When getting infected with a virus, one of the most common things that can happen is for the Windows Task Manager to be disabled. In such a scenario, every time you try to launch it, you will receive a message saying that the 'Task Manager has been disabled by your administrator'. In this case, the first thing you should do is to install a good antivirus solution and disinfect your PC. If you need recommendations on good security solutions, check our 'Security for Everyone' series. After you disinfect your PC, you can enable your Task Manager again by using a free tool called TaskMgrED, developed by one of our team members. In this article you will find out how this tool works and also receive the download link.
First, download TaskMgrED using the download link at the bottom of this article. When you run it, don't forget to right click on the file and select 'Run as administrator'. When launched, the tool looks like in the screenshot below. To enable the Task Manager, click on the Enable button. If you want to disable it, click on Disable.

The tool has not been tested by many people so it can fail to work on some PCs. Therefore, we provide it as-is, with no warranties. In case you see an error as the one shown below, it means you forgot to run it as an administrator. Therefore, close it, right click on the file and select 'Run as administrator'.

If you encounter other issues with it, let us know via the comments below. We will do our best to fix it.
NOTE: this tool works also on Windows Vista and Windows XP.
TOOL UPDATES: TaskMgrED has been updated & improved.
Version 1a should no longer generate the error message shown above. This has been replaced with a user friendly message reminding users to run this tool as an administrator.
Version 1b has some coding improvements.
Easily Enable or Disable the Registry Editor Using RegistryED
| Attachment | Size |
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Comments
I know this is for Windows 7
I know this is for Windows 7 tutorials however I was wondering if this works on any other operating systems?
It works on Windows Vista and
It works on Windows Vista and XP too.
I'm running windows 7
I'm running windows 7 ultimate and I purposely got a virus on one of my dummy pcs and when I went to go kill the process (of the virus) it just kept coming back. I ran the virus scanner it said it successfully removed, had to reboot. Then after reboot my task manager was disabled used this program reenabled it. But that virus process was still there and could not kill it. So basically what I'm asking is do you know of a program to be able to by pass the virus and kill the process? I tried killbox but it does not work on windows 7.
You will have very little
You will have very little chance to kill the virus by using Windows commands. Try to install a good antivirus, understand which virus you have and, if the antivirus is not able to remove it, search for a removal tool specific to that virus, download it and run it.
after downloading this little
after downloading this little program, and i disable the task manager will the hotkeys bring up the task manager and show what is running. i am trying to hide what is running.
This program doesn't hide
This program doesn't hide running programs. It just disables the task manager. Nothing else.
program worked perfectly on
program worked perfectly on my windows 7
Thanks!
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