Note: Your screen and taskbar will briefly flicker or turn black for a second while the process reloads. 2. The Keyboard-Only Method: Command Prompt (CMD)

Applicability: Windows 10/11 specific UI issues or deep system errors.

Under the tab, scroll down to the "Windows processes" section and find Windows Explorer . Right-click Windows Explorer and select Restart .

taskkill /f /im explorer.exe start explorer.exe

Open Command Prompt or PowerShell as admin → run:

This method utilizes the Command Prompt or PowerShell to force a restart. It is useful if the Task Manager UI is also experiencing lag.