1. Opening Task Manager

There are a few ways to open Task Manager:

• Keyboard Shortcut: Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open it directly
• Ctrl + Alt + Delete: Press this combination and select Task Manager from the menu
• Right-click the Taskbar: Right-click an empty area on the Taskbar (the bar at the bottom of your screen) and select Task Manager
• Search: Type “Task Manager” in the Start menu search bar and select it

2. Understanding the Main Tabs in Task Manager

Once Task Manager opens, you’ll see a few key tabs:

• Processes:

• • This tab shows all the programs and background processes currently running on your system
  • It includes Applications (open apps), Background processes (system-related tasks), and Windows processes
  • You can sort the list by CPU, Memory, Disk, and Network usage to identify what’s consuming system resources
  • To end a task or process, right-click on it and select End Task (be careful, as ending the wrong process can cause system instability).

• Performance:

• • This tab gives you a real-time overview of how your system is performing
  • It shows detailed CPU, Memory, Disk, Network, and GPU usage statistics
  • You can also see the CPU usage over time and memory usage history, which helps diagnose performance bottlenecks.

• App History:

• • Displays the usage history of applications with details on CPU time, network, and memory usage
  • Useful for tracking resource-heavy apps and checking whether certain apps use excessive system resources over time.

• Startup:

• • Here, you can manage which programs start automatically when Windows boots up
  • Disable unnecessary startup items to improve boot times and free up system resources
  • Right-click a program in the list and select Disable if you don’t need it to launch at startup.

• Users:

• • Displays the users currently logged into the system and their resource consumption
  • Useful for multi-user systems or if you suspect someone else is using your computer

• Details:

• • Provides more granular details about each running process, including the process ID (PID), status, and memory usage
  • It can be used to find more advanced information about processes if you are troubleshooting.

• Services:

• • Shows all the services running in the background
  • You can start, stop, or restart services if necessary (like if you are troubleshooting a service-related issue).

3. How to End a Task or Process

If an app or process is unresponsive, you can force it to close:

1. Go to the Processes tab
2. Locate the program or process you want to end
3. Right-click the item and select End Task.
   • Use this option with caution, as terminating system processes can lead to instability.

4. Checking Resource Usage

If your computer is slow or not responding, the Performance tab can help you identify what’s consuming the most resources:

• CPU: If the CPU is running at or near 100%, it means that your processor is being heavily used, which may cause slowdowns
• Memory: If RAM usage is high, it can cause lag or crashes if your system is running out of available memory
• Disk: A heavily used hard drive (especially on older HDDs) can slow down your system significantly
• Network: Shows how much data your system is sending and receiving over the internet. High usage may indicate background downloads or uploads.

5. Checking for High Startup Impact

Under the Startup tab, you can see the “Impact” column, which shows how much a program affects your boot time. Programs marked with High impact can be disabled to speed up your system’s startup time.

6. Creating a Custom View

In the Processes or Details tabs, you can create a custom view by right-clicking on the column headers and selecting which columns you want to view (e.g., Memory usage, Disk IO, etc.).

7. Using Task Manager for Troubleshooting

Task Manager is also useful for troubleshooting performance issues or crashes. For example:

• If your system is running slowly, use the Processes tab to see which applications are using the most CPU or memory.
• If you notice high disk or network usage, it might be due to a specific program or process.
• If an app is not responding, use End Task to close it and free up system resources.

8. Advanced Tools

If you’re more advanced or need deeper insights, Task Manager also integrates with Resource Monitor and Performance Monitor, which provide more detailed information about system resources.

• Resource Monitor: You can access this by clicking the link at the bottom of the Performance tab. It gives detailed stats on CPU, memory, disk, and network.

• Performance Monitor: This is a more advanced tool to track system performance over time and is accessible from the Performance tab as well.

9. Closing Task Manager

To close Task Manager, simply click the X in the top-right corner or press Alt + F4 when the window is active.