Process Explorer "run at logon" set in admin mode prevents user mode task tray icons

James Garrison 236 Reputation points
2024-05-09T16:56:52.89+00:00

Windows 11 23H2 with all updates
Process Explorer 17.05 (64-bit)

At one point I had to launch ProcessExplorer in admin mode, and while in the instance I set "Start at logon".

Since then, it launches at startup but prevents the task tray icons from displaying in a non-admin login session, making the UI inaccessible.

To reproduce:

  1. From a non-admin session run procexp64 as administrator
  2. Enable Run at Logon
  3. Close procexp64
  4. Reboot

After that, on my system:

  • procexp64 is running (as seen in Task Manager)
  • Process Explorer tray icons are missing
  • Since I have "Allow only one instance" enabled, I cannot launch another instance
  • The only solution is to kill the running instance (the admin one) and relaunch
Sysinternals
Sysinternals
Advanced system utilities to manage, troubleshoot, and diagnose Windows and Linux systems and applications.
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