Task Manager is one of the essential tools of Windows, an easy, always-available look at what software is running (or not). But most users don’t have it open constantly and even those who do probably don’t want it running without their knowledge, as was the case with a recent bug. Microsoft says that it’s fixed the issue with the latest update.
After the October 28th updates, some users reported that closing the Task Manager didn’t actually end the process, eating up system resources. That’s not a huge problem, it’s not as if Task Manager is a massive draw on processor or memory… unless you’re using multiple instances of Task Manager. Which is exactly what happened.
With the original Task Master process not actually closing, opening the program again caused a new instance, gobbling up more system resources. This would compound when that process didn’t close correctly. Rinse, repeat, and you can see the problem, especially for desktop users who rarely do a full reboot.
Microsoft fixed this with a Windows 11 update released yesterday, build KB5068861 (spotted by Bleeping Computer). “This update addresses an issue where closing Task Manager with the Close button didn’t fully end the process, leaving background instances that could slow performance over time.”
The update also fixed a couple of handheld gaming bugs, preventing them from going into low-power mode and some controller input issues with the Windows login page. Microsoft has particular reason to keep an eye on gaming handhelds at the moment.
