Fixed: Task Manager Has Been Disabled Problem on Windows 10

What causes ‘Task Manager has been disabled by administrator’ error? How to fix this Task Manager error? This article will provide you with several options.

Yuka

By Yuka Updated on January 9, 2023

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Error: Task Manager Has Been Disabled by Your Administrator

Task Manager, also known as Windows Task Manager, is a system monitor and startup manager in Microsoft Windows. Task Manager provides information about your computer's performance and running software, including running processes, CPU load, submitted charges or Windows services, and more.

Have you ever encountered this situation: You right-click on the taskbar, but find that the "Start Task Manager" is grayed out. You press the "Ctrl + Alt + Del" key combination, but find that "Start Task Manager" disappears from the screen. You run taskmgr in the Run box, but receive an error message." Task Manager has been disabled by your administrator".

Task Manager Has Been Disabled

Possible Reasons Why Task Manager Is Disabled By Administrator

Task Manager is a very useful tool on Windows. Sometimes, Task Manager may encounter some problems, such as Task Manager not responding and the above mentioned Task Manager disabled by administrator problem. So why do you encounter the problem of Task Manager being disabled by administrator? Here are a few possible reasons:

  • The account has been blocked by Local Group Policy or Domain Group Policy.
  • Some registry settings prevent you from using Task Manager.

So, in the next section, we will show you how to fix the error that the Taskmgr has been disabled.

3 Possible Ways to Fix Task Manager Disabled Problem

#1. Enable Task Manager in Group Policy Editor

In order to fix the Task Manager has been disabled on Windows 10, you can choose to enable it in Group Policy Editor. The tutorial is as follows:

  1. Press Windows + R key together to open Run dialog, then type gpedit.msc in the box and click OK to continue.
  2. Then navigate to the User Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Ctrl + Alt + Del Options.

Ctrl + Alt + Del Options

  1. On the right panel, select the Remove Task Manager and double-click it.

Remove Task Manager

  1. In the pop-up window, check the option Not Configured or Disabled. Then click Apply and OK to confirm the changes.

Not Configured

When you are done, close the Group Policy Editor window. Restart your computer to see if the problem of Task Manager being disabled by the administrator is solved. If this option doesn't work, try the next one.

#2. Enable Task Manager in Registry Editor

If you encounter the Task Manager has been disabled error on Windows 10, you can choose to enable Task Manager in the Registry Editor.

Note: Modifying registry keys is a risky thing to do. Therefore, please back up your computer before proceeding in case something happens.

  1. Press Windows + R key together to open Run dialog, then type regedit in the box and click OK to continue.
  2. In the Registry Editor window, navigate to the following path:
  • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\ Windows\ Current Version\Policies\System.
  1. In the right panel, select the key DisableTaskMgr and double-click it. If it is not here, create a new one.
  2. Then change its value data to 0. (If you want to disable Task Manager, just change its value data back to 1.)

Change Value Data

#3. Enable Task Manager via CMD

To solve the problem of Task Manager has been disabled by your administrator, you can also choose to enable it via the Command Prompt.

  1. Type Command Prompt in the search box of Windows and choose the best-matched one. Then right-click it to choose Run as administrator to continue.
  2. In the Command Line window, type the command and press Enter to run it:
  • REG add HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System /v DisableTaskMgr /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

CMD

  1. Then it will show the operation is completed successfully. When this process is complete, restart your computer and check if the error that Task Manager has been disabled on Windows 10 has been resolved.

Back Up Your Computer in Advance - In Case of Accidents

To fix the error where the Task Manager has been disabled by your administrator, you may make some changes to the registry or run some commands using the Command Prompt. You don't know what will happen during the repair process, so it is recommended that you back up your computer before fixing this problem.

I would like to recommend you a comprehensive backup tool that will meet all your needs in different situations. AOMEI Backupper Standard is a free backup software that allows you to backup files, systems, disks, partitions and then restore them. What makes it stand out from the crowd? Let's find out.

🎄 Different backup destinations. All backup types support backup to internal or external hard drives, cloud drives, network locations, and NAS devices.
🎄 Automatic backup: This software helps users back up their data continuously, so you never miss any changes. You can choose the frequency of daily, weekly or monthly.
🎄 Three backup methods: It provides Incremental Backup, Differential Backup and Full Backup. Creating a full backup each time wastes too much time and disk space, so you can choose incremental and differential backup feature to save disk space on the destination while keeping backup up-to-date.
🎄 Create bootable media: If your computer has a problem and cannot start normally, you can use the bootable media created earlier to boot the computer.

This software supports all Windows PC operating systems, such as Windows 11/10/8.1/8/8/7/Vista/XP are supported. However, if you are running Windows server OS, please turn to server backup software. Next, I will show you how to backup your PC via AOMEI Backupper, here is the example of System Backup.

  1. Download AOMEI Backupper, install and launch it. Then, click "System Backup" under the "Backup" tab.
Download FreewareWin 11/10/8.1/8/7/XP
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System Backup

  1. The program will select the system and boot partition as source by default. Then select a destination path to save the system backup. You can modify the "Task name" to distinguish it from other backup tasks.

Select Destination

  1. Click "Start Backup" to begin system backup in your computer.

Start Backup

Conclusion

If you encounter the error that the Task Manager has been disabled, you can refer to this article for help. I believe this article provides you with three ways to get your Task Manager back to normal. When you take the repair method, you may encounter modification of registry information. Therefore, it is recommended that you make a backup of your computer in advance in case you encounter unexpected situations that may lead to system crashes or data loss.

Yuka
Yuka · Editor
Yuka, our dedicated editor at AOMEI Technology, is committed to bringing you valuable insights and guidance in data protection. Her mission is to empower everyone with her knowledge in computer backup and recovery, disk cloning, file synchronization, and more. Yuka's goal is to do her best to make complex tech tasks simple and ensure that your digital world remains safe and secure.