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Heinrich
Asked: 2011-12-01 05:01:12 +0800 CST

Windows Server: Only allow running one concurrent instance of a program?

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I am on a Windows Server 2008 R2. Is it possible to limit the number of concurrent instances of a program/an executable file for a user?

An example: I would like to prevent the users from starting paint.exe if another paint.exe is still running.

windows windows-server-2008

3 Answers

  1. I'm pretty sure the program would need to have this sort of checking built inside itself for this to work. Or then you need to build a custom program launcher script or similar which checks the process list before starting the program.

    AppLocker comes close, but even with AppLocker policies you can't do quite what you're after.

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  2. Best Answer

    I ended up writing a windows service in C# that frequently checks for multiple opened instances and terminates the latter started.

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  3. No, it is not possible and it rarely makes sense to star with. I have such a program here (turbo floorplan) sucks - like hell when I try to replicate a bnuilding plan. Can not open 2 diocuments at the same time.

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