Opening Task Manager Slows PC to Crawl - Windows 10 Pro 1709

Anonymous
2017-12-11T16:03:07+00:00

Hi all,

I've had an issue with Windows 10 Pro really freezing up and not being responsive after opening up Task Manager. The numbers shown for performance and CPU utilization are not pegged at all. 

This is on a Dell T3500 with a SSD OS drive, W3580 cpu, 24GB RAM, and an AMD Radeon Pro WX7100.

The computer is on a Domain with Webroot installed as AV. I usually have Solidworks and a couple of other programs open. I do not have any hardware bottlenecks as far as I can see. I also looked at the Event Viewer, and apart from a couple Group Policy warnings, nothing out of the ordinary, and no system events registered at the time of opening Task Manager.

Thanks for the insights, gents n ladies.

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Performance and system failures

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  1. Anonymous
    2017-12-15T08:03:29+00:00

    Hi Charles,

    One of the possible reasons as to why your computer is freezing is due to a third party application. To troubleshoot this issue, we recommend that you perform a clean boot. This will help eliminate software conflicts that may have occurred when you update or install a program in Windows. To perform a clean boot, follow the steps on this link.  

    Update us with the outcome and if you need further assistance.

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-12-15T14:05:06+00:00

    Yes, I think you are right on that one. I just wish I knew which one! It isn't a frequent occurrence and I can't tell you it comes with any regularity or noticeable triggers from my end, which makes it more difficult to diagnose.

    I used to think task manager was one of those system apps that was immune from such issues. It was a place I could go to get away from freezing apps and kick them out. :D But sometimes perhaps they can even affect task manager.

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-12-18T09:48:44+00:00

    We appreciate you getting back to us. For us to know the culprit of the issue your encountering, we recommend checking all the Services if it's shows stopped status. Here are the steps:

    1. Search for Task Manager.
    2. Go to Services tab.
    3. Select all the services that show Stopped Status.
    4. Right-click the Services and select Start.

    Keep us in the loop with the result.

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  4. Anonymous
    2017-12-18T23:11:38+00:00

    Same issue intermittently since Win10 Creators Update. Happens to my PC when Task Manager is open at the same time as a browser.

    Chrome and Firefox are affected (... but not Edge?).  Task Manager stops responding. Mouse responses lag by several seconds. ditto keyboard. CPU and memory to spare as far as I can tell.

    Only happens when browser is open. Disabling Chrome extensions and setting Chrome not to run extensions in background doesn't cure the problem. Problem doesn't arise with 3rd party Task Manager alternative (System Explorer).

    If left open long enough in unresponsive state, Task Manager eventually starts responding, and mouse control returns. In my case, the issue then went away for a few weeks until today, when I had reason to reinstall Chrome from scratch. Now it's back.

    Uninstalled Chrome and switched to existing Firefox browser. Same deal.

    Tomorrow I'll try the wait and see approach with Firefox and report back.

    My PC is Dell Inspiron, AMD Phenom II 2600 Mhz with 8 GB of RAM. Also runs Webroot AV.

    Update - 2 hours later. Confirmed that issue is triggered by having Firefox and TM open at same time. All it takes is 2-3 clicks on TM (e.g. switching tab or from programme-name to CPU column) to cause TM to stop responding, then mouse/keyboard responses to lag until PC becomes uncontrollable.

    Lag makes closing Firefox almost impossible but when I eventually succeeded in doing so, TM started responding again and HID control returned immediately. 

    TM does not break PC when Edge is open.

    For the time being I've disabled TM via the group policy editor and will use a 3rd party utility that doesn't conflict with Firefox/Chrome.

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  5. Anonymous
    2017-12-19T14:23:35+00:00

    Yes! Excellent diagnosis! Task Manager freezes up when Firefox is open. I confirmed that I can use Task Manager fine when Firefox is closed. Has Mozilla been made aware of the issue?

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