Task Manager has been disabled by your administrator

Issue: Error Message: "Task Manager has been disabled by your administrator"

Symtoms: When you try to open Task Manager, the following error may occur:

"Task Manager has been disabled by your administrator"

Solution: This error is caused if the DisableTaskMgr restriction is enabled. To enable Task Manager, try one of these methods:

IMPORTANT: If this restriction was enabled in your system without you doing anything or without your knowledge, then it`s highly likely that a Virus has blocked the usage of Task Manager in your system by enabling the DisableTaskMgr policy via the registry. I strongly suggest that you perform a thorough checkup of your system immediately. Steps listed in the Resolution section of this article helps you unblock the Task Manager, but that does not remove the Virus (if any) from your system.

Using Task Manager

When Task Manager is first opened the dialog box shown below appears. It has four tabs. There is also a Users tab if you are using Fast User Switching. The default tab "Applications" is a list of the applications that are running in the foreground. These are programs that you can see on the desktop or on the taskbar and that are not running hidden in the background.

All the tab windows have information at the bottom showing the number of processes that are running, how much the CPU is being used, and how much memory resources are committed. The Applications window also has a button "New Task" in the lower right corner.

Unfreeze a Computer Using Task Manager

Task Manager has the very useful capability to open a new program. It is the equivalent of having Start-Run available and is obtained by clicking the button "New Task..." on the Applications tab window that is mentioned above. This feature may seem redundant but it can come in very handy if a crash or badly written program freezes Windows Explorer, thus making the Desktop inoperable.

create a shortcut to Task manager

The Task manager is not normally available from the programs list in the Start menu although you can create a shortcut there if you wish. One way to create a shortcut is to use Windows Explorer to find the file

       \Windows-->system32-->taskmgr.exe

Right-click on the file and choose "Send To- Desktop (Create Shortcut)".

 

If you like shortcuts on the Desktop, you can leave it there. Otherwise, move it to the folder of your choice in \Documents and Settings-->{User Name}-->Start Menu. If it is to be available to all users, move it to a folder in \Documents and Settings-->All Users-->Start Menu.

Note that Administrator rights are required to use some functions of Program Manager.

Automatic Updates Service In Windows XP

Automatic Updates

Service Name: wuauserv

Service Description:

Enables the download and installation of Windows updates. If this service is disabled, this computer will not be able to use the Automatic Updates feature or the Windows Update Web site.

Switch Users From the Task Manager

When a user initiates the Switch User option, the computer returns to the Welcome screen. The current user's session remains active and another user can now log on and use the computer. You can initiate the Switch User command in any of the following ways:

Schedule Tasks in Windows XP

With Scheduled Tasks, you can schedule any script, program, or document to run at a time that is most convenient for you. Scheduled Tasks starts every time that you start Windows XP and runs in the background, and it starts each task that you schedule at the time that you specify when you create the task.

To open Scheduled Tasks:

1. click Start--> click All Programs--> point to Accessories--> point to System Tools--> and then click Scheduled Tasks.

To schedule a new task:

1. Double-click Add Scheduled Task to start the Scheduled Task Wizard, and then click Next in the first dialog box.

2. The next dialog box displays a list of programs that are installed on your computer, either as part of the Windows XP operating system, or as a result of software installation.



Use one of the following procedures:

• If the program that you want to run is listed, click the program, and then click Next.
• If you want to run a program, script, or document that is not listed, click Browse, click the folder and file that you want to schedule, and then click Open.

3. Type a name for the task, and then choose one of the following options:

• Daily
• Weekly
• Monthly
• One time only
• When my computer starts (before a user logs on)
• When I log on (only after the current user logs on)

4. Click Next--> specify the information about the day and time to run the task--> and then click Next.

Note that the information about the day and time to run the task vary depending on the selection that you made in the previous wizard dialog box. For example, if you chose Weekly, you must indicate the day of the week, the time, and if the task should run every week, every 2 weeks, every 3 weeks, and so on.

5. Type the name and password of the user who is associated with this task. Make sure that you choose a user with sufficient permissions to run the program. By default, the wizard selects the name of the user who is currently logged on.

6. Click Next--> and then click Finish after you verify the choices that you have made.