00000005 in this case) and Win32Exception.Message properties. And you can retrieve the bitness of your process by evaluating Environment.Is64BitProcess.
Even running as a 64-bit process your program won't be allowed to access MainModule of a System process (4) or a System Idle Process (0). This will throw a Win32Exception with the message:
Unable to enumerate the process modules.
You can use Process.Id to check for 0 or 4.
Alternatively the Win32 API allows you to query every process with the LimitedQueryInformation flag, which means you can check the path without receiving an exception. Unfortunately the .NET Base Class Library doesn't expose this flag, so you need P/Invoke to do that. The following C# console program never triggers an exception (when run on my local machine). If it's run with local admin privileges, it returns all path names except for process 0 and process 4. If it's run as a normal user, it understandably only lists the pathnames for those processes to which it has access.
using System;
using System.Text;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
namespace NewCmd
{
class Program
{
[Flags]
private enum ProcessAccessFlags : uint
{
QueryLimitedInformation = 0x00001000
}
[DllImport("kernel32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
private static extern bool QueryFullProcessImageName
(
[In] IntPtr hProcess,
[In] int dwFlags,
[Out] StringBuilder lpExeName,
ref int lpdwSize
);
[DllImport("kernel32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
private static extern IntPtr OpenProcess
(
ProcessAccessFlags processAccess,
bool bInheritHandle,
int processId
);
static void Main(string[] args)
{
foreach (Process p in Process.GetProcesses())
{
Console.WriteLine(String.Format("Id: {0} Name: {1}", p.Id, p.ProcessName));
Console.WriteLine(String.Format("Path: {0}", GetProcessFilename(p)));
}
Console.ReadLine();
}
static String GetProcessFilename(Process p)
{
int capacity = 2000;
StringBuilder builder = new StringBuilder(capacity);
IntPtr ptr = OpenProcess(ProcessAccessFlags.QueryLimitedInformation, false, p.Id);
if (QueryFullProcessImageName(ptr, 0, builder, ref capacity))
{
return builder.ToString();
}
else
{
return "[Missing]";
}
}
}
}

Related

Get the origin data source with System.Windows.Clipboard?

I am using System.Windows.Clipboard to copy some text, and I would like to know is there a chance to get the origin source,
e.g. a the file where I copyied it from, or the website, folder.... ?
Thanks
The Win32 GetClipboardOwner() function can be used to get the Handle of the Window that last placed data into the Clipboard.
You can then pass the returned handle to GetWindowThreadProcessId() to get the Process ID and Thread ID of that Window.
Back in .Net territory, you can use the Process ID as the parameter to pass to the System.Diagnostics.Process.GetProcessById() method, to retrieve the information needed.
Note that you have to build a 64bit application to fully inspect a 64bit
process. If your project has the Prefer 32-bit option set, some
information will not be available.
See also:
How to get the process ID or name of the application that has updated the clipboard?
Windows API declarations. The overloaded GetClipboardOwnerProcessID() wrapper method returns the ProcessID of the ClipBoard Owner and, optionally, its Thread ID.
public class WinApi
{
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
private static extern IntPtr GetClipboardOwner();
//The return value is the identifier of the thread that created the window.
[DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
private static extern uint GetWindowThreadProcessId(IntPtr hWnd, out uint lpdwProcessId);
//Wrapper used to return the Window processId
public static uint GetClipboardOwnerProcessID()
{
uint processId = 0;
GetWindowThreadProcessId(SafeNativeMethods.GetClipboardOwner(), out processId);
return processId;
}
//Overload that returns a reference to the Thread ID
public static uint GetClipboardOwnerProcessID(ref uint threadId)
{
uint processId = 0;
threadId = GetWindowThreadProcessId(SafeNativeMethods.GetClipboardOwner(), out processId);
return processId;
}
}
The wrapper can be called like this, if you just need the Process Id:
uint ClipBoadrOwnerProcessId = WinApi.GetClipboardOwnerProcessID();
Or this way, if you also need the Thread Id:
uint ClipBoadrOwnerThreadId = 0;
uint ClipBoadrOwnerProcessId = WinApi.GetClipboardOwnerProcessID(ref ClipBoadrOwnerThreadId);
Pass the returned value to the Process.GetProcessById() method:
Process ClipBoardOwnerProcess = Process.GetProcessById((int)WinApi.GetClipboardOwnerProcessID());
string ProcessName = ClipBoardOwnerProcess.ProcessName;
string ProcessWindowTitle = ClipBoardOwnerProcess.MainWindowTitle;
string ProcessFileName = ClipBoardOwnerProcess.MainModule.FileName;
//(...)
If you copy some text from your browser, the ProcessName will be the name of your browser and the ProcessFileName the path to its executable.

Get the PID of a Windows service

Could anyone help me to know how to get the PID of a Windows service?
I need to get the PID in order to run the following command:
Process.Start(new ProcessStartInfo
{
Filename = "cmd.exe",
CreateNoWindow = true,
UseShellExecute = false,
Arguments = string.Format("/c taskkill /pid {0} /f", pidnumber)
});
What the other answers neglect is the fact that a single process can also host multiple, autonomous services. The multiple instances of the svchost.exe process, each hosting a couple of services, is the best example.
So in general, it is absolutely unsafe to try to kill an arbitrary service by killing it's hosting process (I assume that is what you attempt to do, since you refer to taskkill.exe). You might take down several unrelated services in the process.
If you do know that the service's process only hosts the service you care about, than you can choose the strategy as suggested by #M C in his/her answer.
Alternatively, you can also use the ServiceController class to open a handle to your service and then use it (via the ServiceHandle property) to P/Invoke the QueryServiceStatusEx function to find out the Process ID you want to know.
If you need more details, you should clarify what it is that you're actually trying to achieve. It is not clear from your question.
Update Here is some code I ripped out of an existing project that should do what you want, given you have a ServiceController instance. _As said above, use with care!__
[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
internal sealed class SERVICE_STATUS_PROCESS
{
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.U4)]
public uint dwServiceType;
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.U4)]
public uint dwCurrentState;
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.U4)]
public uint dwControlsAccepted;
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.U4)]
public uint dwWin32ExitCode;
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.U4)]
public uint dwServiceSpecificExitCode;
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.U4)]
public uint dwCheckPoint;
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.U4)]
public uint dwWaitHint;
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.U4)]
public uint dwProcessId;
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.U4)]
public uint dwServiceFlags;
}
internal const int ERROR_INSUFFICIENT_BUFFER = 0x7a;
internal const int SC_STATUS_PROCESS_INFO = 0;
[DllImport("advapi32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
internal static extern bool QueryServiceStatusEx(SafeHandle hService, int infoLevel, IntPtr lpBuffer, uint cbBufSize, out uint pcbBytesNeeded);
public static int GetServiceProcessId(this ServiceController sc)
{
if (sc == null)
throw new ArgumentNullException("sc");
IntPtr zero = IntPtr.Zero;
try
{
UInt32 dwBytesNeeded;
// Call once to figure the size of the output buffer.
QueryServiceStatusEx(sc.ServiceHandle, SC_STATUS_PROCESS_INFO, zero, 0, out dwBytesNeeded);
if (Marshal.GetLastWin32Error() == ERROR_INSUFFICIENT_BUFFER)
{
// Allocate required buffer and call again.
zero = Marshal.AllocHGlobal((int)dwBytesNeeded);
if (QueryServiceStatusEx(sc.ServiceHandle, SC_STATUS_PROCESS_INFO, zero, dwBytesNeeded, out dwBytesNeeded))
{
var ssp = new SERVICE_STATUS_PROCESS();
Marshal.PtrToStructure(zero, ssp);
return (int)ssp.dwProcessId;
}
}
}
finally
{
if (zero != IntPtr.Zero)
{
Marshal.FreeHGlobal(zero);
}
}
return -1;
}
Assuming you know the name of the EXE the service uses and there is exactly one of them:
int procID = Process.GetProcessesByName("yourservice")[0].Id;
The method Process.GetProcessesByName("yourservice") returns an Array of Processes with your specified name, so in case you don't know how much of "yourservice.exe" runs simultaneously you might need a foreach loop.
See this answer on a similar question:
Finding out Windows service's running process name
Using a WMI query you can -
Find all services related to a single exe (a single exe can host multiple services):
select Name from Win32_Service where ProcessId = 588
Or, to answer this question, you can get the PID of the process that a service is running in:
select ProcessId from Win32_Service where Name = 'wuauserv'

Process.MainModule --> "Access is denied" [duplicate]

This question already has an answer here:
Access Denied while using System.Diagnostics.Process
(1 answer)
Closed 2 years ago.
I want to handle this differently,
ie. determine if I have access or not.
Is it possible to see if you have access to the main module or not?
foreach (Process p in Process.GetProcesses())
{
try
{
//This throws error for some processes.
if (p.MainModule.FileName.ToLower().EndsWith(ExeName, StringComparison.CurrentCultureIgnoreCase))
{
//Do some stuff
}
}
catch (Exception)
{
//Acess denied
}
}
[Flags]
private enum ProcessAccessFlags : uint
{
QueryLimitedInformation = 0x00001000
}
[DllImport("kernel32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
private static extern bool QueryFullProcessImageName(
[In] IntPtr hProcess,
[In] int dwFlags,
[Out] StringBuilder lpExeName,
ref int lpdwSize);
[DllImport("kernel32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
private static extern IntPtr OpenProcess(
ProcessAccessFlags processAccess,
bool bInheritHandle,
int processId);
String GetProcessFilename(Process p)
{
int capacity = 2000;
StringBuilder builder = new StringBuilder(capacity);
IntPtr ptr = OpenProcess(ProcessAccessFlags.QueryLimitedInformation, false, p.Id);
if (!QueryFullProcessImageName(ptr, 0, builder, ref capacity))
{
return String.Empty;
}
return builder.ToString();
}
Use pinvoke with ProcessAccessFlags.QueryLimitedInformation. This will allow you to grab the filename of the process without having special admin privileges and works across x32 and x64 processes.
I see two possible causes of the exception:
It may be that your process is x86 and the process being queried is x64 or vice versa.
Every process has a so called ACL (Access control list) that describes who can interact with it, the processes you are having problems with have for security reasons an empty ACL so even as administrator you cannot mess with them. For example, there's a handfull of processes (audiodg, System, and Idle from the top of my head) that throw an exception due to the access rights.
Just use a try/catch to your loop to deal with those processes.

Unable to launch onscreen keyboard (osk.exe) from a 32-bit process on Win7 x64

90% of the time I am unable to launch osk.exe from a 32bit process on Win7 x64. Originally the code was just using:
Process.Launch("osk.exe");
Which won't work on x64 because of the directory virtualization. Not a problem I thought, I'll just disable virtualization, launch the app, and enable it again, which I thought was the correct way to do things. I also added some code to bring the keyboard back up if it has been minimized (which works fine) - the code (in a sample WPF app) now looks as follows:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Windows;
using System.Windows.Controls;
using System.Windows.Data;
using System.Windows.Documents;
using System.Windows.Input;
using System.Windows.Media;
using System.Windows.Media.Imaging;
using System.Windows.Navigation;using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
namespace KeyboardTest
{
/// <summary>
/// Interaction logic for MainWindow.xaml
/// </summary>
public partial class MainWindow : Window
{
[DllImport("kernel32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
private static extern bool Wow64DisableWow64FsRedirection(ref IntPtr ptr);
[DllImport("kernel32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
public static extern bool Wow64RevertWow64FsRedirection(IntPtr ptr);
private const UInt32 WM_SYSCOMMAND = 0x112;
private const UInt32 SC_RESTORE = 0xf120;
[DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto)]
static extern IntPtr SendMessage(IntPtr hWnd, UInt32 Msg, IntPtr wParam, IntPtr lParam);
private string OnScreenKeyboadApplication = "osk.exe";
public MainWindow()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
private void KeyboardButton_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
// Get the name of the On screen keyboard
string processName = System.IO.Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(OnScreenKeyboadApplication);
// Check whether the application is not running
var query = from process in Process.GetProcesses()
where process.ProcessName == processName
select process;
var keyboardProcess = query.FirstOrDefault();
// launch it if it doesn't exist
if (keyboardProcess == null)
{
IntPtr ptr = new IntPtr(); ;
bool sucessfullyDisabledWow64Redirect = false;
// Disable x64 directory virtualization if we're on x64,
// otherwise keyboard launch will fail.
if (System.Environment.Is64BitOperatingSystem)
{
sucessfullyDisabledWow64Redirect = Wow64DisableWow64FsRedirection(ref ptr);
}
// osk.exe is in windows/system folder. So we can directky call it without path
using (Process osk = new Process())
{
osk.StartInfo.FileName = OnScreenKeyboadApplication;
osk.Start();
osk.WaitForInputIdle(2000);
}
// Re-enable directory virtualisation if it was disabled.
if (System.Environment.Is64BitOperatingSystem)
if (sucessfullyDisabledWow64Redirect)
Wow64RevertWow64FsRedirection(ptr);
}
else
{
// Bring keyboard to the front if it's already running
var windowHandle = keyboardProcess.MainWindowHandle;
SendMessage(windowHandle, WM_SYSCOMMAND, new IntPtr(SC_RESTORE), new IntPtr(0));
}
}
}
}
But this code, most of the time, throws the following exception on osk.Start():
The specified procedure could not be found
at System.Diagnostics.Process.StartWithShellExecuteEx(ProcessStartInfo startInfo)
I've tried putting long Thread.Sleep commands in around the osk.Start line, just to make sure it wasn't a race condition, but the same problem persists. Can anyone spot where I'm doing something wrong, or provide an alternative solution for this? It seems to work fine launching Notepad, it just won't play ball with the onscreen keyboard.
A 32 bit application running on a 64 bit operating system should start the 64 bit version of osk.exe.
Below you see a code snipped written in C# to start the correct on screen keyboard.
private static void ShowKeyboard()
{
var path64 = #"C:\Windows\winsxs\amd64_microsoft-windows-osk_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7600.16385_none_06b1c513739fb828\osk.exe";
var path32 = #"C:\windows\system32\osk.exe";
var path = (Environment.Is64BitOperatingSystem) ? path64 : path32;
Process.Start(path);
}
I don't have a very solid explanation for the exact error message you are getting. But disabling redirection is going to mess up the .NET framework. By default, Process.Start() P/Invokes the ShellExecuteEx() API function to start the process. This function lives in shell32.dll, a DLL that might have to be loaded if that wasn't previously done. You'll get the wrong one when you disable redirection.
A workaround for that is to set ProcessStartInfo.UseShellExecute to false. You don't need it here.
Clearly, disabling redirection is a risky approach with side-effects you cannot really predict. There are lots of DLLs that get demand-loaded. A very small helper EXE that you compile with Platform Target = Any CPU can solve your problem.
This is my code
var path64 = Path.Combine(Directory.GetDirectories(Path.Combine(Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.Windows), "winsxs"), "amd64_microsoft-windows-osk_*")[0], "osk.exe");
var path32 = #"C:\windows\system32\osk.exe";
var path = (Environment.Is64BitOperatingSystem) ? path64 : path32;
if(File.Exists(path))
{
Process.Start(path);
}
Certain things are going on under the hood that require you to start osk.exe from an MTA thread. The reason seems to be that a call to Wow64DisableWow64FsRedirection only affects the current thread. However, under certain conditions, Process.Start will create the new process from a separate thread, e.g. when UseShellExecute is set to false and also when being called from an STA thread as it seems.
The code below checks the apartment state and then makes sure to start the On-Screen Keyboard from an MTA thread:
using System;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.IO;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
using System.Threading;
class Program
{
[DllImport("kernel32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
private static extern bool Wow64DisableWow64FsRedirection(ref IntPtr ptr);
[DllImport("kernel32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
public static extern bool Wow64RevertWow64FsRedirection(IntPtr ptr);
[DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto)]
static extern IntPtr SendMessage(IntPtr hWnd,
UInt32 Msg,
IntPtr wParam,
IntPtr lParam);
private const UInt32 WM_SYSCOMMAND = 0x112;
private const UInt32 SC_RESTORE = 0xf120;
private const string OnScreenKeyboardExe = "osk.exe";
[STAThread]
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Process[] p = Process.GetProcessesByName(
Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(OnScreenKeyboardExe));
if (p.Length == 0)
{
// we must start osk from an MTA thread
if (Thread.CurrentThread.GetApartmentState() == ApartmentState.STA)
{
ThreadStart start = new ThreadStart(StartOsk);
Thread thread = new Thread(start);
thread.SetApartmentState(ApartmentState.MTA);
thread.Start();
thread.Join();
}
else
{
StartOsk();
}
}
else
{
// there might be a race condition if the process terminated
// meanwhile -> proper exception handling should be added
//
SendMessage(p[0].MainWindowHandle,
WM_SYSCOMMAND, new IntPtr(SC_RESTORE), new IntPtr(0));
}
}
static void StartOsk()
{
IntPtr ptr = new IntPtr(); ;
bool sucessfullyDisabledWow64Redirect = false;
// Disable x64 directory virtualization if we're on x64,
// otherwise keyboard launch will fail.
if (System.Environment.Is64BitOperatingSystem)
{
sucessfullyDisabledWow64Redirect =
Wow64DisableWow64FsRedirection(ref ptr);
}
ProcessStartInfo psi = new ProcessStartInfo();
psi.FileName = OnScreenKeyboardExe;
// We must use ShellExecute to start osk from the current thread
// with psi.UseShellExecute = false the CreateProcessWithLogon API
// would be used which handles process creation on a separate thread
// where the above call to Wow64DisableWow64FsRedirection would not
// have any effect.
//
psi.UseShellExecute = true;
Process.Start(psi);
// Re-enable directory virtualisation if it was disabled.
if (System.Environment.Is64BitOperatingSystem)
if (sucessfullyDisabledWow64Redirect)
Wow64RevertWow64FsRedirection(ptr);
}
}
Clumsy method:
Run this batch file on the side (started from 64 bit explorer) :
:lab0
TIMEOUT /T 1 >nul
if exist oskstart.tmp goto lab2
goto lab0
:lab2
del oskstart.tmp
osk
goto lab0
Create file oskstart.tmp when you need the keyboard
For those who are facing "Could not start On-Screen Keyboard.", change your project's Platform Target to Any CPU.

Find out programmatically if a process is demanding user input

How can I programmatically (in C#) determine, if ANOTHER foreign application (native, java, .NET or whatever...) is currently demanding user input? Can this be done fully in Managed code?
What I'm looking for is the implementation of:
static Boolean IsWaitingForUserInput(String processName)
{
???
}
By demanding user input I mean when an application asks the user to enter some data or quit an error message (Modal dialogs) and is not able to perform its normal tasks anymore. A drawing application that is waiting for the user to draw something is not meant here.
PS: After edits to reflect the comments at the bottom and make the concern clearer, some comments and answers may not be 100% consistent with the question. Take this into account when evaluating the answers and remarks.
It's in general impossible. Take for instance a common kind of application, a word processor. Nowadays that will be running spellchecks in the background, it periodically auto-saves your document, etcetera. Yet from a users perspective it's waiting for input all the time.
Another common case would be a slideshow viewer. At any moment in time you could press a key to advance a slide. Yet your typical user would not view this as "waiting for input".
To summarize: "waiting for input" is a subjective state and therefore cannot be determined programmatically.
How do you like this?
I worked out a solution that seems to work, please notify me in case of problems with this code so I also gain benefit of improvements. It works for Excel as far as I tested. The only issue I dislike is that I had to use unmanaged calls. It also handles the case when an application is based on a dialog like for MFC, derived from CDialog.
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
using System.Threading;
using System.Diagnostics;
namespace Util
{
public class ModalChecker
{
public static Boolean IsWaitingForUserInput(String processName)
{
Process[] processes = Process.GetProcessesByName(processName);
if (processes.Length == 0)
throw new Exception("No process found matching the search criteria");
if (processes.Length > 1)
throw new Exception("More than one process found matching the search criteria");
// for thread safety
ModalChecker checker = new ModalChecker(processes[0]);
return checker.WaitingForUserInput;
}
#region Native Windows Stuff
private const int WS_EX_DLGMODALFRAME = 0x00000001;
private const int GWL_EXSTYLE = (-20);
private delegate int EnumWindowsProc(IntPtr hWnd, int lParam);
[DllImport("user32")]
private extern static int EnumWindows(EnumWindowsProc lpEnumFunc, int lParam);
[DllImport("user32", CharSet = CharSet.Auto)]
private extern static uint GetWindowLong(IntPtr hWnd, int nIndex);
[DllImport("user32")]
private extern static uint GetWindowThreadProcessId(IntPtr hWnd, out IntPtr lpdwProcessId);
#endregion
// The process we want the info from
private Process _process;
private Boolean _waiting;
private ModalChecker(Process process)
{
_process = process;
_waiting = false; //default
}
private Boolean WaitingForUserInput
{
get
{
EnumWindows(new EnumWindowsProc(this.WindowEnum), 0);
return _waiting;
}
}
private int WindowEnum(IntPtr hWnd, int lParam)
{
if (hWnd == _process.MainWindowHandle)
return 1;
IntPtr processId;
GetWindowThreadProcessId(hWnd, out processId);
if (processId.ToInt32() != _process.Id)
return 1;
uint style = GetWindowLong(hWnd, GWL_EXSTYLE);
if ((style & WS_EX_DLGMODALFRAME) != 0)
{
_waiting = true;
return 0; // stop searching further
}
return 1;
}
}
}
If I understand you well, you may try to enumerate the process's threads and check their states. Windows Task Manager does something similar. This however will require Win32 functions - Thread32First and Thread32Next among others - but you can achieve this by the simplest use of P/Invoke in C#:
[DllImport("Executor.dll")]
public static extern bool Thread32First(IntPtr handle, IntPtr threadEntry32);
(Precise signature may differ).
EDIT: Ok, there are corresponding functions in the .NET library.
If possible, rewrite the other code to be a concurrent input processor (similar to the algorithm for a concurrent web server):
Wait for input
Fork process
Parent: Repeat
Child: (Worker) handle input
Of course, you could still have your function:
static Boolean IsWaitingForUserInput(String processName) {
return true;
}

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