Creator of Windows Task Manager Provides Customer Support 30 Years Later

If there is a longstanding Windows problem bothering you, try asking Dave Plummer, he might help you even 30 years later.

At least that's what happened to one lucky Twitter user who complained about open applications in his Task Manager moving all the time. Thankfully, Plummer, the creator of said Task Manager as well as Windows Pinball, ZIPFolders, and more, noticed the tweet and provided the solution. He said the fix was invented, back in 1994: you just need to press the CTRL key to pause updates. It seems that the system still holds some secrets for some, even after all these years – the more you know.

Plummer created Task Manager in 1994 and was eventually noticed by Dave Cutler, the designer of Windows NT, who allowed him to add the code to Windows officially. If you'd like to learn more about the creation process, you should definitely check out Plummer's YouTube channel and the video below specifically, where he explains the history behind the Task Manager.

As noted by PC Gamer, one of the funniest parts behind the Windows development was the team changing the word "process" in "kill process" to "all children," creating a slightly disturbing function. It was caught quickly, though, so no children were harmed.

Plummer retired after the launch of Windows Server 2003 but he still has a lot of wisdom to share, so follow him on X/Twitter and join our 80 Level Talent platform and our Telegram channel, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.