What to do if Windows Task Manager stops working

Windows Task Manager is at the center of everything we do on our Windows devices so when it stops responding or acts strangely, it can stop us doing anything. It is a common issue we see here at Dave’s Computers in New Jersey but it is usually quite straightforward to fix.

Here are a few ways to recover Windows Task Manager if it begins acting weird.

Reboot your computer

Rebooting is always the first thing to do with any Windows device that is acting up. It can fix all manner of problems from file system to if the Windows Task Manager stops working. We always recommend this step first.

Check file integrity

If a reboot doesn’t work, we need to check Windows file integrity. If you follow the steps exactly nothing should go wrong. If you want to create a system restore point first, go ahead. Then do the following:

1. Right click the Windows Start button and select Command Line (Admin).
2. Type ‘sfc /scannow’ into the window and hit Enter.
3. Allow the process to complete

SFC stands for System File Checker and is an in-built tool for Windows that checks the integrity of core system files. If the tool finds anything wrong it will automatically fix the problem by replacing the files at fault with new ones. It may take a while to complete the test but is well worth doing. It shows you a percentage as it progresses and will tell you when it finishes.

Rebuild Windows apps

Rebuilding Windows apps is only for if SFC doesn’t find anything wrong. There is a command we use to tell Windows to rebuild its app database in case it is that causing problems with Windows Task Manager.

1. Right click the Windows Taskbar and select Task Manager.
2. Select File and New task.
3. Check the box next to ‘Create this task with administrative privileges.’
4. Type ‘powershell’ into the box and select OK.
5. Type or paste ‘Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}’ into PowerShell and hit Enter.
6. Allow the process to complete.

This may take a few minutes but will automatically fix any app issues that may be interfering with Task Manager. If that doesn’t work, use System Restore.

System Restore

You can restore Windows to an earlier time when Task Manager worked properly. As long as you have it running, System Restore will have you up and running in a couple minutes.

1. Type ‘restore’ into the Windows Search box and select System Restore.
2. Select your restore point from the list and select Next.
3. Select Finish to perform the restore.

The process can take a few minutes but will hopefully overwrite whatever change caused the Task Manager to stop responding properly.

If that doesn’t work, there may be more serious issues to tackle. Bring your computer to our store so we can work our magic. The computer repair guys at Dave’s Computers in New Jersey can help with any computer issue you may have.