Microsoft Fixes Task Manager That Wouldn’t Close in Windows 11

In a previously released update, Microsoft appears to have inadvertently caused a malfunction in the Windows 11 Task Manager: when users opened Task Manager and closed it normally, the process did not terminate. Instead, the Task Manager process remained running in the background indefinitely.

After opening and closing Task Manager multiple times, the system would accumulate a large number of lingering Task Manager processes, continuously consuming memory and CPU resources — unless the user manually terminated the process each time through the taskbar’s right-click menu.

Microsoft has not explained how this peculiar issue arose, but in the newly released Windows 11 Build 26220.7262 (KB5070303), the company has implemented a fix. The update notes state, “Fixed an issue where the Task Manager process wasn’t stopping correctly after closing Task Manager. As a result of this, you may have also seen Task Manager unexpectedly open on boot.”

Beyond addressing the Task Manager malfunction, the update also fixes a problem that caused the mouse and keyboard to become unusable in WinRE recovery mode. According to Microsoft, some users might find that their input devices fail to function properly in WinRE or Advanced Startup, potentially disrupting standard recovery procedures after system failures.

The KB5070303 update is currently available only to Insider preview users. The corresponding fixes will not be merged into the stable Windows 11 25H2 release until December, so affected users will need to wait patiently for the official rollout.

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