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There are some improvements in Windows 10 in Task Manager, but they also removed really nice stuff. For example, in the the old Task Manager you could sort the running applications by their path. So you can easily locate an application (by 'Program Files', 'WINDOWS', etc. folder).

So, how do I get back the old Task Manager?

Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007
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Gabriel
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3 Answers3

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I cannot find any functionality that is in the Windows 7 task manager that is not in the Windows 8/8.1/10 task manager.

There are some differences with naming though:

  • The "applications" tab is now called "Processes".
  • The "Processes" tab is now called "Details" (and moved almost to the end), and I could enable more columns to sort by, just like the old one.
  • The "Performance" and "Networking" tab are both in the new "Performance" tab.
  • Two new tabs ("App history" and "Startup") have appeared.

Also, I don't think I have to tell you this since you mentioned improvements (and without doing this I wouldn't really call the new task manager improved), but I'm going to do it anyway just in case: Don't forget to click the "More details" button at the bottom if you don't see any tabs at all ;)

To answer the specific question about how to sort by path:

  1. Right-click the column-headers, and select "Select columns":

Enter image description here

  1. Select "Image path name":

Enter image description here

Peter Mortensen
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Olle Kelderman
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  • Ahh they moved the Select out of View and stuck in on the column headers... Nice! – Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007 Oct 16 '15 at 13:19
  • I found one. I suspect the answer would be to copy taskman.exe over from Windows 7. – Joshua Oct 16 '15 at 22:09
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    Looks like a lot of other people consider the old task manager better. This guy has a list of 14 good reasons to get the old Task Manager back: http://winaero.com/blog/get-classic-old-task-manager-in-windows-10/ – Gabriel Oct 17 '15 at 21:27
  • Old task manager did rememer the columns you selected, the new one does not. – Daddy32 Nov 25 '16 at 13:23
  • The main point for me is that sometimes, when my system is unresponsive, opening the new task manager takes significantly longer, and sometimes it's just a white box that's not responding... – Cherona Dec 18 '20 at 14:53
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The old Taskmgr is still part of Windows 8/10. It is part of the WinPE which is stored in the boot.wim on the DVD.

Winaero extracted the old Taskmgr and provides it in a download:

enter image description here

magicandre1981
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If you are truly unsatisfied with Windows' Task Manager (for any version/reason) then as an alternative I'd suggest using the well trusted Process Explorer from Microsoft.

ProcExpShot1

Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007
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    While process explorer is very good, IMHO it's overkill to replace task manager. Processed Explorer has so much information and advanced features that it's best suited for trouble shooting, not quick killing a non responsive task. – SilentVoid Oct 16 '15 at 14:11
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    @CryptoMin While I get your point, if all the OP wanted was to quick kill processes (which is not what they asked for, or said), then Task Manger could easily be considered overkill too. What you may consider "overkill" may be what someone else considers "good options to have". ;) – Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007 Oct 16 '15 at 14:17
  • True, but usually if you need to find a process by location it's because you started a process that doesn't set a name and you have to find it to kill it. Although as you said, that's in my opinion. If you want to use process explorer, by all means do so. – SilentVoid Oct 16 '15 at 14:23
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    Options->Replace Task Manager – crazypotato Oct 16 '15 at 19:13
  • @crazypotato - I have a window visible on screens and I need to figure out which app (exe file) corresponds to that window. I don't want to kill it. – Gabriel Oct 16 '15 at 20:30
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    @frosty sounds like process explorer and "find window's process" would do exactly what you want. – Martin Smith Oct 16 '15 at 21:39
  • however, process explorer has really prettty graphs and a great real-time icon for cpu usage - for these reasons alone, I use it . Windows 8>10 also looks pretty, but I'm unsure how to minimize it to the tray – Mikey Oct 17 '15 at 20:11
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    I'd also recommend you to take a look at a [Process Hacker](http://processhacker.sourceforge.net/) - similar open-source utility. – ForNeVeR Oct 19 '15 at 04:56