Editing the Task Manager

[Sebastian42]

In my brother's PC, the Task Manager (triggered with CTRL ALT DEL) lists QuickLaunch and Desktop in the Applications tab. It's the first WinXP system in which I have seen that. Where is the tweak to set/unset that ?

 

[linney]

What happens if you End Task on those Applications? Do they vanish from Task Manager? Does anything crash and give an error message?

Do you see the same from Safe Mode, or from Normal Mode but as a different user?

Are there any related items on the Taskbar called QuickLaunch or Desktop?

310560 - How to Troubleshoot By Using the Msconfig Utility in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310560

Have you checked for malware?

Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php

SuperAntispyware

http://superantispyware.com/

Try running ChkDsk to check your drive for errors. Right-click your Drive icon/ Properties/ Tools/ Error Checking. Select both boxes.

Run the System File Checker program from the Run Box by typing.....Sfc /Scannow in it and have your XP CD handy.

Copy a XP version of TaskMgr.exe from elsewhere and place it in My Documents on his machine. See if that shows the same outcome.

 

[BadBigBen]

Could be malware disguised as a system app!!!

Thus I would, just to be sure, run several AntiMalware and AntiViral apps, on your brothers machine...

e.g. MBAM MalwareBytes AntiMalware and SuperAntiSpyware are two good AntiMalware Apps to use...

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

 

[Sebastian42]

Thank you for that wealth of suggestions. I wont see the PC for another fortnight or so, but will try them then.