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An upcoming update will clarify CPU usage on Windows 11. Microsoft is also testing a new system tray icon for the emoji panel. Microsoft wrapped up last week with a bunch of Windows 11 Insider Builds. Those in the Canary Channel can upgrade to Build 27802 while those in the Beta Channel will see either Build 22635.5015 or Build 26120.3360 depending on if a person has chosen to receive updates based on Windows 11 version 24H2. The last of those builds is also available through the Dev Channel. Improving Windows 11 Task Manager Assuming you haven't installed the latest Insider build of Windows 11, you can do a quick experiment to see a confusing behavior in Task Manager. Open Task Manager and take note of the CPU usage shown in the Processes tab. Now swap over to the Performance tab or the Users tab and check those CPU figures. There's a good chance you saw three different CPU usage figures. Of course, some change is to be expected over time since computers have so many tasks going on. But there can occasionally be a large discrepancy across these tabs. The different figures are a result of Task Manager using different methods of calculation within different tabs. That will soon change. Microsoft explains the change in its blog post about Windows 11 Insider Build 26120.3360: "We are beginning to roll out a change to the way Task Manager calculates CPU utilization for the Processes, Performance, and Users pages. Task Manager will now use the standard metrics to display CPU workload consistently across all pages and aligning with industry standards and third-party tools. For backward compatibility, a new optional column called CPU Utility is available (hidden by default) on the Details tab showing the previous CPU value used on the Processes page." That change should make CPU usage a bit less confusing for those who open Task Manager. Using emojis on Windows 11 Microsoft is also working to make it easier to use emojis on Windows 11. The operating system already has a shortcut to the emoji panel, but not everyone knows it (Windows + .). A new system tray icon that's in testing would create a new way to open the emoji panel and insert emojis, gifs, and special characters. Windows 11 Build 26120.3360: New Features Choose what Lock screen widgets appear We’re beginning to roll out support for lock screen widgets (previously referred to as “Weather and more”) to Windows Insiders in the European Economic Area (EEA). You can add, remove, and rearrange lock screen widgets such as Weather, Watchlist, Sports, Traffic, and more. Any widget that supports the small sizing option can be added here. To customize your lock screen widgets, navigate to Settings > Personalization > Lock screen. We are starting this rollout first with Insiders in the EEA and plan to expand to Insiders in other regions in the future. Insiders outside the EEA will continue to see the “Weather and more” experience. As part of this, we’re also adding support for a new group policy called “Disable Widgets On Lock Screen” that will allow IT administrators to disable lock screen widgets without disabling widgets elsewhere on PCs they manage. To edit this policy, please launch the Local Group Policy Editor app and navigate to Computer Configurations > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Widgets. This policy is only supported in EEA regions at this time but will expand to include other regions in the future as well. Windows 11 Build 26120.3360: Changes and Improvements We are beginning to roll out a change to the way Task Manager calculates CPU utilization for the Processes, Performance, and Users pages. Task Manager will now use the standard metrics to display CPU workload consistently across all pages and aligning with industry standards and third-party tools. For backward compatibility, a new optional column called CPU Utility is available (hidden by default) on the Details tab showing the previous CPU value used on the Processes page. Windows Share We are adding the ability to share directly to apps that support sharing in Windows when right-clicking on local files in File Explorer or the desktop. Windows 11 Build 22635.5015: Changes and Improvements We are trying out a new experience to improve the discoverability of the emoji and more panel in Windows 11 with the introduction of a new system tray icon on the taskbar. With this new system tray icon, you can easily express yourself by using emojis, GIFs, Kaomoji etc. across all apps and surfaces in Windows in addition to using the WIN + . keyboard shortcut which is also now shown on the emoji and more panel. This new system tray icon for the emoji and more panel shows can be changed by right-clicking on the icon to go to taskbar settings page. Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of February): 874 RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

Windows 11 is far from perfect, but it does make Task Manager significantly better. It's modern, has a search bar, and easy-to-understand graphs. But what are some of the lesser-known features of the Task Manager? In this article, we're going to take a closer look at some of our favourite Task Manager features. Generate live kernel dump using Task Manager One of the lesser-known features in Task Manager is the ability to generate kernel or full crash dump. This is particularly useful when you're unsure why your PC crashed or what caused the Blue Screen of Death in the first place. When you use the generate kernel or full crash dump, Task Manager creates a system crash dump. You can analyze the kernel crash dump or forward it to Microsoft's support team. You can even use ChatGPT to analyze it. Pause Task Manager How often do you open Task Manager to end some processes, but the screen keeps changing? This makes it possible to right-click the process you wanted to kill. If you hold CTRL, it will pause Task Manager processes from getting updated, which means the process won't move around. You select the process, sort the list to filter out the processes you don't care about, and find the one you want to kill easily. This works in all versions of Windows, including Windows 95 and Windows 11. Pro tip: You can also hold the F5 key to make the values update more frequently. Efficiency mode You can right-click any app or process in the Task Manager and set apps or processes to run in "Efficiency Mode" to limit their CPU usage, which can help in reducing power consumption or freeing up resources for other tasks. This feature is useful for background processes or apps that run continuously but don't require full CPU power. You might want to turn off the feature if it's causing performance issues with the app. In some cases, it could result in lags when you're scrolling through long pages. Task Manager Startup apps Task Manager's Startup Apps section is also one of my favourite features. The Startup apps inside Task Manager have a breakdown of all apps that are set to run automatically when Windows boots to the desktop. This may include apps like Windows Defender, Google Chrome Updater, Spotify, and more. It depends on the apps installed on your system, but we recommend using the Startup Apps section to disable unwanted apps. When you prevent apps from starting up automatically, you're also freeing up resources and reducing startup time. Startup apps section can be used to find programs that are unnecessary to start to free up resources, as well unusual programs that may be malware. You can share and upload unknown executables pointed to by startups to virustotal to check them. App history The App History tab in Task Manager is a useful but often ignored feature. It shows how much CPU time and network data each app has used since the last full shutdown. For example, in my case, Chrome used 11GB of network and 50 hours of CPU time. It’s a good way to see which apps are using the most resources If you’ve never used this feature, it’s worth checking out. It gives you a clear picture of what’s happening behind the scenes, especially if you’re trying to manage your system’s performance or figure out why things are slowing down. What about you? Which Task Manager feature is your favourite? Let us know in the comments below. Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. 2023: Over 5,800 news posts | 2024 (till end of November): 5,298 news posts RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

If I had known these tips before, I would probably have been more productive using the Task Manager. The Task Manager app has long been one of the most essential tools in the operating system, offering a glimpse into the inner workings of your computer. On Windows 11, the tool has been reimagined with a modern design and new enhancements that make managing your computer a little easier. However, even though you may already be familiar with Task Manager, the tool includes many useful features you have probably overlooked that can help you have better control of your system, such as Efficiency Mode, memory dump, drive monitoring, network details, firmware boot time information, wait chain analyzer, desktop widgets, always on top, and more. In this how-to guide, I will share with you a collection of lesser-known tips to help you get even more from the Task Manager on Windows 11. Collection of tips to make you more productive on Task Manager Task Manager has undergone several enhancements, and it includes features that even advanced users may overlook. Here are some secrets and lesser-known tips: 1. Quick shortcut Although you can open Task Manager from the Taskbar context menu, you can always use the "Ctrl + Shift + Esc" keyboard shortcut for even quicker access. If you want to launch the tool from the Run command or Command Prompt, you can use the taskmgr command. (Image credit: Mauro Huculak) 2. Efficiency mode In Task Manager, Efficiency Mode is a feature designed to optimize system performance and energy efficiency by prioritizing foreground applications and reducing the resource consumption of background processes. When you enable Efficiency Mode for a specific process, the system will lower its priority. In other words, the system will allocate fewer resources to that process, allowing more resources to be dedicated to the applications you're actively using. This will also help conserve system resources like processor and memory, leading to improved performance and battery life, especially on devices with limited resources. To enable Efficiency Mode for a process in Task Manager, click on the "Processes" tab, then right-click the process, choose the "Efficiency Mode" option, and click the "OK" button. (Image credit: Mauro Huculak) The feature is only available for specific applications. If the option isn't available, it's not supported for that particular item. I only recommend using this feature if you know what you're doing because lowering the process priority of an application can affect system stability. If you want to undo the changes, right-click the process and choose the "Efficiency Mode" option again to clear the checkmark. 3. Show command line The "Processes" tab can also show the specific command line that was used to launch a particular process, which can come in handy when troubleshooting problems. To show the command line for each process, click on the "Processes" tab, right-click the header of the column, and choose the "Command line" option. (Image credit: Mauro Huculak) After turning on the option, you will see a new "Command line" column with the command that was used to run the process. (Image credit: Mauro Huculak) 4. Create memory dump On Windows 11, a memory dump is a snapshot of a system memory at a specific moment. It can be a valuable tool for troubleshooting crashes, errors with apps, or general performance issues. Task Manager allows you to create memory dumps for specific processes, which can be helpful for diagnosing software problems. To create a memory dump using Task Manager, click the "Processes" tab, right-click the process in question, and select the "Create memory dump file" option. (Image credit: Mauro Huculak) Once the dump file is created, Task Manager will show you the location of the ".dmp" file, which you can copy to the clipboard or click the "Open file location" button. Although this is a powerful tool, analyzing a memory dump often requires specialized tools and knowledge. 5. Show every core in the processor In the "Performance" tab, when viewing the "CPU" information, you will probably have the "Overall utilization" view that shows the activity that corresponds to the entire processor as one entity. However, you can also change the view of the active time of each core. If you want to see the performance activity of each core inside the processor, right-click on the CPU graph in the "Performance" tab, select the "Change graph to" menu, and choose the "Logical processors" option. (Image credit: Mauro Huculak) 6. Check graphics temperature In the "Performance" tap, you can also find the temperature of the graphics card, which can come in handy for those who are troubleshooting a gaming PC or thermal issues while using rendering software like photo and video editing solutions. To check the GPU temperature, you only have to open the "GPU" tab and then locate the temperature reading under the tab title or on the page. (Image credit: Mauro Huculak) This information may not be available on every graphics card, which is a typical case on older or virtualized graphics cards. Usually, a temperature range of 65 to 85C is normal, but anything over 100C constantly should be considered overheating. 7. Check drive media type Although there are multiple ways to check the type of storage connected to your device, the Task Manager can now tell you if the drive is SATA, NVMe, etc. To check the type of drive installed on your computer, open the "Performance." tab and click on the drive. The label with the type information will be displayed under the tab title and on the page in the "Type" field. (Image credit: Mauro Huculak) 8. Show network details When viewing the network adapter activity in the "Performance" tab, you will only find information about the throughput for sent and received packets, but you probably didn't know that you can also view other network details, such as network utilization, state, different types of information for sent and received bytes and unicast packets that can be useful when troubleshooting issues or monitoring the network connection. To view more details about a specific network adapter, in the "Performance" tab, click on the Ethernet or Wi-Fi adapter, right-click the graph, and choose the "View network details" option. (Image credit: Mauro Huculak) 9. Disable startup apps Although you can manage which apps should load at startup, you can also use the Task Manager to determine and disable virtually any app from loading automatically as the computer starts. To control apps at startup from the Task Manager app, click the "Startup apps" tab, click the "Startup impact" column header to sort the apps by how they impact the system performance, select an app, and click the "Disable" button. (Image credit: Mauro Huculak) You can also select an app and click the "Enable" button to allow the app to run a startup. 10. Check boot speed time In the "Startup apps" tab, you can also check the time for the last boot of the Basic Input/Output System (BIOS). The information appears at the top right of the page. The "Last BIOS Time" displayed represents the amount of time it took for your computer's BIOS (or Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI)) to initialize your hardware and run the Power-On Self-Test (POST) before handing control to the operating system. (Image credit: Mauro Huculak) This information can always come in handy when troubleshooting slow boot times, comparing boot times with different devices, benchmarking, and trying to understand the system's health. 11. Real-time drive monitoring The "Details" tab provides a comprehensive view of the system's running processes. It offers granular information about each process, making it easier to identify resource-intensive tasks, troubleshoot performance issues, and optimize your system. However, you can also edit the view to show "I/O Reads," "I/O Writes," and "I/O Other," which are metrics that provide insights into how a process interacts with your system's storage devices, making these options useful to troubleshoot drive issues, such as on those time when the hard drive is showing 100 percent utilization. To show I/O information in Task Manager, open the "Details" tab, right-click any of the column's header, choose the "Select columns" option, check the "I/O Reads," "I/O Writes," and "I/O Other" options, and click the OK button. (Image credit: Mauro Huculak) 12. Troubleshoot unresponsive apps If you come across an unresponsive app, you can always end the process and restart it to reset its state, which, in most cases, resolves the issue. However, if you want to troubleshoot the problem, Task Manager includes the "Analyze Wait Chain" feature to help identify and resolve app hangs and freezes. The feature accomplishes this by providing a visual representation of the processes that are waiting for resources, helping you pinpoint the root cause of the issue. To use this feature, in the "Details" tab, right-click the app that is not responding and choose the "Analyze Wait Chain" option. (Image credit: Mauro Huculak) Once you select the option, the feature will display a tree-like diagram with each node representing a process, and the lines connecting the nodes indicate the waiting relationship between processes. Although this feature can be handy to troubleshoot an unresponsive application, it's worth noting that it may not always provide a definitive answer. In some cases, the problem can be more complex and challenging. 13. Log off other users from your account If you share the computer with other users and someone is still logged in, you may not be able to access their account, but you can always sign them out or check the running services quite easily from the Task Manager. To check and review another logged-in user's services, click the "Users" tab and double-click on the user. To sign someone off the computer, click the "Users" tab, right-click the user, and choose the "Disconnect" option. (Image credit: Mauro Huculak) 14. Confirm process identification When using the Task Manager, the Process Identifier (PID) is a unique number assigned to each running process on your computer, which you can use to find a specific process, or you can use it to terminate one directly with the "taskkill" command when troubleshooting a problem. To find the PID of a specific process, click the "Details" tab and confirm the Process Identifier in the "PID" column. (Image credit: Mauro Huculak) The system can also assign PID to many of the services running on the computer, and you can find them in the "Services" tab using the "PID" column. 15. Run apps as admin On Windows 11, you can run an application or process with administrator rights in more than one way, including through the Task Manager. In Task Manager, from any tab, click the "Run new task" button at the top right to bring up the "Run" command, check the "Create this task with administrative privileges" option (if applicable), confirm the command for the app or task you want to run, and click the "OK" button. (Image credit: Mauro Huculak) 16. Show always on top The "Always on top" feature allows the Task Manager window to remain visible above other open windows on your screen. This is particularly useful when monitoring system resources or managing processes while working with other applications, especially full-screen ones. To run Task Manager always on top, click the "Settings" button from the left pane and check the "Always on top" option under the "Window management" setting. (Image credit: Mauro Huculak) Once you enable the option, the Task Manager app will restart automatically. You can always undo the changes by clearing the "Always on top" option under the "Window Management" setting. 17. Change default startup page If you find yourself always opening Task Manager and then jumping to another tab other than the "Processes" tab, you can change the default behavior to open your preferred tab every time you launch the application. To change the default startup page of Task Manager, click the "Settings" button from the left pane and choose the page you want to launch every time you open Task Manager under the "Default start page" setting. (Image credit: Mauro Huculak) 18. Other useful shortcuts Many users are unaware, but Task Manager, like virtually any other application, includes shortcuts that allow you to navigate the interface with the keyboard. General shortcuts: Tab: Switch between elements on the screen. Ctrl + Tab: Cycle through the tabs. Ctrl + Shift + Tab: Cycle through open tabs in reverse order. Alt + N – opens the dialog to run a new task. Ctrl+F: Open the search bar to find specific processes. Processes tab: Spacebar and Enter: Opens and closes the selected process tree. Delete, Enter, and Alt + E: End the selected processes. Alt + V: Turns "Efficiency Mode" on or off. 19. Create desktop widget If you need to focus the Task Manager to monitor something specific, such as network traffic, processor, memory, or drive activity load, you can double-click any of the graphs to create a floating widget. You can also right-click the graph and select the "Graph summary view" option to access the same view. (Image credit: Mauro Huculak) Once you're done monitoring, you can double-click the graph again to restore the Task Manager to its original experience. (Image credit: Mauro Huculak) Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. 2023: Over 5,800 news posts | 2024 (till end of October): 4,832 news posts RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

Microsoft redesigned several areas in Windows 11, including Task Manager. Almost two years ago, the company released Windows 11 version 22H2, which modernized Task Manager with new features and better visuals. Still, not everyone is a fan of the new Task Manager. If you share the sentiment that the redesigned version is worse than the one in Windows 10, the good news is that you can launch the old Task Manager without its fancy new skin. Open Old Task Manager in Windows 11: Run You can open the old Task Manager in Windows 11 by pressing Win + R and typing the "taskmgr -d" command. It will tell the operating system to launch Task Manager without its new XAML user interface. Pressing Win + R and typing the command every time you need Task Manager is not the most convenient option, so you can pin the old variant to the taskbar: Right-click on the desktop and select New > Shortcut. Type taskmgr-d into the "Type the location of the item" box. Click Next and give your shortcut a proper name. Click Finish and drag the shortcut to the taskbar to pin it. Now, you can launch the old Task Manager with a single click on its taskbar icon. Open Old Task Manager in Windows 11: SysWOW64 Open File Explorer and navigate to Drive C > Windows > SysWOW64. Find the Taskmgr file and double-click it. There goes your old Task Manager from Windows 10. You can also right-click the file and select Show More Options > Send to > Desktop (create shortcut). Drag the shortcut to the taskbar to pin it or keep it in any other convenient folder. You might find guides describing how to replace Task Manager in Windows 11 with the old one so the OS can launch it when you press Ctrl + Shift + Esc, Ctrl + Alt + Delete, or right-click the taskbar. However, we do not recommend messing with this part of Windows. Pinning the old Task Manager is a much safer option that does not compromise your system's integrity. Of course, you will have to teach yourself to open Task Manager using a pinned icon on the taskbar. And of course, staying on Windows 10 is still a viable option until at least October 2025. Credit for the command goes to λlbacore on X. Source

Imitation is the finest form of flattery, right? What you need to know If you think you've seen this Linux task manager application somewhere before, you're right. Mission Center is a task manager app for Linux users with a very familiar, very Windows 11-esque design. Imitation is the finest form of flattery, right? Linux users are often poked fun at by the Windows 11 and Mac crowd for living in the terminal, but the truth is that even on Linux, nice GUI apps are always welcomed. I like using Linux as well as Windows, and I like using the terminal. But I also like good apps that make life easier. This one is definitely familiar, though. Mission Center (via It's FOSS) is a task manager for Linux built in Rust, supporting GTK4 and available as a Flatpak for easy installation. But none of that's why it's here. Looks familiar, doesn't it? Mission Center running on Fedora 38 (Image credit: Windows Central) Task Manager running on Windows 11 (Image credit: Windows Central) Jokes aside, it picked a pretty solid app to take its inspiration from, and it's definitely a little easier to parse information in than a terminal-based client like the venerable Htop. Visually it's very, very close to the Windows 11 Task Manager, albeit not as advanced in functionality. But the basics are all there, including experimental, basic GPU usage support, CPU and GPU temperatures, and of course, complete system process information. It's a great performer, too. The graphs are rendered in OpenGL to try and minimize resource usage, and you have some control over how often they update. A bigger picture is that tools like this are a nice way of easing in folks who decide to try Linux, having spent their whole lives using Windows. It's immediately familiar and easy to use. Maybe even slap it on your Steam Deck. I've tried it on a laptop running Fedora 38 and I think I'm going to keep it around. It's not the first Windows-alike on Linux, either. Microsoft already supports the platform with official apps like Edge and VS Code, and a few years ago someone even ported the Windows Calculator application after it had been open-sourced. If you dabble in a little Linux yourself, you can find Mission Center over on Flathub. Source

Did you know that you can use a keyboard shortcut to open an administrator command prompt in Task Manager? This is a handy trick to know if you ever need to run a command that requires administrator privileges. This trick can be useful in a variety of situations. For example, you can use it to repair a corrupted system file, uninstall a program that is not responding, run a diagnostic tool fast, access a file or folder that is protected by UAC (User Account Control), and more. Although this trick has been in Windows 11 for some time, it was not until recently that it was discovered by the online community. This surprised many people, as the trick is quite simple to perform. Here’s how. How to easily summon instant administrator command prompt on Task Manager 1. Press CTRL + Alt+ Delete to open security options > Task Manager. 2. Go to Performance 3. While clicking on New Task, hold down CTRL 4. Open the program’s .exe file, then hit OK. This trick can be used to access an administrator command prompt even when the system is not responding or is otherwise inoperable. It can also be used as a shortcut to open a command window. In case you missed it, a recent Windows 11 update for Beta channel insiders has also fixed a few Task Manager issues here and there. Practically, they’re fixing the issue where Task Manager crashes when you use the reset to the default button in Settings. Source

Windows 11 build 25300 from the Dev Channel packs several experimental features, such as the new volume mixer and its dedicated shortcut. Here is another change Microsoft has kept under wraps: the option to end a process from a jump list without opening Task Manager. Jump lists in Windows 11 already allow you to close an open window, but the option cannot end processes for specific apps that continue running in the background. Besides, the feature will not help you fix stuck apps that no longer respond. Hitting the new "End task" button will let you terminate the entire app and save a few clicks by not launching Task Manager. It is an interesting change, especially after Microsoft restored the ability to open Task Manager with a right-click on the taskbar. The "End process" entry in jump lists is available in Windows 11 build 25300. However, it is disabled by default, and you need to use the Vivetool app to enable it. Another thing worth noting is that the feature does not work yet—clicking the new "End task" button will result in nothing. The current implementation is possibly an indicator of what's to come in future Windows 11 builds. Caution: Unannounced features are often raw, unstable, or borderline unusable. Back up important data before enabling them with the ViveTool app. Remember that using stable Windows 11 is the best way to ensure your system remains as bug-free as possible. How to enable the new "End task" option in Windows 11 build 25300? Download ViveTool from GitHub and unpack the files in a convenient and easy-to-find folder. Press Win + X and select Terminal (Admin). Switch Windows Terminal to the Command Prompt profile with the Ctrl + Shift + 2 shortcut or by clicking the arrow-down button at the top of the window. Navigate to the folder containing the ViveTool files with the CD command. For example, if you have placed ViveTool in C:\Vive, type CD C:\Vive. Type vivetool /enable /id:42592269 and press Enter. Restart your computer. You can revert the change by repeating steps 2-6 and replacing /enable with /disable on step 5. Do you think placing a dedicated process-killing button in jump lists is a good idea? Let us know in the comments. Source: @PhantomOfEarth on Twitter Windows 11 will soon let you end a process without launching Task Manager

New Windows 11 concept shows what Task Manger with dark mode could look like Source: Jakub Last month, Microsoft finally unveiled the much-anticipated Windows 11 update. The new update comes with an updated UI, performance, and productivity improvements. Microsoft has also released the minimum system requirements for Windows 11 which includes Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 among other things, but the latter can be bypassed for now. One of the key highlights of Windows 11 is the new rounded UI that is pleasing to the eye. Along with the new UI, Microsoft is also embracing the dark side with an improved system-wide dark mode. Unfortunately, the company has again skipped Task Manager for some reasons as the app still lacks support for dark mode. However, Twitter user Jakub has given us a look at what Task Manger could look like if Microsoft ever decides to add support for dark mode. The concept shows off Task Manager wrapped in dark background that blends in well with the wallpaper and compliments the text, which uses the new Segoe UI Variable Display font. The usage charts, on the other hand, may look familiar to anyone who has played around with Linux distros. Overall, the design looks elegant as well as gives users the ability to switch to dark mode on Task Manager. We do hope that Microsoft adopts the design or a variation of the design for Windows 11. For more information on Windows 11, you can check out our article on minimum system requirements as well as the list of CPUs that support Windows 11. Apart from the general requirements, Microsoft has also listed out specific feature requirements for Windows 11 including webcams, Bluetooth and Precision Touchpad on all upcoming laptops. Last month, Microsoft also updated the PC Health Check app to show why a device is not ineligible to receive the Windows 11 update. However, the company will allow some manufacturers to bypass the TPM 2.0 requirement and it is also allowing Windows Insiders with unsupported hardware to test Windows 11 Insider Builds. Several manufacturers have published a list of hardware that will be compatible with Windows 11. If you are still out of the loop, then you can check out hands-on video. If you want to get in-depth information about Windows 11 then you can check out our article covering all the new features and changes. New Windows 11 concept shows what Task Manger with dark mode could look like

Task Manager is getting a new icon as part of Windows 10 revamp As part of Windows 10 Sun Valley Update, Microsoft is rolling out new branding for its core apps and productivity tools. Windows Task Manager, which is one of the most popular apps will be getting a new icon, with Task Scheduler and other tools also following over the coming weeks. Later this year, users will see new Fluent icons for Task Manager and MSI installers (.msi setup file for apps like VLC). The new icons for Task Manager and MSI installers follow the design direction of modern Microsoft products, such as Photos, Maps, and Microsoft 365 apps. In the Sun Valley update, the Task Manager icon still has the performance usage graph, but the Fluent Design shades are clearly visible as Microsoft moves away from accent colours in its apps. This icon is flatter than before, lacking any shadows. Meanwhile, MSI installer gets a similar treatment by dropping the computer box icon that was previously used. It’s now a LED monitor and blue is the primary colour For those unaware, .msi installer or Windows Installer is used by developers for the installation, maintenance, and removal of software. For example, the VLC installer is offered in the .MSI format and its icon has now been changed, as shown in the below screenshot. As we reported recently, the upcoming Windows 10 Sun Valley update looks set to overhaul the icons from Windows 95, and it will be removing icons that have remained part of the operating system since Windows 95. In the preview builds, Microsoft has changed the icon of File Explorer, folder, and other apps. Microsoft has also modified the icons found in Shell32.DLL for things such as images of floppy disk drives, monitors, globe, internet, networking. In the coming weeks or months, many of the icons will be modernized with a combination of flatter and colourful look. Microsoft wants to improve design consistency Windows 10 currently feels like it’s a mishmash of older versions of Windows. In addition to its own Fluent Design, Windows 10 also uses UI features and icons from Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows 7 and even Windows 95. Sun Valley Update comes with new icons, other interface changes like rounded corners and a new Start Menu design. Combined with other unseen changes, it’s possible that Windows 10 will look very different later this year. Source: Task Manager is getting a new icon as part of Windows 10 revamp

Microsoft gave Task Manager a significant update in Windows 11 preview builds with a refreshed user experience, menus in the panel on the left instead of tabs, dark mode, Efficiency mode, new icons, and more. Now, it seems that another user experience change in development is different colors for Task Manager. For the past several iterations, the Task Manager has used a mustard or yellowish heat map to show resource utilization per service. However, Microsoft is now working on integrating Windows 11 accent colors with the heat map as seen in the screenshot from the company's Windows Insiders latest webcast: The Task Manager will respect accent colors as well as the overall theme of the OS, such as light or dark. This is primarily designed to be a cosmetic change to enable Windows 11 apps to be more consistent with the overall design of the OS. It will also allow users to personalize the OS according to their liking, with the changes being propagated to Task Manager. Microsoft has emphasized that the build shown in its webcast is not the one that will be flighted to Insiders - we do expect a build this week - but it has noted that Task Manager personalization will land in a "future build". People who appreciate the new colors in Task Manager will have their fingers crossed that this future build is the next one, ideally coming this week. Windows 11 is getting a more colorful Task Manager

Microsoft is working on a redesigned Task Manager interface for Windows 11. Most of the planned changes give the Task Manager a new paint but do not change the program's functionality. The upcoming version supports light and dark modes, which are enabled based on the system preference. The full view interface displays the sections of the Task Manager on the left side now and no longer as tabs. Microsoft released a new Windows 11 Insider build to development channels this week, and with it new keyboard shortcuts for the Windows Task Manager. Many Windows users know that they can launch the Task Manager with the keyboard shortcut Ctrl-Alt-Esc. When it is open, users may soon use the following keyboard shortcuts to run certain actions in the Task Manager: Alt-N -- to run a new task. Use Alt-N to display the interface, type the executable file name and hit the Enter-key to run the task. Alt-E -- to end the selected process. Select a task in the task listing and use Alt-E to terminate it. Alt-V -- to toggle Efficiency Mode for the selected process. Efficiency Mode throttles the application to reduce its resource usage while it is running. Ctrl-Tab -- cycle through the pages of the Task Manager (exists already in Stable). Ctrl-Shift-Tab -- cycle through the pages of the Task Manager in reverse (exists already in Stable). Several other actions are available that are displayed at the top of the Task Manager page. These can also be executed using the Alt-key and the corresponding trigger. Pressing the Alt-key will highlight the available keys in the interface. Closing Words Windows users who prefer keyboard shortcuts over touch-based and mouse-based actions may like the new shortcuts of the Windows Task Manager. While these may speed things up, it needs to be noted that at least one of them, Alt-E to end a process, is already supported. Pressing the Del-key on the keyboard terminates the selected process in the Task Manager already. The new Alt-E shortcut adds a second option, but I can't see many users switching to it as it requires the activation of two keys for the same action. Now You: do you use the Windows Task Manager? Would you use the new keyboard shortcuts? Microsoft is adding new shortcuts to the Windows 11 Task Manager

Microsoft has finally re-added a link to the Task Manager to the taskbar's contextual menu in the latest Windows 11 Insider preview build. This feature has been a popular entry on the list of user requests since Windows 11 was released almost one year ago, on October 4, 2021. Redmond also confirmed it made the change based on customer feedback and that it's enabled starting with Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25211 released to the Dev Channel today. "Based on your feedback, we've added a link to Task Manager when right-clicking on the taskbar," Microsoft's Amanda Langowski and Brandon LeBlanc said. Support for rearranging System Tray icons is also rolling out to Insiders who have the System Tray updates from Build 25197. "If your PC does not have these changes, your System Tray experience will remain the same as before," they added. Windows 11 task manager in taskbar (Mirosoft) With today's Dev channel preview build, Microsoft also started rolling out a new settings experience for Widgets allowing users to set the widgets board open on a mouse hover over the taskbar icon. They'll also see toggles for showing notification badges and showing announcements as rotating updates from widgets on the taskbar. In a separate Insider release to the Beta channel (Build 22623.730), the company also re-introduced the touch-optimized taskbar that should make it more comfortable to use Windows 11 devices as a tablet. "Your taskbar will automatically transition to this optimized version when you disconnect or fold back the keyboard on your 2-in-1 device," Langowski and LeBlanc said. "This feature only works on devices that can be used as tablets. It does not work on laptops or desktop PCs." In February, Microsoft also brought back taskbar drag and drop support with the release of Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22557 to the Dev Channel. With that change, Windows 11 allowed users once again to drag and drop files between apps by hovering the mouse over their taskbar icons. Microsoft finally adds a Task Manager link to the Windows 11 taskbar

It happened right in the middle of last month, when a single tweet from a senior Microsoft employee got us excited due to the prospect of what could happen. The tweet simply said "Brewing something exciting next week!!!" with a couple of zipper-mouth emojis, and the possibilities seemed endless. However, since the tweet was by Claton Hendricks who oversees Windows Fundamentals like Task Manager, we were able to pin it down to something related, possibly some new feature. Hendricks however denied anything of the sort, saying people "assumed" stuff and that the tweet was simply talking about brewing beer with habanero. Perhaps to the surprise of no one, though, it does look like Task Manager is indeed getting a new feature. And as one of our Neowin readers wingliston had guessed, it seems a search bar is coming to the Windows 11 Task Manager. This could be something in store for the next Moment 2 feature update, which we had a tiny glimpse of recently. As one can see in the image above, the new Task Manager shows a search bar on top which will allow users to look up processes and tasks using the name, process ID (PID) as well as the publisher of the process. This is still a hidden feature inside the Dev Channel preview build, so enabling it can break Windows as there are plenty of experimental work-in-progress features there. Still, if you wish to see the feature for yourself, you can do so by using ViveTool. How to enable the new Task Manager search in Windows 11 build 25231 Download ViVeTool from its repository on GitHub and extract the files whenever you like. For example, in the root of drive C. Right-click the Start menu button and select Terminal (Admin). Switch Terminal to the Command Prompt profile using the arrow-down button on the tab strip. Navigate to the folder containing Vive files using the CD command. Here is an example: CD C:\Vive. Execute the following command: vivetool /enable /id:39420424 (For PowerShell try: .\vivetool /enable /id:39420424) Restart your computer (optional). To disable the feature, just use "disable" in place of enable. Source and image: Deskmodder You can now enable a hidden Task Manager search feature inside Windows 11

Microsoft started rolling out the "Moment 1" update for Windows 11 22H2 on October 18, 2022. We knew what Microsoft would pack in the release, but the company still managed to surprise users with a last-minute addition of the ability to open Task Manager by right-clicking the taskbar. The problem with this feature is that it is not available by default, even though Microsoft mentions it in the changelog. Luckily, you can fix this confusion with the ViveTool app or Registry Editor. Note: Enabling hidden features using third-party apps always has some risks. The safest option is to sit back and wait for Microsoft to deliver new features "organically." If you are not afraid of experimenting, remember to back up important data before proceeding. Enable right-click to open Task Manager in Windows 11 Start with updating your computer to Windows 11 2022 Update and its "Moment 1" update. Your system should be on Windows 11 build 22621.675 or newer (Stable channel). You can check the build number by pressing Win + R and typing winver. Download the ViveTool app from GitHub and extract the files in a convenient to you folder. For example, C:\Vive. A simple path will make it easier to navigate in Windows Terminal. Right-click the Start menu button and select Terminal (Admin). Switch to the Command Prompt profile by pressing the arrow-down button on the tab strip. Go to the folder containing ViveTool files using the CD command. Here is an example: CD C:\Vive. Type vivetool /enable /id:36860984 and press Enter. Restart your computer. There is another way to enable right-click to open Task Manager in Windows 11. Some will prefer this option as it does not involve third-party software and rely on Registry Editor. Press Win + R and type regedit. Navigate to HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FeatureManagement\Overrides\4. Right-click the 4 key and select New > Key. Rename the new key to 1887869580. Select the new key and click Edit > New > DWORD (32-bit) value. Rename the value to EnabledState and open it. Change the Value Data to 2 and click Ok. Click Edit > New > DWORD (32-bit) value and rename it to EnabledStateOptions. Leave its value data at 0. Restart your computer. Now you can right-click anywhere on the taskbar and see two options: Task Manager and Taskbar settings. Source: @PhantomfOfEarth How to enable right-click to open Task Manager in Windows 11 'Moment 1' update

Windows 11 is getting a small and neat improvement for Task Manager. In future updates, Task Manager will make it easier to determine what kind of storage your computer has. It already can show "HDD" and "SSD" labels, but now, Microsoft wants Task Manager to show whether your SSD is SATA, NVMe, or another kind. The change was spotted in the latest Windows 11 preview build from the Beta Channel. Microsoft did not mention it in the release notes, so users had to find out on their own. If your computer runs Windows 11 build 22635.4225, you can turn on the updated Task Manager using the ViVeTool app. After that, go to Task Manager's Performance tab and look out for your SSD and its type in parentheses. Download ViveTool from GitHub and unpack the files in a convenient and easy-to-find folder. Launch Command Prompt as Administrator. To do so, press Win + R, type cmd, and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter. Navigate to the folder containing the ViveTool files with the CD command. For example, if you have placed ViveTool in C:\Vive, type CD C:\Vive. Type vivetool /enable /id:51978387 and press Enter. Restart your computer and launch Task Manager. It is worth noting that you do not need to wait for the update if you want to know your SSD type without installing a third-party app. You can learn that by heading to Settings > System > Storage > Advanced Storage Settings > Disk & Volumes and clicking Properties next to your drive. In that section, Windows will show your drive details, including its type, health, temperature, capacity, partition style, and more. Source RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every single day for many years. 2023: Over 5,800 news posts | 2024 (till end of August): 3,792 news posts

Windows 11 Dev Channel build 22557 became available a few days ago, and we have started taking a closer look at some of the new features and redesigns it packs. This is being covered via the resumption of our Closer Look series. A couple of days ago, we talked about the ability to create App folders in the Start menu being a welcome change, and today, we are going to walk through some of the changes introduced to Task Manager in the same Dev Channel build. First up, you'll notice that Task Manager has gone through a major design revamp. This includes a few notable features. The first is that the app finally respects your system theme, so if you're running dark mode, you'll see the app in the same theme as well. This is a very welcome change and ensures consistency. Secondly, the content that was previously present in tabs has been moved to the left as a hamburger menu with new icons. I find this to be a very user-friendly change and it's in line with the Windows 11 design language as well. Some options have been moved to the pane on the top but most of them can be accessed from the right-click context menu too. While we are on the first page of the Task Manager as can be seen in the screenshot above, it's worth talking about a couple of new functionalities as well. Back in April 2021, Microsoft introduced "Eco mode" in the Windows 10 Insider Preview, and this is making a return in Windows 11 as "Efficiency mode". As the name suggests, this setting basically allows you to limit resource consumption of individual processes through their associated context menu or by clicking on them and then tapping on Efficiency mode on the options pane at the top. You can make use of other common controls such as End task and Run new task directly from this UI as well. You can also click on the View button to group processes, expand them, or collapse them. It's quite nifty to have these settings at your fingertips instead of navigating between drop-down menus as is the case with the generally available Task Manager implementation, so I appreciate this change too. That said, this interface is clearly under development as the three-dots menu on the options pane at the top does nothing right now except highlight the options section, which is a bit of an unfamiliar behavior. It is important to note that Efficiency mode can't be enabled for process groups, you have to apply them individually. Processes running in Efficiency mode show a green leaf symbol while processes that are suspended should a red pause icon. While it may seem obvious in hindsight, your process group won't show the green leaf symbol until all its associated processes are running in Efficiency mode. For example, in the screenshot above, I have two Chrome processes running in Efficiency mode but both the individual processes or the process group don't show the green leaf symbol. Meanwhile, Notepad only has a single process so putting that in Efficiency mode immediately shows the green leaf symbol next to the process group too. This took me a while to figure out as I expected to see the symbol next to individual processes too. The Performance page is mostly the same. Although the shaded area under the CPU utilization curve does look very nice and modern, especially in dark theme. The Copy and Resource Monitor options have been moved to the three-dotted menu at the top, but otherwise, it seems to be the same in terms of functionalities. The App history page is mostly the same, but you will notice an Open app button in the options pane at the top, which is once again, nice to have at your fingertips in some use-cases. The three-dotted menu doesn't do anything right now. The Startup page has been renamed to Startup apps, which makes sense to me. Functionality-wise, it appears to be the same as the current implementation, with some common controls moved to the top options pane. The three-dotted menu expands to show two configurations, namely Open file location and Search online. The Users page is the same too but some common controls have been moved to the top. The three-dotted menu has the same options as the previous Startup apps page. The Details page is the same but the three-dotted menu doesn't do anything. Functionality-wise, the Services page is the same but the common controls have been moved to the top and the three-dotted menu has two options, namely Go to details and Search online. Finally, we have a dedicated Settings menu too. This is something I really like as previously, these options are currently hidden behind drop-down menus. I think it makes complete sense to have a dedicated section for them and I think this is a very user-friendly and clear implementation. All in all, I'm a fan of most of the changes that have been to the Task Manager in Windows 11 Dev Channel build 22557 right now. Sure, the UI isn't fully consistent yet as some three-dotted menus don't even serve any purpose right now, but these are definitely steps in the right direction. We finally have dark theme and we finally have a UI that is more modern than the current legacy implementation, at the very least. It is also important to note that this is a Dev Channel build in which Task Manager will ideally be polished further before it is pushed to stable releases. I only have one slight concern right now, and that is performance. Currently, swapping between different pages has a minor and nifty animation, but I have noticed at times that there is a slight jitter when I'm moving between pages or when I bring the Task Manager window back in focus after I have navigated away, which can be a bit jarring. I hope that this is something that the Windows development team can resolve before this hits general availability. But once again, this is an Insider build, so here's to hoping that Microsoft improves this further. Have you tried Windows 11 Dev Channel build 22557 yet? What do you think about the Task Manager revamp? Closer Look: Task Manager in Windows 11 Dev Channel build 22557

Microsoft has been working on updating the inbox apps in Windows 11 to make them look more at home in the new OS, with both NotePad and Paint for example getting a re-skin. Now the latest app to be getting the Fluent Design treatment appears to be the good old Task Manager. Windows Developer FireCube has posted the following images on Twitter, which shows the new Fluent Design look of the Task Manager. The images come from the latest Windows 11 Insider Build 22538, with the new design currently hidden. If you are intrepid you can however enable it using the following instructions and the vivetool. vivetool addconfig 35908098 2 vivetool addconfig 37204171 2 vivetool addconfig 36898195 2 vivetool addconfig 36898195 2 It is good to see Microsoft taking a real interest in creating a coherent design for Windows 11. What do our readers think of the look? Let us know below. Thanks, Ma for the tip. Microsoft is working on a new Fluent Design Task Manager for Windows 11