The Task Manager is a tool available in Windows 10 that can provide various useful information about your system’s overall resource usage to detailed statistics about each process. You can access this tool by pressing on the Ctrl-Alt-Delete buttons at the same time then click on task manager. You can also access this by right-clicking on the start button then clicking on the Task Manager option. Although this is a solid performing tool there are instances when certain issues can occur. In this latest installment of our troubleshooting series we will tackle the Task Manager not opening in windows 10 issue.
How to fix Task Manager not working in Windows 10
Before performing any of the recommended troubleshooting steps listed below it’s best to restart your computer first. This action refreshes the operating system and remove any corrupt temporary data that could be causing the problem.
Scan your computer
The first thing to do in this case is to make sure that your computer is free from any malware as this problem is usually caused by a virus or malware. You can use the built-in Windows Security software to run a scan.
- Select Start
- Go to Settings
- Go to Update & Security
- Click on Windows Security
- Click on Virus & threat protection.
- Under Current threats, select Scan options
- Select Full Scan.
- Select Scan Now
Once the scan is complete try to check if the Task Manager not working issue still occurs.
Make sure that the Task Manager is not disabled
In some cases the problem is caused because the task manager is disabled. To fix this you just have to enable the task manager.
- Press Windows + R to launch the Run application.
- Type gpedit.msc in the dialogue box and press Enter.
- Navigate to the following path: User Configuration>Administrative Templates>System>Ctrl+Alt+Del Options
- You will see an entry named “Remove Task Manager”. Double-click it to open its settings.
- Set the setting as Enabled and click on Apply.
- Select Not Configured or Disabled and press Apply. The final value is Not Configured/Disabled. We selected Enabled and applied changes so the group policy can overrun any settings done by any external application or malware. Press OK to save changes and exit.
- Restart your computer in order for the changes to take place.
Try to check if the task manager not showing issue still occurs.
Perform a system file check
If the problem is caused by a corrupted or missing system file then running the SFC command will fix this.
- Type Command Prompt in the search bar then right click on the command prompt app that appears and click on run as administrator.
- In the command prompt windows type sfc /scannow and press Enter
- Wait for the process to Finish.
In case the issue persists then proceed with a DISM scan.
- In the command prompt windows type DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth and press Enter to run it
- Wait for the process to finish.
Try checking if the Task Manager not opening in Windows 10 issue still occurs.
Create a new user account
There’s a chance that the problem can be caused by a corrupted account data. If this is the culprit then you will need to create a new user account.
- Open the Settings app
- Go to the Accounts section.
- Choose Family & other users from the menu on the left. Click the Add someone else to this PC button in the right pane.
- Choose I don’t have this person’s sign-in information.
- Now select Add a user without a Microsoft account
- Enter the desired username and password and click Next
- Switch to this newly created account.
Try to check if the Task Manager has stopped working issue still occurs.