Actually replacing task manager

Hey Everyone, how it going?

I know you can delete taskmgr.exe and still have windows running.

but, when i renamed process hacker's file name to taskmgr.exe
It won't start up. so my question is....

how can i point windows to think that processhacker.exe is the task manager?

Hey Everyone, how it going?

I know you can delete taskmgr.exe and still have windows running.

but, when i renamed process hacker's file name to taskmgr.exe
It won't start up. so my question is....

how can i point windows to think that processhacker.exe is the task manager?

I have several questions:
You mean this one?
http://processhacker.sourceforge.net/
WHICH version did you attempt using?
The "portable" one?
What do you mean "it doesn't start up"?
If you rename processhacker.exe to taskmgr.exe and you double click on it "it doesn't start"?
Or "it doesn't start" because it doesn't "trap" CTRL+ALT+DEL?


Wonko

Dear wimmaker,

You have two ways to do that:

1) Inside Process hacker GUI: Hacker > Options > Advanced, tick the "Replace Task Manager" box.
2) Goto: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionImage File Execution Optionstaskmgr.exe. Create a new string value called Debugger with the value being the path to Process Hacker E.G: "C:Program FilesProcess Hacker 2ProcessHacker.exe"

Source: http://processhacker....php?f=15&t=220

Best regards,

Aeolis

Edited by Aeolis, 24 March 2012 - 06:24 PM.

If you look at Sysinternal's "Process Monitor" utility, it tells you how to do it, because it actually replaces an entry in the registry to do it. See its documentation.

@wonko
1)Yes, that one
2)portable 2.27 i think(i did remove some of the plugins)
3a) i figure out what i did wrong...
I had tried to using spoon studio to create a
self-contained processhacker.exe renamed to
taskmgr.exe, that was the one that didn't startup.
3b)If processhacker.exe is renamed taskmgr.exe, the plugins don't
load because it "can't find processhacker.exe"

as for the Ctrl+Alt+Del, it has never worked, so i didn't consider it.

@Aeolis
the instructions from that page are assuming that taskmgr.exe is still there,
The purpose of this was to delete taskmgr.exe(yes, i know it only a few kilobytes)
and have it use processhacker when i right-click on the clock
and click "task manager"

@wendy

i can't use process monitor, because, interesting enough its crashes on me within 5 second of loading....

Edited by wimmaker, 27 March 2012 - 06:43 PM.

Dear wimmaker,

You DO NOT have to delete taskmgr.exe to have processhacker.exe as the Windows main task manager.

As I told you before the easiest way to have Process hacker as the Windows main task manager is:

1) Inside Process hacker GUI: Hacker > Options > Advanced, tick the "Replace Task Manager" box.

Using this option Process Hacker will replace Windows deafault taskmanger and Process Hacker will be called up via CTRL+SHIFT+ESC key, via the right-click option in the windows clock and via all the other deault Windows ways of calling the default task manger.

Another approach is to use the option below:

2) Goto: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionImage File Execution Optionstaskmgr.exe. Create a new string value called Debugger with the value being the path to Process Hacker E.G: "C:Program FilesProcess Hacker 2ProcessHacker.exe"

Source: http://processhacker....php?f=15&t=220

DO NOT rename Process Hacker executable beacause it needed for plugins andf other features initialization.

Best regards,

Aeolis