Windows 11 bug is preventing Task Manager from closing, allowing multiple instances to run

Users are reporting that a bug in Windows 11 is causing the Task Manager to behave erratically when it is closed. The issue seems to have been introduced in the October Preview update.

Microsoft had released KB5067036 as an optional preview update for Windows 11 version 25H2 and 24H2. It ships with Copilot+ PC features such as new Click to Do actions, Voice Access, Agent as well as some improvements for regular PCs including a redesigned Start Menu with a scrollable "All" section, category and grid views, changes to File Explorer, Lock Screen, Taskbar icons, and more. It even fixes an issue related to the Task Manager, where some apps might unexpectedly not be grouped with their processes.

Ironically, the update also breaks the Task Manager. When you open the system monitoring utility, and click on the close button in the corner of the window, it doesn't always close the app. The tool keeps running in the background, though no window is visible. Every time you open Task Manager, it opens a new instance on top of the old one. This means that you can have several copies of the Task Manager running on your PC each of which eats up CPU cycles, memory, and consumes more power.

Windows Latest reported the problem, several users on Reddit say they experienced the issue after installing the optional update. A support article on Microsoft's website confirms that the bug has been acknowledged as a known issue in the KB5067036 update.

Microsoft says that it is investigating the issue, and will release a fix. Meanwhile, as a workaround, it is advising users to not click on the Close button in the Task Manager. Instead, you can click on the Process tab, select Task Manager, and then click on End Task. That's kind of funny. Kill Task Manager using Task Manager.

Or, if you have multiple copies of Task Manager open, you can close them by pasting the following command in a command prompt window: taskkill /im taskmgr.exe /f

On a sidenote, Microsoft will end support for Windows 11 23H2 on November 11, 2025. Users will need to update their PC to Windows 11 version 24H2 or 25H2 to continue receiving security updates.

Have you run into the Task Manager duplication bug?

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