Rider start failed due to leftover process not exited

Problem

Rider starts failure with the similar error: "rider64.exe" is still running and does not respond.

Cause

This error occurs when the JetBrains Rider executable (rider64.exe) remains active in the system's process list despite the IDE interface being closed. Because the operating system believes an instance is already active, it prevents a new one from launching to avoid file conflicts or memory corruption.

Common causes include:

• A "ghost" process left over from an improper shutdown or crash.
• The IDE is still busy saving large amounts of cache or indexing data in the background.
• A specific plugin or background service has hung, preventing the process from terminating.

Resolution

If you encounter an internal error stating that the process is not responding, follow these steps in order:

1. The "Patience" Method

If you recently closed Rider or just clicked "Launch," wait 60 seconds. The IDE may be performing final disk writes or cleaning up temporary files. If it doesn't resolve itself shortly, move to the next step.

2. Manually Terminate the Process

If the IDE remains stuck, you will need to manually end the task.

⚠️ Caution: Manually killing the process may result in the loss of unsaved changes or local history from your last session.

• Option A (Command Line): Open your terminal or Command Prompt and run: taskkill /F /PID 20764
• Option B (Task Manager): 1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc. 2. Locate rider64.exe in the Details tab. 3. Right-click it and select End Task.

3. The "Clean Slate" Restart

If the process ID cannot be found or the "Access is Denied" error appears when trying to kill the task, a system restart is required. This will flush the system memory and release any file locks held by the stuck process.

If the issue continues or occurs frequently

Collect a thread dump using jstack utility, and contact Rider support or post a bug report in our issue tracker:

1. Find the Process ID (PID) of the "JetBrains Rider" process
2. Open {ide_installation_path}/jbr/bin in a terminal
3. Invoke .\jstack -l {PID} > dump.txt
4. Attach the generated dump.txt

A dump should be taken exactly at the moment when the IDE is not responsive.