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claude-code - 💡(How to fix) Fix [BUG] Claude desktop app writes malformed startup registry entry that crashes Windows Task Manager [1 comments, 2 participants]

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anthropics/claude-code#56369•Fetched 2026-05-06 06:29:57
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Error Message

Faulting application name: Taskmgr.exe, version: 10.0.19041.6280 Faulting module name: Taskmgr.exe, version: 10.0.19041.6280 Exception code: 0xc0000005 (Access Violation - read from 0x0000000000000000) Fault offset: 0x00000000000748a1

Root cause: HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "Claude" entry contains malformed escaped quotes: ""C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\AnthropicClaude\claude.exe" --startup" Windows path APIs (PathGetArgs/PathUnquoteSpaces) return NULL on this format, which taskmgr dereferences when loading the Startup tab → crash.

Root Cause

Platform: Windows 10 22H2 (build 19045.7184) Claude version: 1.5354.0 (9a9e3d) 2026-04-29T01:14:34.000Z Bug description: The Claude desktop app registers itself for auto-startup via HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run with an incorrectly escaped command line that causes Windows Task Manager to crash with an access violation whenever the "More Details" view is opened. Broken registry value written by Claude installer: Key: HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run Name: Claude Value: ""C:\Users<user>\AppData\Local\AnthropicClaude\claude.exe" --startup" Problem: The value contains " escape sequences inside outer double-quotes. Windows Run registry entries do not support this escaping format. When taskmgr.exe processes this entry for its Startup tab (on expanding to "More Details"), the Windows path APIs PathGetArgs() / PathUnquoteSpaces() receive this malformed string and return NULL. taskmgr.exe then passes that NULL to a WCHAR string scanner, causing an access violation at RVA 0x748A1 inside taskmgr.exe (exception code 0xC0000005). Correct value should be: "C:\Users<user>\AppData\Local\AnthropicClaude\claude.exe" --startup Impact: Task Manager crashes silently every time a user with Claude installed opens "More Details". This affects only the user profile where Claude is installed (the entry lives in HKCU). The crash is deterministic, reproducible in Safe Mode (since HKCU loads in Safe Mode), and survived SFC / DISM scans because it is purely a registry data issue, not a system file corruption. Workaround (already applied on my machine): Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run" -Name "Claude" -Value '"C:\Users<user>\AppData\Local\AnthropicClaude\claude.exe" --startup' Request: Please fix the startup registration code in the Claude installer/updater to write the correct unescaped quoted path format for Windows Run registry entries.

Fix Action

Fix / Workaround

Platform: Windows 10 22H2 (build 19045.7184) Claude version: 1.5354.0 (9a9e3d) 2026-04-29T01:14:34.000Z Bug description: The Claude desktop app registers itself for auto-startup via HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run with an incorrectly escaped command line that causes Windows Task Manager to crash with an access violation whenever the "More Details" view is opened. Broken registry value written by Claude installer: Key: HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run Name: Claude Value: ""C:\Users<user>\AppData\Local\AnthropicClaude\claude.exe" --startup" Problem: The value contains " escape sequences inside outer double-quotes. Windows Run registry entries do not support this escaping format. When taskmgr.exe processes this entry for its Startup tab (on expanding to "More Details"), the Windows path APIs PathGetArgs() / PathUnquoteSpaces() receive this malformed string and return NULL. taskmgr.exe then passes that NULL to a WCHAR string scanner, causing an access violation at RVA 0x748A1 inside taskmgr.exe (exception code 0xC0000005). Correct value should be: "C:\Users<user>\AppData\Local\AnthropicClaude\claude.exe" --startup Impact: Task Manager crashes silently every time a user with Claude installed opens "More Details". This affects only the user profile where Claude is installed (the entry lives in HKCU). The crash is deterministic, reproducible in Safe Mode (since HKCU loads in Safe Mode), and survived SFC / DISM scans because it is purely a registry data issue, not a system file corruption. Workaround (already applied on my machine): Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run" -Name "Claude" -Value '"C:\Users<user>\AppData\Local\AnthropicClaude\claude.exe" --startup' Request: Please fix the startup registration code in the Claude installer/updater to write the correct unescaped quoted path format for Windows Run registry entries.

Code Example

Faulting application name: Taskmgr.exe, version: 10.0.19041.6280
Faulting module name: Taskmgr.exe, version: 10.0.19041.6280
Exception code: 0xc0000005 (Access Violation - read from 0x0000000000000000)
Fault offset: 0x00000000000748a1

Root cause: HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "Claude" entry contains
malformed escaped quotes: "\"C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\AnthropicClaude\claude.exe\" --startup"
Windows path APIs (PathGetArgs/PathUnquoteSpaces) return NULL on this format,
which taskmgr dereferences when loading the Startup tab → crash.
RAW_BUFFERClick to expand / collapse

Preflight Checklist

  • I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
  • This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
  • I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

Platform: Windows 10 22H2 (build 19045.7184) Claude version: 1.5354.0 (9a9e3d) 2026-04-29T01:14:34.000Z Bug description: The Claude desktop app registers itself for auto-startup via HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run with an incorrectly escaped command line that causes Windows Task Manager to crash with an access violation whenever the "More Details" view is opened. Broken registry value written by Claude installer: Key: HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run Name: Claude Value: ""C:\Users<user>\AppData\Local\AnthropicClaude\claude.exe" --startup" Problem: The value contains " escape sequences inside outer double-quotes. Windows Run registry entries do not support this escaping format. When taskmgr.exe processes this entry for its Startup tab (on expanding to "More Details"), the Windows path APIs PathGetArgs() / PathUnquoteSpaces() receive this malformed string and return NULL. taskmgr.exe then passes that NULL to a WCHAR string scanner, causing an access violation at RVA 0x748A1 inside taskmgr.exe (exception code 0xC0000005). Correct value should be: "C:\Users<user>\AppData\Local\AnthropicClaude\claude.exe" --startup Impact: Task Manager crashes silently every time a user with Claude installed opens "More Details". This affects only the user profile where Claude is installed (the entry lives in HKCU). The crash is deterministic, reproducible in Safe Mode (since HKCU loads in Safe Mode), and survived SFC / DISM scans because it is purely a registry data issue, not a system file corruption. Workaround (already applied on my machine): Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run" -Name "Claude" -Value '"C:\Users<user>\AppData\Local\AnthropicClaude\claude.exe" --startup' Request: Please fix the startup registration code in the Claude installer/updater to write the correct unescaped quoted path format for Windows Run registry entries.

What Should Happen?

This is a legitimate installer bug — the Claude app is almost certainly using a cross-platform path-quoting function that adds " JSON/shell-style escapes, which are invalid in this context on Windows "C:\Users<user>\AppData\Local\AnthropicClaude\claude.exe" --startup

Error Messages/Logs

Faulting application name: Taskmgr.exe, version: 10.0.19041.6280
Faulting module name: Taskmgr.exe, version: 10.0.19041.6280
Exception code: 0xc0000005 (Access Violation - read from 0x0000000000000000)
Fault offset: 0x00000000000748a1

Root cause: HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "Claude" entry contains
malformed escaped quotes: "\"C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\AnthropicClaude\claude.exe\" --startup"
Windows path APIs (PathGetArgs/PathUnquoteSpaces) return NULL on this format,
which taskmgr dereferences when loading the Startup tab → crash.

Steps to Reproduce

Download Claude Desktop Open Task Manager Click on Expand

Claude Model

Other

Is this a regression?

I don't know

Last Working Version

No response

Claude Code Version

Claude 1.5354.0 (9a9e3d) 2026-04-29T01:14:34.000Z

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

IntelliJ IDEA terminal

Additional Information

No response

extent analysis

TL;DR

The Claude installer should be updated to write the correct unescaped quoted path format for Windows Run registry entries to prevent Task Manager crashes.

Guidance

  • The issue is caused by the Claude installer writing a malformed registry value with escaped quotes, which Windows path APIs cannot process.
  • To verify the issue, check the registry value written by the Claude installer at HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run and look for escaped quotes.
  • A temporary workaround is to manually update the registry value using the Set-ItemProperty PowerShell command, as provided in the issue description.
  • The installer code should be updated to use the correct quoting format for Windows registry entries, without the escaped quotes.

Example

The correct registry value should be written as:

Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run" -Name "Claude" -Value '"C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\AnthropicClaude\claude.exe" --startup'

Notes

This issue is specific to the Windows platform and the Claude desktop app. The fix should be applied to the installer code to prevent similar issues in the future.

Recommendation

Apply the workaround by manually updating the registry value using the provided PowerShell command, and request the developer to update the installer code to write the correct registry value.

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claude-code - 💡(How to fix) Fix [BUG] Claude desktop app writes malformed startup registry entry that crashes Windows Task Manager [1 comments, 2 participants]