Tag: task manager » Page 2

What is “Program” in Task Manager Startup Tab

Last Updated on: July 3, 2019 by Ramesh

When you open Task Manager and click on the Startup tab to manage auto-start entries, you may notice one or more entries showing up as “Program” showing up with a blank or generic icon and without any Publisher information.

The unknown “Program” entries are most likely caused if both of the following conditions are true:

The startup entry refers to an invalid or non-existent file under “Program Files” folder.
The registry value data corresponding to that startup entry is not enclosed within double-quotes.

This article tells what does the “Program” entries in the Startup tab mean and how to get rid of those entries.Read more

[Fix] Error “Windows cannot find taskmgr.exe” Opening Task Manager

Last Updated on: November 28, 2020 by Ramesh

When attempting to open the Task Manager in your Windows computer, you may receive the following error:

Windows cannot find ‘C:\Windows\system32\Taskmgr.exe’. Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again.

This error occurs no matter which method you use in order to launch Task Manager. Running taskmgr.exe with the full path via Run dialog will also not work.
Read more

Find Which Program is Constantly Reading or Writing to Disk

Last Updated on: July 31, 2023 by Ramesh

Does your hard drive LED in the computer’s chassis show non-stop disk input or output activity? If the I/O operations occur at an alarming rate, sometimes even at 100% disk usage, find the process and stop it from running, especially if you’re using Solid State Drive. If you’re wondering which process is thrashing your hard drive continuously, here is how to find the offending program.

How to Remove Invalid Entries from Task Manager Startup tab

Last Updated on: April 1, 2026 by Ramesh

task manager startup tab dead entries - onedrive

Managing startup entries was possible using the System Configuration Utility (msconfig.exe), in Windows 7 and earlier. This functionality is now provided by the Task Manager in Windows 8, Windows 10, and Windows 11, which features a new “Startup” tab that lists all auto-start entries in the system.

How to Open Task Manager to a Specific Tab Directly

Last Updated on: June 12, 2019 by Ramesh

Task Manager opens to Processes tab by default in Windows 8 and 10. If you want it to open to the Startup tab directly, this article tells you how to do it.Read more

What is Startup Impact in Task Manager and How is it Calculated?

Last Updated on: June 10, 2021 by Ramesh

You would have noticed a column named “Startup Impact” in Task Manager’s Startup tab in Windows 8 and higher. But what does “Startup Impact” mean and how is it assessed?Read more

Incorrect Uptime Reported by Task Manager and WMI. Refresh it Manually

Last Updated on: November 6, 2020 by Ramesh

Task Manager’s Performance tab (CPU section) shows the Uptime information of the system, but you may be wondering why your boot-up time doesn’t match the uptime data reported.

Task Manager: Show Command-line and Image Path of Running Processes

Last Updated on: September 30, 2022 by Ramesh

Out of all the built-in troubleshooting tools in Windows, Task Manager is probably the most useful tool. Almost every end-user knows what to do when an application stalls. They just fire up Task Manager using Ctrl + Shift + Esc and end the nonresponsive task. Also, Task Manager can be an extremely valuable tool to troubleshoot processes, and monitor disk I/O rates or other system performance issues.

Task Manager’s Details tab lists all running processes. By default, it doesn’t display the complete path of the running processes and the command-line arguments used by those processes.

For instance, you may see the script host CScript.exe or WScript.exe in Task Manager but not the script file name (argument) being executed. This article tells you how to enable this critical bit of information in Task Manager.