Ask Leo! by Leo A. Notenboom

Why does Task Manager suddenly have no Menu or Tabs?

Search First! Then browse: Categories | Full Archive | By Date | Newsletter

Home » Windows » Windows Configuration

Summary: If Windows Task Manager doesn't have Menu or Tabs, then it is probably running in what's called "Tiny Footprint Mode".

Why does Task Manager suddenly have no Menu or Tabs?

Probably because it got into something called "Tiny Footprint Mode". There's a Knowledgebase Article on it.

Article C2076 - June 20, 2004

Helpful? Get new articles weekly by email in my FREE newsletter!

Your Name:
Your Email:


Why Subscribe?

Recent Comments
35 Comments

my computer does not open task maneager only apears a blank blue screen and when i make alt+ctrl+del apears the message 'TASK MANAGER HAS BEEN DESACTIVATED BY ADMINITRATOR' and does nothing. I have already reinstalled windows xp home and nothing seems to resolve it.

That's malware of some sort, and you must be getting infected again after your reinstall. Make sure your anti-virus and anti-spyware scans are happening and above all up to date. Then have a look at this article: Why is my Task Manager disabled, and how do I fix it?
- Leo
11-Oct-2008

Posted by: Carlos Ribeiro at October 10, 2008 11:11 AM

That has been bugging me for so long and it was so simple to resolve! Thanks!

Posted by: Andy Roberts at October 31, 2008 5:07 AM

Thanks!!! I was already thinking about having to do a clean windows install to fix this. Wow, what a F'd up feature is that. It makes you wonder what else you shouldn't double-click on.

Posted by: Ton at November 12, 2008 9:47 PM

jajajaj, It was driving me crazy LOL. THANKS!!!

Posted by: Jorgeb at November 24, 2008 10:36 AM

Wow. Sometimes you think you know what you're doing, and then something like this stumps you. Thanks!

Posted by: Ben at November 25, 2008 7:59 PM

never even heard of this mode or option and i've been running xp pro since day 1. how stupid. and i thought i had some crazy virus.

Posted by: FWA3 at January 2, 2009 1:45 PM

Great Stuff, i really thought it was a virus too.. but was planning to restore the system to later date... has this failed i really paniced ... scanned the whole system nothing found.

when released that i need the online help to see if i fix the problem.

thanks to u i have sovled my problem ... have learned something new....

rob....

Posted by: M Rob at February 3, 2009 2:21 PM

UNBELIEVABLE!! "Typical" Microsoft 'send-u-in-the-bush' fun by BGee. Just like this one: "click start button to shutdown pc". Duhhh!
I have, for the last 5 months, searched on and of
on the MS support site and local help files for this bug. Just by chance out of (google) millions, I click on Leo's page(is he dutch just like I am?) and find, "Why does Task Manager suddenly have no Menu or Tabs?" Absolutely fabulous here but why not possible on the MS support page. Typical HUH!? Btw, why did this problem occur on my pc anyway? I did not initiate it!? I click the link, 'knowledgebase article', and Leo sends me directly to that page below. WOW!! Your site Leo, is bookmarked.

But then the solution, "mijn broek zakt er van af", translation: "my pants really dropped on my ankles". So stupid it is... 'just double click the top bar of the window pane'. Tip to Leo: why don't you put that sentence/solution on this page so we don't have to click that link article ID:193050? Phew!

Article ID: 193050 - Last Review: May 7, 2007 - Revision: 2.3
Task Manager Menu Bar and Tabs Are Not Visible
View products that this article applies to.
This article was previously published under Q193050

Have a great one,

jan

Posted by: Jan at April 3, 2009 12:44 PM

You say that this is "Tiny Footprint Mode". This is our BRAND NEW Dell desk top computer and not even 30 days old but we bought it from WalMart. How doe I get it off the "Tiny Footprint Mode"?

Click through to the knowledgebase article referenced in the article you just commented on.
Leo
28-Sep-2009

Posted by: Christina at September 27, 2009 9:35 AM

thank you so much been bugging me for weeks was starting to think i had virus malware or something was contumpating a wipe and reinstall lmao thank god i found this

Posted by: ian at November 10, 2009 3:29 PM

Post a comment on "Why does Task Manager suddenly have no Menu or Tabs?":






(Email Address will not be published.)

Remember Me?

By popular demand...
my tip jar
Cuppa Joe
Buy Leo a Latte!

(you may use HTML tags for style)

RSS feed Subscribe to the RSS Feed specifically for comments on this article.

Before commenting, please...

  • Read the article at the top of this page. If your comment shows you didn't, it'll be deleted and ignored.

  • Comment only on this article. Use the Google search box at the top of the page if you have a question about something else.

  • Don't include personal information in the comment. No email addresses. No phone numbers. No physical addresses.

  • Don't spam. Excessive links to unrelated sites within a comment or across multiple comments will cause all such comments to be removed.

  • Don't ask me to recover lost passwords or hacked accounts. I can't, and those comments will be deleted.

  • I can't respond to every comment. And I can't vouch for the accuracy of others who do.

Please wait. Your comment is being processed ...


Question? Ask Leo!