Task Manager Has Been Disabled, How to Fix It?

Many times when working on a computer that has been infected with a virus, trojan, or piece of spyware I find myself with the Task Manager being disabled. Malware creators like to disable Task Manager so it makes solving the problem and removing the issue difficult. If this happens you'll normally have to edit the Windows registry to fix the problem. A restriction has been placed on the user to not allow them to run Task Manager, this might be ok in an office environment where the IT department wants to control things, but in a home office this can cause major problems trying to fix a malware or virus issue. Listed below you will find the many ways to reenable Task Manager along with an automatic method that works wonders. To open the Task Manager, you normally would do one of the following: Press CTRL-ALT-DEL on the keyboard Press CTRL-SHIFT-ESC on the keyboard Right-click on a blank area on the start bar and choose Task Manager Click on Start, Run and type TASKMGR in the run box and press Enter Sometimes instead of Task Manager opening you'll see the following screen. In these cases, you'll have to follow the methods below to re-enable access to the Task Manager. First we'll begin with the various registry modification methods for correcting this problem. Method 1 - Using the Group Policy Editor in Windows XP Professional Click Start, Run, type gpedit.msc and click OK. Under User Configuration, Click on the plus (+) next to Administrative Templates Click on the plus (+) next tSystem, then click on Ctrl+Alt+Delete Options Find Remove Task Manager in the right-hand pane and double click on it Choose the option "Not Configured" and click Ok. Close the Group Policy Window Method 2: Change the Task Manager Option through the Run line Click on Start, Run and type the following command exactly and press Enter REG add HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System /v DisableTaskMgr /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f Method 3: Change Task Manager through a Registry REG file Click on Start, Run, and type Notepad and press Enter Copy and paste the information between the dotted lines into Notepad and save it to your desktop as taskmanager.reg ------------------------------------ Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System] "DisableTaskMgr"=dword:00000000 ------------------------------------- 3. Double click on the taskmanager.reg file to enter the information into the Windows registry Method 4: Delete the restriction in the registry manually Click on Start, Run, and type REGEDIT and press Enter Navigate to the following branch HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies\ System In the right pane, find and delete the value named DisableTaskMgr Close the registry editor Method 5: Download and Run FixTaskManager program Click on the following links and download the program FixTaskManager to your Desktop Main Site Backup Location Double-click on the file FixTaskManager on your desktop and run it Bookmark and Share this Article on PCHELL with these Social Networks: Links to Other Important Information Windows XP SP3 being released on May 6, 2008 Computer shows Stop error and Continously Reboots after SP3 installed. How to Remove MSBLAST.EXE worm How to Remove Content Advisor Password in Internet Explorer How to Remove Incredimail Automatically How to Fix Problem of Limited or No Connectivity After installing Windows XP Service Pack 2 How to Recover From a Corrupted Registry in Windows XP How to Speed Up Windows Boot Time How to Fix Problem with No Active Mixer Devices Available in Windows XP Parents Guide to MySpace.com - a report every parent should read Save and Restore Desktop Layout of Icons What is Windows Genuine Advantage and How to Overcome Problems With It Change Forgotten Administrator Password in Windows XP/2000/Vista Not Enough Server Storage Error When Connecting to Computer on Network Installing Windows Vista Upgrade on a Blank Hard Drive How to Delete Your Windows Vista Logon Password Remove Unwanted Icons from the Windows Vista Welcome Center Cannot Connect to Network Printer with Windows Vista How to Wipe, Delete, Degauss, and Destroy Data on a Hard Drive Fixing RTHDCPL.EXE - Illegal System DLL Relocation Error in Windows XP What is the Config.Msi folder and Can I Delete It? Flash Player Installation Issues How to Set Yahoo Mail as your Default Email Program Unknown File in Winsock LSP - NWPROVAU.DLL - Can it be Removed? How to Delete a Service in Windows Vista How to Disable the On-Screen Keyboard in Windows Vista What is CTFMON.EXE and How Can I Remove It How to Export MSN Favorites to Internet Explorer How to Fix Registry Editing Has Been Disabled By Your Administrator Error How to Change Default Editor in Windows and Fax Viewer How to Fix Problem when Windows Security Center reports multiple antivirus programs installed How to Fix Problem when Windows Updates will download but will not install Cannot Download Files With Internet Explorer How to Keep Your Computer Up-to-Date How to Fix the Prompt for Click to Run an ActiveX Control on this webpage How to Remove "This Page Contains Both Secure and NonSecure Items" Warning Message How to Fix Problem with Blank Add/Remove Control Panel How to Fix Windows Vista Update Error 80244019 Troubleshooting An Error Occurred During Directory Enumeration How to Fix BLService Error on HP Computer in Vista Windows Defrag Does Not Complete Review of BigString Recallable Email Deleting or Editing Typed URLs in the Internet Explorer Address Bar Belarc Advisor - Quick Computer Inventory Software How to Get Out of Full Screen Mode in Internet Explorer How to Correct Missing "Copy to CD" option in My Pictures Tasks How to Fix Code 39 error with CD or DVD Drive How to Fix Problems When Windows Installer Popups Error With Missing .MSI Files How to Fix Problems When Network Setup Wizard and Network Connections Won't Open How to Fix Problems with Windows Help Errors How to Delete Individual Entries from Run Command History Foxit - Adobe Reader Alternative How to Fix Autochk Program Not Found error Difference between Master/Slave and Cable Select on a Hard Drive How to Use Microsoft SyncToy to backup your important files How to Delete Temporary Internet Files, Cookies, and History files Review of PCDecrapifer Software Removal Tool How to Fix Security Flaw in Adobe Reader How to SVCHOST.EXE Application Error 0x745f2780 Troubleshooting the Unmountable Boot Volume Error in Windows XP How to Disable, Uninstall, and Remove Windows Messenger instant messaging from Windows XP How to Remove Windows Messenger in Windows XP Free DVD Decoder Software and Help Free CD Burning Software and Help How to Use Remote Desktop to Access Multiple Computer on Your LAN HijackThis Tutorial for removing Spyware Review of Adsense Detective, Getting Stats and Results from Adsense How to Disable System Restore in Windows ME or Windows XP How to Uninstall Internet Explorer 7 How to Install NetBEUI in Windows XP What is the KB891711.exe file in Windows 98 or Windows ME? How to Troubleshoot and Solve USB Device Error Code 10 Spooler Subsystem App has encountered a problem and needs to close Error and How to Fix it How to Fix Problem opening Microsoft Outlook How to Disable News Headlines in Netscape How to Bring Back Missing Folders in Netscape Communicator How to Fix Access Denied Error when Using MSCONFIG How to Fix HPQKBFiltr.Sys Keylogger Error in Kaspersky Antivirus How to Backup and Restore Outlook Express Mail, Address Book, Blocked Senders List and other Settings What is the Tilde (~) File on my Desktop? What is the thumbs.db file and can I remove it Password is Not Saved in Outlook Express or Outlook in Windows XP Allow Viewing of Attachments in Outlook Express 6 How to Fix Problem of No Spell Check in Outlook Express How to Fix Problems Viewing or Accessing Secure Web Sites How to Start or Boot Windows into Safe Mode What is the Winmail.dat file attached to emails?> How to Correct Unreadable Fonts in Norton Antivirus or Norton Systemworks How to correct issue with No Visible Menu Bar or Tabs in Windows XP Task Manager How Disable/Enable the Windows XP Welcome Screen How to Fix RTLGINA2.DLL error with Windows XP Welcome Screen and Netgear WG111 How to Fix Windows Update Error 0x80070420 PopUp Ad Removal Software and Help Review of ErrorNuker program to identify and fix problems with the Windows Registry Spyware and Adware Removal Help Review of Netflix Online DVD Rental