Guide: Fix ‘Windows 10 Task Manager Not Working’ Issue
Windows 10 includes many software and utilities for managing a PC. One of these is the Task Manager, which most people use to force a software to shut down when it crashes or stops working. Task Manager also provides crucial information such as running processes, memory usage, system performance and disk usage. What should I do if Task Manager stops working on Windows 10? How would you check which program is stuck and causing the PC to slow down? There are several reasons why Task Manager is not working properly and chances are you have no idea where to fix the problem. Let’s see how to fix Task Manager using some of the solutions that work. If all else fails, I’ll share an alternative that is better than what’s preinstalled on your Windows 10 computer. Let’s start.
1. How to Open it
There are three ways to open Task Manager, and if one of them doesn’t work, you can try another. The most common method is to right-click on the taskbar and select Task Manager.
There are two keyboard shortcuts you can try. One is Ctrl + Alt + Del and the other is Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
You can also open Task Manager with the Run prompt. Just press Windows + R and type taskmgr before hitting Enter. Have any of these worked for you?
2. Task management disabled by administrator
Task Manager needs administrator rights to function properly. It is possible that your administrator has disabled it, in which case you should see a message: Task Manager has been disabled by your administrator. So you need to contact your administrator and ask him / her to re-enable it. Do you want to use it on a guest account? Log into Windows 10 with your primary or administrator account. Press Windows + R to open the Run prompt. Type gpedit.msc and hit enter.
That should open the Group Policy Editor window. Navigate to the following folder structure and double click Delete Task Manager. User Configuration> Administrative Templates> System> Ctrl + Alt + Del options
In the next pop-up, check Enabled and click OK.
Task manager should now work even if you are using a guest user account.
3. Not responding incorrectly
Some of our readers pointed out that they only had one user with no guest account on their PC and yet they couldn’t open Task Manager. In this case, you should see the following error: Task Manager not responding. To fix this, press Windows + R button Type regedit and press Enter to start the Run prompt.
That will open the Registry Editor. Navigate to the following folder structure. HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesSystem If you don’t have the system folder in Policies, you don’t need to do anything else.
If there is a system folder, check if there is a registry key named DisableTaskMgr. If there is one, delete it.
4. Scan for malware and viruses
Getting infected by malware and viruses can cause all kinds of problems. One of these problems is when the said malware shuts down critical Windows features such as Task Manager, CMD and more. I recommend that you download and install Malwarebytes. The free version is good enough.
While you’re at it, you should also scan your PC with an antivirus program. A combination of antivirus and malware scanner should be enough to find most vulnerabilities. Once those programs are done disinfecting your PC, try to open Task Manager again. Download Malwarebytes
5. Re-enable Task Manager
Sometimes when your PC is infected, the system features such as Task Manager are disabled and must be manually re-enabled. The effects persist even after the virus or malware has been removed. Re-Enable is a handy software that can solve these features with the click of one button
Just download the software from the link below and launch it. The interface is simple, user-friendly and clear. There are radio boxes for a lot of services, including Task Manager. By default, the software should select all options. If not, choose Task Manager and click Re-enable buttonNow try to start Task Manager. Download Re-enable Still can’t solve the problem with simple solutions? Okay, let’s take a look at a little difficult one.
6. Run System File Checker (SFC)
Windows 10 includes a number of repair tools to help you identify possible errors. One of them is SFC or the System File Checker. As the name suggests, SFC will scan your system for corrupt files and restore them. It is possible that one of the system files related to Task Manager is damaged. Press Windows + R to open the Run prompt with administrator privileges and type cmd before pressing Enter.
Now type the following command and hit Enter. sfc / scannow Make sure the command prompt says Administrator in the title.
If you don’t see Administrator, use Windows Search to find cmd (command prompt), right-click on it and select Run as administrator.
Once the scan is complete and it shows 100%, exit the command prompt and restart your PC.
7. Run DISM
The DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management) is another Windows 10 command line tool used to maintain the Windows image in a .wim file. Restart the Run prompt by pressing the Windows + R shortcut and type cmd to open the command prompt as in the previous steps. Check if the command prompt is running with administrator rights. Now type the following in the command prompt. DISM / Online / Cleanup-Image / ScanHealth
If DISM finds some errors, the process will take 10-20 minutes. Type the following command to check whether the errors can be fixed or not. Dism / Online / Cleanup-Image / CheckHealth If the errors can be fixed, run the command below to fix them. DISM / Online / Cleanup-Image / RestoreHealth
8. Process Explorer
Task manager isn’t the only option available to you. If all else fails, you can always download and use Process Explorer. The Task Manager on my PC works fine, but I prefer to use Process Explorer.
That’s because Process Explorer is more powerful and displays more detail than the Task Manager. Process Explorer measures just 1.7MB in size and can replace Task Manager. So every time you open Task Manager, Process Manager will start instead. You can track the latest DLL of any process, find memory leaks, manage running and running processes, comes with a handy tree structure, can use it to unlock files and folders and more. The best part is that you don’t have to install it as it runs through the .exe file. Download Process Explorer
Tasks at hand
Task Manager is one of the most used tools in Windows 10. Often times it is also the most used tool to check what is causing problems on a typical Windows PC. Hopefully, one of the above solutions will work for you to fix Task Manager’s problems. If you’ve found another way to fix it, let us know in the comments below. The next up: Did you like the Process Explorer? Want to know more? Here’s an in-depth one guide on Process Explorer and how to use it.
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