ERROR_INVALID_HANDLE on TerminateProcess (VS C++) - c++

Question

Disclaimer: This is part of the requirement of the program, so it's not meant for anything bad. Feel free to point out any misuse if you spot one. I'm a beginner in C++.
Basically, I'm trying to restart Outlook.exe on Windows using C++.
And this is the code I used to restart Outlook.
#include <TlHelp32.h>
void RestartOutlook() {
PROCESSENTRY32 Pc = { sizeof(PROCESSENTRY32) };
HANDLE hSnapshot = CreateToolhelp32Snapshot(TH32CS_SNAPALL, 0);
MODULEENTRY32 Mo = {sizeof (MODULEENTRY32) };
if(Process32First(hSnapshot, &Pc)){
do{
if(!_stricmp(Pc.szExeFile, "outlook.exe")) {
DWORD pid = Pc.th32ProcessID;
HANDLE hModuleSnapshot = CreateToolhelp32Snapshot(TH32CS_SNAPMODULE, pid);
//kill outlook
HANDLE process = OpenProcess(PROCESS_ALL_ACCESS, TRUE, pid);
DWORD fdwExit = 0;
GetExitCodeProcess(process, &fdwExit);
TerminateProcess(process, fdwExit);
char * path;
if (Module32First(hModuleSnapshot, &Mo)) {
path = Mo.szExePath;
STARTUPINFO si;
PROCESS_INFORMATION pi;
ZeroMemory(&si, sizeof(si));
si.cb = sizeof (si);
CreateProcess(path, NULL, NULL, NULL, false, NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS,
NULL, NULL, &si, &pi);
}
}
}while(Process32Next(hSnapshot, &Pc));
}
}
The funny part is, this piece of code works perfectly fine on Windows 7. While on Windows XP (SP3), I get duplicated Outlook. The GetLastError gives me 6: ERROR_INVALID_HANDLE. I am really clueless after hours of research.
Any idea?
Anyway, C++ is not my field. I do webs :)
And the code above is a mixture of the following sources:
1: http://www.istorya.net/forums/programming/107435-how-can-i-kill-a-process-using-c.html
2: http://code.activestate.com/recipes/576362-list-system-process-and-process-information-on-win/
Environment: Windows 7, Windows XP, VS2010, Outlook 2003, Outlook 2007, Outlook 2010

Answer 1

I found the culprit.
The reason lies in this line:
HANDLE process = OpenProcess(PROCESS_ALL_ACCESS, TRUE, pid);
According to http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms684880(v=vs.85).aspx, PROCESS_ALL_ACCESS is too large for Windows XP/NT system, or more details:
The size of the PROCESS_ALL_ACCESS flag increased on Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista. If an application compiled for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista is run on Windows Server 2003 or Windows XP/2000, the PROCESS_ALL_ACCESS flag is too large and the function specifying this flag fails with ERROR_ACCESS_DENIED. To avoid this problem, specify the minimum set of access rights required for the operation.
Definitely I'm compiling this program on 7, while running on XP definitely causing the problem.
So the solution is, change the PROCESS_ALL_ACCESS to PROCESS_TERMINATE, which
HANDLE process = OpenProcess(PROCESS_TERMINATE, TRUE, pid);
Done!
Thanks #DReJ for quick replies :)

Answer 2

I get that you want Outlook to restart but calling TerminateProcess on Outlook seems like a bad idea in the first place. What if it's in the middle of writing a data file?
A better way would be to find all top-level windows that belong to Outlook, send them a WM_CLOSE and then wait for the process to exit. (You may also have to cope with the user having draft messages open which result in "are you sure" prompts, although if you are doing this in the first place then I assume you know the user isn't in the middle of something?)
An even better way would be to use Outlook's automation interface and tell it to shutdown explicitly.

Answer 3

Your problem maybe related to this piece of code
DWORD fdwExit = 0;
GetExitCodeProcess(process, &fdwExit);
TerminateProcess(process, fdwExit);
First, with GetExitCodeProcess you get status STILL_ACTIVE and after that you terminate process with this status which is not proper I think. Remove GetExitCodeProcess from you code and try TerminateProcess(process, 0); instead.