Task Manager Processes tab completely blank

Hi Leonel,

The blank Task Manager issue might be due to a software conflict. That being said, we'll need additional information to properly address your concern. Kindly answer the following:

• Are you getting any error messages?
• Aside from running the DISM command-line tool and the SFC tool, what other troubleshooting steps have you tried so far?
• Have you installed the latest updates for Windows 10?
• What is the current OS Build of your Windows 10 device? Click the Start button, type About your PC, press Enter, and then scroll down to Windows specifications to find this information.

For now, we recommend performing a clean boot in order to determine if an installed program is causing the issue. A clean boot is performed to start Windows by using a minimal set of drivers and startup programs. This helps eliminate software conflicts that occur when you use your Windows 10 PC. For the steps on how to perform this operation, kindly refer to this support article.

NOTE: Please go to the section: Reset the computer to start normally after clean boot troubleshooting to boot the PC in normal startup after fixing the issue.

We'll be waiting for the results.

Hi Joshua,

We'll need more details to properly assist you. Please answer the following questions:

• Were you able to follow the steps from the article we provided in our previous post? If you were able to perform a clean boot, can you tell us the results?
• What is the make and model of your computer?
• Can you tell us all of the troubleshooting steps you've done so far?

If you haven't tried running the DISM command-line tool and the SFC tool yet, you can refer to this support article.

We're looking forward to your response.

I ran both the dism.exe and the sfc:, no integrity violations, no comments out of the dism other than the operation completed successfully.  I'd recently re-booted though, so everything was already working like normal.  If it wipes out again, I'll provide a reply.

Alright, so it has happened again, these are the items I have observed, plus my computer specifciations:

Processor: Intel i7 920 @ 2.67 Ghz

RAM: 12 GB

Manufacturer iBUYPOWER Computers

Edition: Windows 10 Home

Version: 1709

OS build 16299.309

Ran both the dism.exe tool and the sfc, no changes with either one.

Oddities: 

1: Left-clicking on the windows button does nothing

2: Task Manager Processes tab is empty

3: The Brother printer service icon was blank, and when I try to open it, the context menus are blank until I hover the mouse over them.  I ask to open the application and I get an invisible window that I can't interact with, but if I bring other windows with graphic images on them (i.e my web browser) the rectangle is visible as a big rectangular 'hole' in the browser.

4. I used Process explorer to close out all of the Printer executables, and the 'invisible rectangle' disappeared.  Process Tabs are still blank within the Task Manager (but I still get the percentage values in the header bar).

So, what other troubleshooting steps should I try?

Hi Joshua,

I appreciate you for posting back the additional information needed. I would like to follow up if you're still experiencing this issue with your Task Manager. If so, I highly suggest to create a test profile as this will help us see a different angle of a corrupted profile.

Let me know how it goes

Melowin,

     I'll make a local account on my computer.  Should I make it an Administrator?  Or one without Admin privileges?

          Joshua

Thank you for getting back to us. Can you try opening your Task Manager and see if the issue persists? If not, you can make your new account as an Administrator and transfer all your files.

Regards.

Melowin,

    System updates required my workstation to reboot, so I currently do not have this issue.  When it does appear, I will log on to the local administrator account and see if it has the same issue as well.  I won't be transferring all of my files, as there are too many for the hard drive size, so I hope that won't interfere with your assistance too much.

     Took about a month for it to occur the last time.  We'll see how long it takes now.

          Joshua Zustiak

I understand that will take time to transfer all your files. Your local administrator will do, let me know if the same issue will occur. We're doing this to see the possibility of having a corrupted profile.

I'm looking forward to another update.