Windows Task Manager is used to view details about processes
running on your computer. Since it can be used to terminate programs that are
misbehaving or are viruses disguised in the form of harmless programs, most
spyware and viruses disable it to prevent themselves from being closed through
it. Some administrators also disable Task Manager to prevent users from closing
important security programs like antiviruses and anti-malwares.
In such situations, running the Task Manager will give the
"Task Manager has been disabled by Administrator" error.
However, there are some techniques you can use to re-enable task manager and
close those harmful programs manually. This article contains few such simple
techniques you can use to regain access to Task Managing privileges
Enable
Task Manager from Registry in Windows 8, 7, XP or Vista
Registry Editor is an inbuilt
Windows tool that is used to modify registry keys which tell Windows how it
should work. A simple registry modification can be used to bypass the Task
Manager block. To do so, just follow the steps:-
·
Click on Start. Go to Run. If you use Windows 8, Windows 7 or Windows
Vista, go to Search.
· Type regedit and
press Enter. Registry Editor will start. If Registry Editor is also disabled,
you will first need to enable
registry editing.
·
Through the left hand navigation pane, navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\ Current Version\Policies\System.
If the System key is not there, you will need to create it.
·
In the work area, locate "DisableTaskMgr". If this value is
not there, you will need to create a new DWORD value called DisableTaskMgr.
Double click on it. A window will pop up.
·
Enter its value data as 0 and press OK.
· Close Registry
Editor. If Task Manager is still disabled, restart your computer.
Enable Task Manager from Group Policy Editor (Gpedit.msc)
Group Policy Editor is a feature in
Windows which is used to edit local policy settings. It can also be used to
enable Task Manager. To do so, just follow the steps given below:-
1.
Open Start Menu. Windows XP users
click on Run. Windows 8, Windows 7 and Vista users, go to Search.
2.
Type gpedit.msc and press Enter.
Group Policy Editor Window will show up.
3.
From the navigational pane at the
left hand side, go to: User Configuration>Administrative
Templates>System>Ctrl+Alt+Del Options.
4.
In the work area, double click on
"Remove Task Manager" and set its value to Disabled or Not
Configured.
5.
Restart your Computer or Log Off and
Log back On to apply the changes.
Group Policy Editor is not available on
home editions of Windows.
Create
a Registry(.reg) file for enabling Task Manager
If you are unfamiliar with manually
editing the Registry, you can create a registry file which will automatically modify the Registry Key to re-enable Task Managing.
To create one such file:-
- Open Notepad or any other text editor.
- Copy the code given below and paste it as it is in it.
Windows
Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System]
“DisableTaskMgr” =dword:00000000
- Save the file as Enable Task Manager.reg or *.reg.
- Open the file by double clicking on it.
- Registry Editor will ask you for confirmation. In the
confirmation Window, click Yes.
- Task Manager would immediately be accessible. If it is
not, restart your computer.
The
techniques mentioned in this article work on Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows
XP and Windows Vista
