Task Manager shows -2147483247% CPU usage when opening the Performance tab

Question

Task Manager shows -2147483247% CPU usage when opening the Performance tab

Suchang Feng 25

My system is running Windows 11 Pro for Workstations, build 26200.8655, with a 250K Plus CPU. When I open the Performance tab in Task Manager, there's a random chance (I’d estimate around 10%) that the CPU performance thumbnail on the left side turns completely black and the usage briefly reads -2147483247%. The CPU usage immediately snaps back to normal, but the graph area stays completely black. After about a minute, it recovers on its own.

This doesn’t happen all the time and it doesn’t affect actual performance, but I open Task Manager multiple times a day to check my system, so I run into this almost daily. I haven’t found any similar reports online. I’ve already tried booting into Safe Mode and rebuilding the performance counters to rule out interference from other software or corrupted data, but the issue persists.

What exactly is this bug? Could a Microsoft engineer help me figure out what’s going on? Thanks！

Anonymous

2026-07-07T05:57:40.64+00:00

I have the same story, but sometimes I have a white and small graphics window and the frames disappear.Sometimes, even after opening Task Manager, the process tabs that display in Performance remain visible and then disappear.

1 answer

Your answer

Anonymous

2026-07-07T05:57:40.64+00:00

I have the same story, but sometimes I have a white and small graphics window and the frames disappear.Sometimes, even after opening Task Manager, the process tabs that display in Performance remain visible and then disappear.

Answer 1

Hi Suchang Feng,

Greetings again!!

The behavior you are observing in Task Manager is a known, non-critical display glitch. Occasionally, the application fails to fetch the CPU usage data for a split second, causing the graph to turn black and display an erroneous value.

Key Takeaways

System Integrity: Your CPU and hardware are operating perfectly. This is purely a visual error within the Task Manager interface.
Transient Nature: The issue is temporary and resolves itself automatically within a minute.
Recommended Verification: If you would like to confirm your system's status when this occurs, you can use the Resource Monitor. Press Windows Key + R, type resmon.exe, and press Enter. If the Resource Monitor displays normal CPU activity, you can be confident that the Task Manager error is strictly cosmetic.

This is a harmless display bug related to the current Windows build version. It occurs when the interface fails to refresh its data connection momentarily. Given your thorough troubleshooting, you can be assured this does not indicate any underlying system instability.

If my insights can contribute to the concerns, please let me know. Thank you!