KillerNetworkManagerLauncher popup on every boot — complete fix when standard uninstall fails

Background

My Dell laptop came with Killer network software pre-installed as part of the factory image, despite not having Intel Killer network hardware. After every boot, roughly 50 seconds after the desktop loaded, a popup appeared referencing KillerNetworkManagerLauncher with a link to the Microsoft Store that showed 'No app available'.

This is a known issue on Dell machines where the Killer software is included in the factory image regardless of hardware configuration. None of the standard fixes worked because the software left behind a hidden scheduled task that standard tools cannot see.

What Did NOT Work

• Searching for Killer, Rivet, Intel, Network Manager in Apps & Features — nothing found
• Checking Startup Apps in Task Manager — not listed
• Browsing Task Scheduler through the UI — no Killer folders visible
• Downloading and reinstalling Intel Killer Performance Suite — failed with 'No compatible hardware found'
• Clearing Windows Store cache (wsreset) — error persisted

What Finally Worked

Open PowerShell as Administrator (right-click Start, select Windows PowerShell (Admin)) and run these commands in order:

Remove leftover AppX packages:

1. Get-AppxPackage *KillerControlCenter* | Remove-AppxPackage
2. Get-AppxPackage *Killer* | Remove-AppxPackage
3. Get-AppxPackage *RivetNetworks* -AllUsers | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers

Delete the hidden scheduled task:

4. Unregister-ScheduledTask -TaskName "Killer Startup Task" -Confirm:$false

Reboot.

Why This Works

The Killer software installs a scheduled task called 'Killer Startup Task' directly in the root of Task Scheduler, not inside any named subfolder. This makes it completely invisible when browsing through the Task Scheduler UI. The task has a logon trigger with a delay, which is why the error always appears about 50 seconds after the desktop loads rather than immediately. PowerShell bypasses the UI limitation and finds it directly.

Hope this saves someone else the hours of troubleshooting. This fix worked on a Dell running Windows 11 with no Killer hardware present.