How to Get Back Windows 7 Task Manager in Windows 8

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The Task Manager in Windows 8 got a complete redesign when compared to the Windows 7 one. These changes were huge and included some major improvements in terms of advanced features. You can have a look at complete guide to Windows 8 Task Manager to see what has changed.

task manager windows 8

However, I missed the Windows 7 Task Manager. Some of you might say that I was having a hard time dealing with the changes like the average Windows user and that may well be true. But I feel that Windows 7 Task manager is much more user friendly when compared to its successor. Take End Process Tree option for an example. In the Windows 7 version, we could use it to force kill an application along with all the related processes. In the new one though, all I can do is end the task.

So the question of the day boils down to this – how to get our good old Windows 7 task manager back?

How to Get Back Windows 7 Task Manager

Step 1: Download this archive file on your computer and extract the folder named TM in C:\ root assuming that you have installed Windows in that drive. This archive contains one-click registry integration files and the Task Manager file from Windows 8 Boot.wim files.

install windows 7

Step 2: After you have extracted the file, simply run the installation registry file corresponding to your system architecture. If you are not sure about your Windows architecture, open Computer and click on the button System properties in the menu ribbon.

system properties

In System properties, look for System type. Here you can see whether its x64 or x86.

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system type

The file will replace the Windows 8 Task Manager instantly and you won’t even have to reboot your system to see the changes. After applying the fix, right-click on the taskbar and select Task Manager to see Windows 7 Task Manager.

window 7 task manager

Note: Don’t delete the TM folder as long as you are using the Windows 7 Task Manager.

How it Works

Honestly, I don’t exactly know how the fix works but I think might be able to give you a vague idea. The registry fix forces Windows 8 Operating System to use the Task Manager files that are included in the archive and not the one that’s already installed.

Few Things to Note

The Windows 7 Task Manager will work flawlessly except:

  • The Startup Manager that we used to have in msconfig (system configuration) of Windows 7 has made its way to Task Manager in Windows 8. Therefore, after you replace the Windows 8 Task Manager with the Windows 7 one, you will not find find the startup configuration option at both the places. Therefore, after replacing the Task Manager, if you ever want to configure Windows startup, you will have to use a third-party alternative.
    Quick Startup is one such application you can use to reduce your Windows boot time. You will like this tool far more than the Windows default Startup Manager.

startup manager msconfig

  • As the Modern Apps were launched in Windows 8, the previous Task Manager cannot detect them and thus would not be included in the list of active apps. After switching the Task Manager, if you want to close Modern Apps you will have to switch over to them and then close each of them individually by holding the top bar and dragging it down to close it.

Other than that, I don’t think you will miss out on anything. You can easily revert to Windows 8 Task Manager by running the Uninstall script included in the archive you downloaded. Simple and easy.

Conclusion

I am thinking of using the Windows 7 Task Manager despite of the few shortcomings. What about you? Which one of these Task Managers do you prefer?

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  • Anonymous

    The old one is definitely better. MS should not try to make me adapt to their software. It should be other way round. Their new task manager should have been superset of old one.

  • Arash Jafari

    I really like the new task manager because it gives a great overview of the processes, services, applications and system performance. The color coding allows me to quickly identify a process that claims excessive CPU, RAM, HDD or LAN and view details about it and end or stop it if necessary. Everything is well organized and the performance tab also provides additional information about present resources.
    The startup tab is a great way to keep track of what is started after boot and what impact they have so you can optimize it and see the result after next boot. I use it very often and so far after 5 months I cannot say that I miss anything except the ability to show a graph for each processor core but you can do that in the resource monitor launched from the same tab.

  • Kevin

    The old one is miles better; on the new one you have no option to configure the columns on the details tab so you can’t display the module filename. Sure you can look at properties but if you want to scan down the list for something odd this will take forever. Fortunately Process Explorer runs on W8 so I will be using that instead of TM.

    Also the startup tab does NOT list all the programs which can get started. I don’t know how it filters them but it does. The old msconfig used to list all the registry entries; the new TM doesn’t. So you’re faced with having to search the registry manually. Great improvement Microsoft!