FIX: Task Manager Crashing on Performance Tab on Windows

The issue where Windows keeps crashing whenever you click on the Performance tab on Task Manager started appearing after the Windows 10 Version 2004 update, and it was also reported on the Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22538.

It is caused by outdated drivers related to the usage data shown on the Performance tab in the Task Manager. To fix this issue, you must update all of your device drivers, as it can be hard to pinpoint which outdated driver is making Windows crash.

The Realtek Audio Driver, the NVIDIA GPU driver (on the GPU Quadro K1000M), and the SATA controller drivers often cause this issue. Many users found this issue was related to their GPU or SSD.

I will show you next how to quickly update all of your drivers by using a third-party application or Windows itself.

I’ll also provide an excellent alternative if Windows keeps crashing when clicking on the Performance tab.

Fix 1: Update All Your Device Drivers

This solution worked for most users. By updating all of your device drivers, you will end up updating the outdated driver responsible for making Windows crash when clicking the Performance tab on Task Manager crash.

There are two main methods to update all of your drivers.

Updating Drivers via Driver Updater

We will use here a third-party application to scan and update all your outdated drivers at once. This is the best method to update your device drivers, as it shows you exactly which drivers are outdated in your system and which will be updated.

Here is how you can do it:

1. Download and Install Driver Booster.
   
2. Click on Scan to look for outdated drivers.
3. When the scan is finished, click on the Update Now button in the upper right-corner to update all of your drivers at once.
   
4. Reboot your PC when the process is finished.

Updating Drivers via Windows Update

In theory, you can also update your device drivers with Windows Update, as it updates outdated drivers since Windows 10.
However, Windows Update is not always reliable, and it might tell you your driver is updated when it is not.
But if you don’t want to install a third-party application, you can try it:

1. On Windows Search, enter Windows Update and select the first result.
2. Click on the Check for updates button.
3. Then click on View optional updates:
   
4. On Optional updates, expand Driver updates and click on Download and Install.

Reboot and check if the issue remains.

Updating your NVIDIA GPU Driver

If your GPU is the NVIDIA Quadro K1000M NVIDIA, you should try to update your graphic card driver.

The best way to update your GPU driver is to download straight from the manufacturer’s website, it is free, and the latest graphics driver is first available there.

If you suspect this issue can be related to your NVIDIA graphics driver, or if you couldn’t update it through the methods above, try to do it like explained in this video:

Fix 2: Change Preferred Graphics Processor (Only for NVIDIA GPU users)

This fix was pointed out on Reddit by the user nate_the_bate, and it worked for a few users. This solution involves changing the graphics processor responsible for opening Task Manager from the NVIDIA GPU to the Integrated Graphics.

To do it, follow the steps below:

1. On Windows Search, enter NVIDIA Control Planel and open the first result.
2. Click on Manage 3D Settings, then click on the Program Settings tab.
3. Under Program Settings, choose Windows System Process (taskmgr.exe)
4. On “Select Preferred Graphics Processor for this program,” select “Integrated Graphics.”

If updating your device drivers and changing your preferred graphics processor for the Task Manager didn’t work, proceed to Fix 3.

Fix 3: Use the Resource Monitor to View Performance Tab Data

This is not a fix in itself, but it is a great way to keep checking your PC usage data without depending on the Performance tab on Task Manager.

A lot of people don’t know, but Windows comes with an alternative, more powerful version of Task Manager. It is called the Resource Monitor.

In the Resource Monitor, you can visualize your CPU, Memory, Disk, and Network data usage just like in the Performance tab of Task Manager, but with a lot of additional data.

Here is how to open the Resource Monitor:

1. Press Win + S to open Windows Search, then enter Resource Monitor.
2. Open the first result.
3. Now you can browse the different tabs to check CPU, Memory, Disk, and Network detailed usage data on your PC:
   

Conclusion

With outdated drivers being the main reason for Windows crashing when you click on the Performance tab on Task Manager, the best fix to this issue is to update all your device drivers; you can do it using a third-party driver updater or Windows Update.

If you cannot fix this problem, the built-in Resource Monitor is an amazing alternative to visualize the data shown on the Task Manager Performance tab.

If your task manager is paused and not updating data in real-time, check my article on how to fix task manager not updating in real-time.

Another big problem shown on Task Manager is the Desktop Window Manager RAM leakage. To prevent this from affecting your PC performance, check our article on how to fix Desktop Window Manager’s high RAM usage on Windows.