Task Manager crashes immediately on my main Windows account

Ermiya Ahmadzadeh 20 Reputation points
2026-09-17T00:09:22.7766667+00:00

Hello,

I have a problem with Task Manager on my Surface Pro 12 running Windows 11.

Task Manager does not open on my main Windows account. When I run taskmgr.exe, nothing appears and it crashes in the background.

I have already:

Run sfc /scannow successfully.

Run DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth successfully.

Tested Task Manager in Safe Mode and it didnt open.

Checked the relevant registry policies; no Task Manager restrictions were found.

Confirmed that Taskmgr.exe exists in C:\Windows\System32.

Created a temporary administrator account, TestUser123, and Task Manager works normally there.

Event Viewer shows this error every time:

Faulting application: Taskmgr.exe

Faulting module: ucrtbase.dll

Exception code: 0xc0000409

This seems to happen only on my main Windows user profile.

Could you please help me identify and fix the cause without creating a new permanent user profile?

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Performance and system failures
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Answer accepted by question author

AI answer

2026-09-17T00:09:40.89+00:00

Because Task Manager works in another administrator account, the problem is likely isolated to the main user profile rather than the system-wide Taskmgr.exe binary.

Use this order:

  1. Reset the per-user Task Manager settings
    • Delete this folder from the affected account: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\TaskManager
    • Then sign out and sign back in, or restart Windows.
    • This matches a reported fix for Task Manager crashing on one profile.
  2. Check for third-party service interference with that profile
    • Run msconfig.exe.
    • Open the Services tab.
    • Select Hide all Microsoft services.
    • Select Disable all.
    • Restart Windows.
    • Test Taskmgr.exe again.
    • If Task Manager opens, re-enable services in groups to identify the conflicting software.
  3. Since ucrtbase.dll appears in the crash, repair the Visual C++ Redistributables
    • Open appwiz.cpl.
    • For each installed Microsoft Visual C++ entry, select Change > Repair.
    • Restart and test again.
    • If needed, reinstall the supported x86 and x64 packages from the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable page referenced in the context answer.
  4. If the issue started after a recent Windows update
    • Open Windows Recovery Environment.
    • Go to Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Uninstall Updates.
    • Uninstall the latest quality update.
    • If that does not help, use System Restore from Advanced options and select a restore point from before the issue began.
  5. If Task Manager is disabled by policy or registry in the affected profile, verify again
    • Open gpedit.msc.
    • Go to User Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Ctrl+Alt+Del Options.
    • Ensure Remove Task Manager is set to Disabled or Not Configured.
    • Run gpupdate /force.
    • Also verify these values are 0:
      • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\DisableTaskMgr
      • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Group Policy Objects\LocalUser\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\DisableTaskMgr
      • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\system\DisableTaskMgr
    • Warning: editing the registry can cause serious problems. Back up first.

Given the symptoms, the highest-probability fixes are:

  • deleting %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\TaskManager
  • isolating third-party services with msconfig
  • repairing Visual C++ components

References:

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  1. Ermiya Ahmadzadeh 20 Reputation points
    2026-09-17T00:21:14.1866667+00:00

    The problem has been solved. I deleted the following folder from my affected user profile

    Thank you for the help!

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