Task Manager Disabled by Administrator: 7 Ways to Enable

The Windows operating system has a built-in tool – Task Manager, designed to monitor the status of computer components and to control the launch of programs, services, startup status, etc. On some PCs, the user may find himself in a situation where the Task Manager is disabled by the administrator.

This system tool is always available to the user by default so that he can find out about the performance status of the device or solve problems that arise on the computer related to auto-start, freezing or disabling applications, etc.

In the event of a problem, the user, using the Task Manager, can terminate the problematic program or a hung process, disable unnecessary applications at computer startup, and perform other necessary actions. This is one of the system tools most requested by users when configuring Windows OS settings.

Task Manager (Windows Task Manager) opens on the Desktop after right-clicking on an empty space on the Taskbar, after pressing the key combinations “Ctrl” + “Alt” + “Del”, “Ctrl” + “Shift” + “Esc” “, or in other ways.

In some cases, when trying to solve a particular problem, the user finds out that the Task Manager has been disabled by the Windows administrator. A window appears on the computer screen with a message that the administrator has disabled Task Manager.

In other situations, the user will see an inactive item “Task Manager” after calling the context menu of the Taskbar.

What to do if the Task Manager is disabled? This happens for several reasons: due to exposure to malicious software or due to the actions of the administrator of this PC.

In the first case, the virus disables this system tool so that the user cannot detect and terminate the dangerous process on his computer caused by the malware. In a similar way, the virus blocks the user’s ability to disable the effects of malware that has penetrated the PC.

In another case, Task Manager is intentionally disabled on this computer for security purposes or to control user actions. This is necessary to prevent a user with normal rights from changing some Windows settings, or to prevent running applications from quitting. Similar restrictive actions are applied, for example, in educational institutions.

In this article, you will find instructions on what to do if the Task Manager is disabled by the administrator of Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, using system tools or third-party software.

Task Manager Disabled by Administrator: How to Enable in Registry Editor

You can use the Registry Editor to resolve the issue on various versions of the Windows operating system. Using the built-in tool, changes are made to the Windows system registry, thanks to which the Task Manager will be unlocked.

Do the following:

1. Open the Windows Registry Editor .
2. Follow the path:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System

3. Look for the “DisableTaskMgr” setting.
4. Highlight this option, right-click on it, select Delete from the context menu.
5. Confirm the deletion of this registry key in the warning window.

Another option is to change the value of the “DisableTaskMgr” parameter to “0”. To do this, right-click on the parameter, click on the “Edit …” item. In the “Change DWORD (32-bit) Value” window, enter “0” in the “Value” field.

6. Restart your PC for the changes to take effect.

Enable Task Manager with a .reg file

The user can create a registry file – a .reg file with a command to enable the task manager on a given computer. In this case, you do not have to make changes to the registry manually, you only need to run the command to merge the file.

Do the following:

1. Open Notepad or another text editor.
2. Copy the following code into the Notepad window:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System]

"DisableTaskMgr"=dword:00000000

3. In the “File” menu, click on the “Save” item.
4. In the “Save” window, in the “File type” field, select “All files”, and in the “File name” field, give the file any name with the “.reg” extension.

In this case, I chose the name “enabletaskmanager.reg” for the file.

5. Click on the “Save” button.
6. Close the Notepad window, and then right-click on the newly created registry file.
7. In the context menu, click on the “Merge” item.
8. In the window that opens, agree to apply the changes.
9. Restart your computer.

How to remove “Task Manager has been disabled by administrator” by changing group policy

This method is suitable for users of older versions of the operating system Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7: Professional (Professional), Enterprise (Corporate), Education (for educational institutions), Ultimate (Maximum). These versions of the OS have a built-in system tool – the Local Group Policy Editor, which is not available in the home versions.

Go through the following steps:

1. Press the keyboard keys “Win” + “R”.
2. In the Run dialog box, enter the command “gpedit.msc”, and then click on the “OK” button.
3. In the Local Group Policy Editor window that opens, follow the path:

User Configuration → Administrative Templates → System → What to Do After Pressing CTRL+ALT+DEL

4. Double-click the “Remove Task Manager” policy with the left mouse button.
5. In the Remove Task Manager window, set the option to Not Set.
6. Click on the “OK” button.
7. Restart your computer.

How to enable Task Manager on the command line

You can disable the Task Manager lock by running a special command in the Windows command line. Running the command will help solve the problem with the device manager on the computer.

You need to do the following:

1. Run Command Prompt as Administrator.
2. In the command line interpreter window, enter the command, and then press the “Enter” key:

REG add HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System /v DisableTaskMgr /t REG_DWORD /d /0 /f

3. Restart your PC.

Unlock Task Manager using BAT file

In some situations, the user will not be able to use the Windows tools directly due to the blocking of the system tools. In this case, you need to apply the command in a specially created BAT batch file.

To solve the problem, you only need to simply run the generated “.bat” file on your computer.

Do the following:

1. Paste this command into an open Notepad window:

REG add HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System /v DisableTaskMgr /t REG_DWORD /d /0 /f

2. Enter the “File” menu, click on the “Save” item.
3. In the save window. In the File name field, enter any name with the “.bat” extension in English quotes. This article uses the name “enabletaskmanager.bat” as an example.
4. Save this file and then close Notepad.
5. Double click the left button on the created BAT file.
6. Next, you need to reboot the system to apply the changes.

How to unlock task manager in AVZ

The problem of Task Manager blocking can be solved with the help of third-party software. We use the AZV (Zaitsev Antivirus) anti-virus utility.

In addition to searching for and removing viruses, Oleg Zaitsev’s antivirus application has tools for restoring system settings. The AZV program can be downloaded from the official website of the developer: http://z-oleg.com/secur/avz/download.php .

Do the following:

1. In the “AVZ Anti-Virus Utility” window, select the “File” menu.
2. Click on System Restore.
3. In the System Restore window, check the Unlock Task Manager box.
4. Click on the “Perform the marked operations” button.
5. Close the AVZ program, the Task Manager will become available without restarting Windows.

How to enable Task Manager in FixWin

The free FixWin program will help you unlock the Task Manager in Windows. This application works from a folder, you don’t have to install it on your computer.

There are several versions of the program designed separately for Windows 10, Windows 8.1 (Windows 8), Windows 7.

Do the following:

1. Go to the FixWin program website at: https://www.thewindowsclub.com/fixwin-for-windows-10 .
2. Download links for the app for different Windows operating systems are at the bottom of the page.
3. Unpack the ZIP archive and then run the program from the folder.
4. In the FixWin window, open the System Tools tab.
5. Select “Task manger has been disabled by your administrator or task Manager option in disabled”, click on the “Fix” button.
6. Close the program, reboot the system.

Article Conclusions

On some computers, the Task Manager may be blocked, so the user will not be able to use this operating system tool to perform Windows setup tasks. Such changes in the OS settings happen due to the actions of viruses or the decision of the PC administrator. This guide will show you how to unlock Task Manager on Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7 using system tools or third party apps.