With the task manager, Windows has a tool for dealing with hidden programmes and with Windows breakdowns. Blitzhandel therefore presents the Windows task manager to you in detail
You can usually tell which programmes are started in Windows by looking at the taskbar at the bottom of your screen. There, the open windows are waiting for you to return to them with a mouse click or the key combination Alt+Tab. However, this taskbar does not show programmes that are running invisibly in the background. This is what the task manager is for under Windows. You can elicit information from it about processes that Windows is busy with on the side
How to open the task manager under Windows 10
Most users probably open the task manager via the key combination „Ctrl + Alt + Del“. However, you can also start the tool in another way: Right-click on the Windows icon at the bottom left of the desktop and select „Task Manager“. Or open the „Run“ window with „Windows + R“, type in „taskmgr“ and click on „OK“. Once you have called up the task manager, a very simplified view awaits you: This lists only the apps you currently have open. To close one of them, click on it with the right mouse button and select „Close task“ at the bottom right. But be careful: quitting required applications can lead to data loss.
Open the extended view of the task manager
Click on „More details“ at the bottom of the task manager to open the extended view of the tool. There you will find seven tabs at the top that help you manage other Windows processes:
- „Processes“: Here you can see not only the apps you have started, but also all background processes. Next to each process, details about its CPU and memory consumption are given. This information is useful because it helps you to find out, for example, which processes are causing too much CPU load.
- „Performance“: In this tab you can see how much memory and CPU are currently being used by means of a graphic. If you click on „Ethernet“, your IP address will also be displayed.
- „App History“: A kind of utilisation history for all apps. In the history you will find all kinds of details on resource utilisation – including values for CPU time, network activity and network load. If you want to delete the history, click on „Delete load history“.
- Autostart: Use this tab to control which apps start automatically when Windows boots. It is best to delete entries that are not needed here. This will ensure that your PC starts up faster. Simply right-click on the entry for an application to deactivate its autostart function. You can also find the same option in the general Windows settings under „Apps | Autostart“.
- „Users“: In this section, Windows lists all users who are currently logged on to the PC. If you click on one of them, a list with his or her running apps opens.
- „Details“: This section is basically the old Processes tab of the Windows 7 Task Manager.
- „Services“: The „Services“ tab contains information similar to that in the Microsoft Management Console – this contains a list of all services that are intended for computer management.
