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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?

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  • I had a situation on Win8.1 where it opened the old style task manager when I was very low on RAM, haven't been able to reproduce this
    – chrki
    Oct 16, 2015 at 14:39
  • 2
    I expanded and copied taskmgr.exe from a Windows NT 4 CD I had laying around. Works just fine.
    – user530873
    Oct 17, 2015 at 4:06
  • I copied mine from Win7 32 bit in Win 10 64 and won't work.
    – IceCold
    Oct 17, 2015 at 15:41
  • Excellent answer @magicandre1981. Check out WinAero.com. It has some other really nice tools also!
    – IceCold
    Oct 18, 2015 at 9:58
  • Looks like A LOT of people HATE the new Win 10 GUI!
    – IceCold
    Oct 20, 2015 at 10:06

3 Answers 3

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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

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  • 5
    While I agree that the other answers are more useful, this is the only one that actually answers the question.
    – ComicSansMS
    Oct 17, 2015 at 17:22
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    Excellent answer @magicandre1981. I really really like WinAero.com tools!
    – IceCold
    Oct 18, 2015 at 10:01
53

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

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  • Ahh they moved the Select out of View and stuck in on the column headers... Nice!
    – Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007
    Oct 16, 2015 at 13:19
  • I found one. I suspect the answer would be to copy taskman.exe over from Windows 7.
    – Joshua
    Oct 16, 2015 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: winaero.com/blog/get-classic-old-task-manager-in-windows-10
    – IceCold
    Oct 17, 2015 at 21:27
  • Old task manager did rememer the columns you selected, the new one does not.
    – Daddy32
    Nov 25, 2016 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, 2020 at 14:53
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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

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  • 10
    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, 2015 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, 2015 at 14:17
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    Options->Replace Task Manager
    – crazypotato
    Oct 16, 2015 at 19:13
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    @frosty sounds like process explorer and "find window's process" would do exactly what you want.
    – Martin Smith
    Oct 16, 2015 at 21:39
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    I'd also recommend you to take a look at a Process Hacker - similar open-source utility.
    – ForNeVeR
    Oct 19, 2015 at 4:56

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