Veteran Microsoft engineer says original Task Manager was only 80KB so it could run smoothly on 90s computers — original utility used a smart technique to determine whether it was the only running instance
Tom's Hardware: For The Hardcore PC Enthusiast [Unofficial]
April 12, 2026
Dave Plummer used several clever techniques to ensure that Windows Task Manager will always run while cutting the performance hit on your hardware when when it's opened.
Discussion in the ATmosphere