Task Manager has developed severe rendering lag and shows grey placeholder icons for every user profile. A Windows 11 in-place repair upgrade, AppX package re-registration, local AppData cache cleanup, clean administrator profile, clean boot, and performance-counter rebuild did not resolve the issue. It still freezes or refuses to open, suggesting a system-wide Desktop Window Manager or related service problem. DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth was also attempted. What other troubleshooting steps should I try?
1 Answer
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth is a reasonable first repair command, but if it has already been completed without changing anything, the problem likely needs a different diagnostic path. Since the issue affects multiple profiles and survived a repair upgrade and clean boot, check the Event Viewer logs for Desktop Window Manager, graphics-driver, and Task Manager errors before attempting more repairs.
I already ran the DISM repair and it did not make any difference. The problem is still present across all accounts.