Create Process / Child Processes

[drm15]

If you use CreateProcess to start a process, can it spawn child processes or do you have to give it special permissions? I understand that any child process spawned by default will have the same security rights as the parent process. The problem is that I use CreateProcess to start the application but when it tries to open the chile process it doesn't show up. If I start the process normally (by double-clicking) it works fine.

This is how I create the process:

CreateProcess( NULL, // No module name (use command line).
"C:\\Program Files\\Internet Explorer\\iexplore.exe http://tandis106:10500/idxwf/Default.htm", // Command line.
NULL, // Process handle not inheritable.
NULL, // Thread handle not inheritable.
FALSE, // Set handle inheritance to FALSE.
NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS, // No creation flags.
NULL, // Use parent's environment block.
NULL, // Use parent's starting directory.
&si, // Pointer to STARTUPINFO structure.
&pi )

Am I missing something?

Thanks,
Dale

[ReorX]

Your commandline requires quoted strings!
Currently, CreateProcess tries to start C:\Program.exe because that's where the first blank separates program and parameters.
The rest of your commandline is passed as parameters.

[drm15]

Strange, but it is quoted from what I am looking at.

"C:\\Program Files\\Internet Explorer\\iexplore.exe http://tandis106:10500/idxwf/Default.htm",

Are you seeing something different?

[JohnCz]

How do you initialize PROCESS_INFORMATION and STARTUPINFO structures?

I have just built a 2 sample apps one launching another using CreateProcess and second app launching explorer. Everything works fine.

By the way: child process runs under the same security context as parent process.

[drm15]

HANDLE StartInternetExplorerLCJ()
{
STARTUPINFO si;
PROCESS_INFORMATION pi;
HANDLE WFLCJProcess;

ZeroMemory( &si, sizeof(si) );
si.cb = sizeof(si);
ZeroMemory( &pi, sizeof(pi) );

if(CreateProcess( NULL, "C:\\Program Files\\Internet Explorer\\iexplore.exe http://tandis106:10500/idxwf/Default.htm", &sa, NULL, FALSE, NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS, NULL, NULL, &si, &pi)
)
{
Sleep(2000);
WFLCJProcess = &pi.hProcess;
WFLCJProcess = OpenProcess(PROCESS_ALL_ACCESS, FALSE, pi.dwProcessId);
}
else
{
MessageBox(NULL, "CreateProcess failed.", "Error!", NULL);
}
return WFLCJProcess;
}

Thanks for your help!

[JohnCz]

I really do not see any problem with this code.
Did you try GetLastError?

What is this for?

Originally posted by drm15
Sleep(2000);
WFLCJProcess = &pi.hProcess;
WFLCJProcess = OpenProcess(PROCESS_ALL_ACCESS, FALSE,

[drm15]

I think I figured it out late last night. I had all of my logic before the windows message pump. I have changed my code so that I am passing messages back and forth now instead of trying to do everything before the pump. It seems to be working now.

Thanks to everyone for your help!

Dale