Years of Windows use has Ctrl+Alt+Del ingrained in your muscle memory, however in Windows 7 and up it no longer takes you directly to the Task Manager, but the Welcome Screen instead. What to do? The solution is as simple as learning a new trick.

Today’s Question & Answer session comes to us courtesy of SuperUser—a subdivision of Stack Exchange, a community-driven grouping of Q&A web sites.

The Question

SuperUser reader Belgi has a very simple request:

I am using Windows 7 and when I press Ctrl+Alt+Del I first go into the Welcome Screen and only then I can go into the Task Manager.

I have no use for any other option on this screen, can I change it so the combination will get my directly to the Task Manager?

Surely there is a trick, registry hack, or some clever maneuver that can help poor Belgi, no?

The Answer

SuperUser reader Xander27 has exactly the kind of answer we like…

You can use Ctrl+Shift+Esc for this.

… the dead simple ones that teach us all a new trick or two. I can’t speak for the other distinguished members of the How-To Geek staff, but I will hang my head in shame at the realization that I’d been (for years!) using a keyboard shortcut and then a mouse click to achieve what a keyboard shortcut alone could achieve.

Have another clever keyboard shortcut to share? Sound off in the the comments. Want to read more answers from other tech-savvy Stack Exchange users? Check out the full discussion thread here.

Jason Fitzpatrick Jason Fitzpatrick
Jason Fitzpatrick is the Editor in Chief of Review Geek, How-To Geek's sister site focused on product reviews, roundups, and deals. He has over a decade of experience in publishing and has authored thousands of articles at Review Geek, How-To Geek, and Lifehacker.
Read Full Bio »