Help with Troublesome Task Manager, Please

[gavinswoodpile.com]

When I open the Task Manager to close a program that has frozen, the Task
Manager appears not to do anything... the frozen program doesn't close. I
have to manually close the Task Manager as well, then reboot the computer to
get the frozen program to close.

Also, if I have a program open and it is running fine with no problems, is
it possible to close it with the Task Manager? If so, I tried that and,
again, the program would not close.

Thank you,
D

 

[On the Bridge!]

try this free microsoft "more advanced" task manager
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx

 

[Gary Mount]

Many times just logging off instead of rebooting will do the trick.

 

[Ashton Crusher]

When I open the Task Manager to close a program that has frozen, the Task
Manager appears not to do anything... the frozen program doesn't close. I
have to manually close the Task Manager as well, then reboot the computer to
get the frozen program to close.

Also, if I have a program open and it is running fine with no problems, is
it possible to close it with the Task Manager? If so, I tried that and,
again, the program would not close.

Thank you,
D

Perhaps you are not waiting long enough?? You can also close it over
and over again till it takes!!

 

[Mr. Arnold]

When I open the Task Manager to close a program that has frozen, the Task
Manager appears not to do anything... the frozen program doesn't close. I
have to manually close the Task Manager as well, then reboot the computer
to
get the frozen program to close.

Also, if I have a program open and it is running fine with no problems, is
it possible to close it with the Task Manager? If so, I tried that and,
again, the program would not close.

You can kill it with Process Explorer too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Process_Explorer
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/default.aspx

 

[gavinswoodpile.com]

I have installed Process Explorer.Thank you for the information. Is there a
way to open it with a keyboard shortcut or do I have to use the desktop icon,
which could be a problem if a program is frozen and I cannot access the
desktop. Also, for others who posted: I can wait forever and Task Manager
never responds. Also there are times when I cannot restart or anything...
nothing works. I have to turn the computer off.

 

[Mr. Arnold]

I have installed Process Explorer.Thank you for the information. Is there a
way to open it with a keyboard shortcut or do I have to use the desktop
icon,
which could be a problem if a program is frozen and I cannot access the
desktop. Also, for others who posted: I can wait forever and Task Manager
never responds. Also there are times when I cannot restart or anything...
nothing works. I have to turn the computer off.

<http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...=1&q=how+to+make+a+shortcut+Key+Vista&spell=1>

Malware can infect the computer and knockout Task Manager so that you can't
see what is running. That's a real possibility.

 

[On the Bridge!]

there is an option to make it the default task manager

Options> replace task manager

then with ctrl-shift-esc it will pop up instead of the task manager

you can change this back of course

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I have installed Process Explorer.Thank you for the information. Is there a
way to open it with a keyboard shortcut or do I have to use the desktop icon,

For any program, right-click on its shortcut (create a shortcut if
there is none) and choose Properties. On the Shortcut tab, you can
create a keyboard shortcut.

 

[gavinswoodpile.com]

I ran AVG and Spybot S&D and they found nothing. I also have Spyware Blaster
running. Anyhting other programs you would suggest that might help?

 

[gavinswoodpile.com]

in the Shortcut tab, in the box that says Shortcut Key, it currently says
"none." i cannot hightlight the word "none," nor can i delete it and type in
another shortcut. or am i in the wrong place?

 

[gavinswoodpile.com]

i made the change in Options, but ctrl-shift-esc doesn't make Process
Explorer open.

 

[gavinswoodpile.com]

Another thing I have noted of late is that when Windows is starting after my
logon, a window flashes up and goes away in a split second... like there is
something loading and I don't know what it is.

 

[On the Bridge!]

im on xp now and it works like that...

ill be on vista later, and i will try it..

it should work though!

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

in the Shortcut tab, in the box that says Shortcut Key, it currently says
"none." i cannot hightlight the word "none," nor can i delete it and type in
another shortcut. or am i in the wrong place?

No, you're in the right place. Press the Ctrl key or the Alt key. The
display will change from "None" to "Ctrl + Alt + " Type the key you
want to use.

 

[gavinswoodpile.com]

ken,

wow! that is cool. i did not now existed. thank you. i have assigned T as
the key to open "Process Explorer." when i attempet to open it i get two MS
windows before i can actually get the Process Explorer to open. they are:
Security Warning, Do you want to run this file? i click yes. and then User
Account Control, A program needs your permission to continue. i click yes,
and then PE opens.

if a program is frozen and i am trying to use Process Explorer to close it,
will i be able to respond to those two little windows when or if they art
able to pop up? not sure if i'm wording this clearly enough. and/or is there
a way to remove those warnings, or is that not a good idea?

 

[gavinswoodpile.com]

OTB,

with kelp from Ken, i was able to sort this out. his post below was helpful.
thank you so much for your assistance.

 

[Mr. Arnold]

Another thing I have noted of late is that when Windows is starting after
my
logon, a window flashes up and goes away in a split second... like there
is
something loading and I don't know what it is.

You already know about Process Explorer, which is very powerful in showing
you what is running. You can go to menu View/Show Lower/Pane/Show All DLL(s)
and PE will show everything that's being hosted by a task running on the
upper pane. You can right-click a line in the both panes and go to
Properties.


<http://www.windowsecurity.com/artic...d_Rootkit_Tools_in_a_Windows_Environment.html>

You can use CurrPorts that works on Vista, because Active Ports does not
work on Vista.

If you put a short-cut for CurrPorts in the Startup folder, you might be
able to see if anything is connecting to the Internet that you don't know
about at system boot and login.