March 29, 2024

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What is Windows Task Manager? (and what you can do with it) –

Windows Task Manager

If you are a regular user of the Windows operating system and you know your way around then I am sure you are all about the Windows task manager. The Windows Task Manager is a component of the Windows operating system (OS) that gives administrators and end-users the ability to monitor, manage and troubleshoot tasks and everything that is currently being processed at any given time on your computer. This is fantastic if you need to know what application or process is either not responding or using excessive computer resources like CPU or RAM. It is a great tool to give you a real-time update on how your PC is performing. In this article, we will discuss everything you need to know about the Windows Task Manager.

What you can use the Windows Task Manager for –

You can use the Task Manager for a variety of tasks. Here are a couple of common ones:

  1. Terminate programs that cannot be closed normally anymore (crashed but still running, closing has no effect..)
  2. Check the cpu load and memory usage of the system or individual programs running on it.
  3. Find out which processes are running on the system.
  4. See which users are currently logged into a computer and what resources and apps they are using.

How to open Task Manager?

There are a few different ways to open Task Manager. So many in fact, that we will only cover the most popular and easiest way you can do it.

Keypoard shortcut – Windows has two different key combinations with which you can open up Task Manager in case you want to see running apps or stop an app.

  • You can open Task Manager by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc all together. This opens Task Manager straightaway
  • You can also open Task Manager by pressing and holding Ctrl + Alt + Del and then selecting Task manager from the list of options.

Windows Search – The easiest way to find anything on a Windows machine is to search for it. Task Manager is not an exception.

  • Click on the search icon then type “Task Manager” in the search bar.
  • Task Manager will pop up as a search result, and you can open it from there.
  • Click on the Windows icon, or press the WIN Key on the keyboard.
  • Scroll to the bottom and open up the Windows system folder
  • Task Manager will be shown alongside some other apps – just select it there to open it.

The Task Manager’s Tabs Explained

Once ou have opened the task manager it will open in its basic view. To see the Task Manager’s more advanced tools, click “More Details” at the bottom of the simple view window. Here you will be presented with a more detailed view with a number of Tabs along the top.

With More Details selected, the Task Manager includes the following tabs:

  • Processes: A list of running applications and background processes on your system along with CPU, memory, disk, network, GPU, and other resource usage information. From this tab, you can close running Windows processess and programs, bring them to the foreground, see how each is using your computer’s resources, and more.
  • Performance: Real-time graphs showing total CPU, memory, disk, network, and GPU resource usage for your system. You’ll find many other details here, too, from your computer’s IP address to the model names of your computer’s CPU and GPU.
  • App History: Information about how much CPU and network resources apps have used for your current user account. This only applies to new Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps—in other words, Store apps—and not traditional Windows desktop apps (Win32 applications.). This tab is great for tracking down any app that might be a CPU or network resource hog.
  • Startup: This tab provides a list of your Windows startup programs, which are the applications Windows automatically starts when you sign in to your user account. Disabling programs that auto-start with Windows is a very easy way to speed up your computer.
  • Users: The user accounts currently signed into your PC, how many resources they’re using, and what applications they’re running.
  • Details: More detailed information about the processes running on your system. This is basically the traditional “Processes” tab from the Task Manager on Windows 7.
  • Services: Management of Windows services. This is the same information you’ll find in services.msc, the Services management console.

Closing

The Windows Task Manager is one of the core programs that ships with every version of the Windows operating system. Designed to provide users with an overview of what is running and happening on the system, it is considered an advanced tool by many. Tech support users will often use the task manager daily to help troubleshoot issues. One of the most common things done in Task Manager is using End Task to stop a program from running. If a program is no longer responding, you can choose to End Task from the Task Manager to close the program without having to restart the computer.