How can I close (or start) a program on a remote computer?


SyncBack includes an option to automatically close programs that are running, but it cannot close programs (or start programs) on remote computers. However, it is possible to do this:

  • Download the free programs psexec and pskill from the following page: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/pstools
  • Unzip them into a folder, e.g. C:\Windows\System32\
  • For the appropriate profiles Run Before setting use the following: pskill -t \\computername -u adminusername -p adminpassword processname
  • For example, if you wanted to close the program Outlook you would have something like: pskill -t \\computername -u adminusername -p adminpassword outlook
  • Tick the "Wait until the program has finished before running profile" option and set "Wait for 20 seconds for the program to finish"(or a higher value if required)


You may want to have the program restarted after the profile has run:

  • In the Run After profile setting add the following: psexec \\computername\ "path of program to run on remote computer"
  • For example, if you wanted to run the program Outlook you would have something like:  psexec \\computername"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\outlook.exe"