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We're continuing our series of Windows 10 'How To' guides with a look at the Task Manager.

It's likely that many of you are already well acquainted with the Task Manager. However, if you're still learning how to get the most out of Windows 10 then look no further!

The Task Manager has been a Windows staple for many years. It's important because it offers data on how your PC is performing, in addition to showing what tasks and processes are currently being performed. Since W8.1, it became even more powerful, offering further data and tools to help optimize your PC or tablet experience.

Sep 29, 2018  How to Open Task Manager in Windows 10 1. Through Taskbar. Locate an empty space on the “taskbar” and thereon do a right-click over there and from the upward menu, click the choice labeled as”Task Manager”. Via Power User Menu. Task manager is one of the best and important tool in Windows 10 by which you can know all programs and processes running within your system. You may shut down any programme that no longer in use. In this article we will discuss about how to open Task Manager in Windows 10.

Let's take a look!

CTRL+ALT+DEL - Accessing the Task Manager

First, you're going to want to open the Task Manager. There're a few ways you can do this.

• Probably the most widely-used method is by pressing CTRL+ALT+DEL (also known as the 'three-finger-salute') on your keyboard simultaneously. It opens the Windows Security Screen, which offers quick access to various functions, including the Task Manager.
• You can also use the key combination CTRL+SHIFT+ESC to open the Task Manager directly.
• You can simply type 'Task Manager' into the Start Menu or Cortana search box.
• You can also access it by right-clicking the Start button and selecting it from the quick menu there.
• If you want to be really fancy, you can just ask Cortana, 'Hey Cortana, open Task Manager.'

Once you're in, you'll be presented with either the compact Task Manager or full Task Manager, as seen below. If you're in compact view, simply hit 'More Details' at the bottom to access the full Task Manager. It should open to the Processes tab by default.

Understanding Processes

As a former PC support guy, Task Manager's Processes tab was often the first point of call to assess system stability problems. Be sure you're running in full view by clicking 'More details' at the bottom of the window.

• Clicking the 'Name' column header will sort every process using system resources alphabetically. It also splits the processes by type.
• 'Apps' at the top signify programs that are open on the desktop.
• 'Background processes' gives you an overview of what software is running behind the scenes.
• 'Windows processes' at the bottom is similar to background processes. However, these tasks relate specifically to running Windows itself and altering them may induce system instability.

If you right click on the columns, you can snap in further information. Adding a 'publisher' column can help you identify processes that seem unfamiliar, this is particularly useful if you've gotten stuck with malware programs delivering ads and hijacking your browser. The most important columns are probably the resource usage columns, however, as they show which programs are hogging memory or processor usage.

• Clicking on the resource column header will sort what programs or services are utilizing your hardware the most.
• You can see in the screenshot here that Microsoft Edge is using a fairly significant amount of resources, likely because I have a ton of tabs open.

• You can kill the process by right clicking and selecting 'End Task', this forces apps to close.
• Be careful though, tasks listed as a 'Windows process' under the 'Type' column should not be ended in most cases. Closing them could cause system instability.
• If a process is unfamiliar, you can always right click and 'search online'. Doing so on the Windows service called 'Antimalware Service Executable' offered tips to reduce its CPU usage, for example.
• The right click menu has other useful tools. 'Open file location' allows you to find the .exe file associated with a process. This method can be useful for creating shortcuts from original files or finding .exe file paths for use in other programs.

If you want even more detail on the services running on your PC, right-clicking on a process and selecting 'Go to details' will take you to the Details tab. Here you can view in-depth statistics about the processes and services currently running or suspended. From this tab, you can also view the Windows Services associated with a program. Most of the time it won't be necessary to view this tab, particularly as the services running there often pertain to essential Windows functions.

Familiarizing yourself with the processes that run on your system is essential for maintaining a healthy PC. Let's look at how you can use the Task Manager to optimize your experience.

Using Task Manager to optimize your PC's start-up time

As PCs have grown more powerful, programs have also become more complex. If you use a lot of desktop apps that didn't come from the Windows Store, you may find that they boot up along with Windows, slowing down your computer at start-up. Programs that can run at start-up usually allow you to disable this behavior, but finding that option can be cumbersome. Luckily, Microsoft introduced the 'Start Up' tab into the Task Manager in Windows 8, and it's carried over into Windows 10.

Using this tab, you can view which programs can run on a system start and disable them at will. To do this, simply right click and select enable or disable. The tab will even tell you how many seconds each program adds to the boot time of your device.

The above is true for older desktop-based x86 .exe programs, but Universal Windows 10 apps from the store work a little differently.

Using Task Manager to optimize Universal Windows 10 app usage

Windows 10 Universal apps can run in a suspended state while still delivering notifications and live tile updates. If you're currently on a metered connection or want to do everything you can to streamline your battery life, Task Manager's 'App History' section can help you to do just that.

It shows you which apps are generating the most amounts of data and CPU usage over periods of time, even while the apps are closed. Windows 10 is optimized well when it comes to suspending apps and dynamically lowering resources to save on battery power, but the information is there if you want it.

You can alter which apps can perform tasks in the background by going to Settings > Privacy > Background apps. Regular x86 .exe programs generally won't run in the background unless they're open or minimized to the system tray. To prevent those from using resources simply block them from the Start-up tab as outlined in the above section.

Get acquainted with your PC's hardware using the Performance tab

The Performance tab doesn't give you a huge amount of information, but it's a useful reference point for understanding the nature of your hardware. The graphs provide a continuous stream of data, which can help diagnose irregular spikes in resource usage.

• Each segment provides information on that particular type of hardware, including the amount of resources available, resources in use and even the model name.
• You can copy information to the clipboard easily by right-clicking and hitting 'copy' on each graph. It can come in handy if you're trying to diagnose a PC problem with your device's technical support team and need to send them an email.
• If you want to monitor your PC hardware continuously, right-clicking on the left side bar allows you to condense the Performance tab into a 'Summary view'.

If you want more detailed information, such as battery life or heat monitoring, you might want to pick up an app like HWMonitor or Open Hardware Monitor.

Can't Open Task Manager Windows 10 Virus

Task Manager is your friend

When programs freeze up or go rogue, Task Manager is on hand like a personal computer sidekick. I'm sure at least a few of you reading this can find some unnecessary programs to disable from the Start-up tab. I know I did while writing this.

Do you lovely people use Task Manager? Do you have any handy tips and tricks? Stick them in the comments!

Windows 10 offers a startup application manager that practically any Windows user can use. It’s integrated into the operating system and simple to understand — it even shows which programs are slowing down startup the most.

Windows comptuers tend to boot slower over time as you install more desktop programs, many of which add themselves to the startup process and automatically start each time you boot your computer. The new Startup manager helps you trim things down.

Access Windows 10’s Startup Manager

RELATED:Here’s What’s Different About Windows 10 for Windows 7 Users

You’ll find this feature in the Task Manager. To open it, right-click the taskbar (or long-press on it with touch) and select Task Manager.

You can also press Ctrl + Shift + Escape to open the Task Manager directly, or press Ctrl + Alt + Delete and click Task Manager.

License status ny. The Task Manager normally just shows a list of open programs, so you’ll need to click “More details” after opening it.

Click the Startup tab after accessing the Task Manager’s full interface.

Disable Startup Programs on Windows 10

The startup-program manager should be easier to understand than other startup program managers. You’ll see the name of a program along with its application icon at the left, and the program’s publisher name to the right of that.

You’ll also see the “Startup impact” of each startup program — either Low, Medium, or High. If you see “Not measured,” that’s because it was recently added and Windows hasn’t had a chance to observe the program’s behavior yet. Reboot your computer and you’ll see an impact appear.

To disable a program, click it and click the Disable button — or right-click it and click Disable.

The real challenge here is deciding what to disable. Some programs are obvious — for example, if you have Dropbox or Google Drive installed, they normally start when your computer starts up so they can sync files. You could disable them, but then they wouldn’t automatically sync files in the background. You could disable a chat program like Skype here, but then you wouldn’t be automatically logged in when you boot your computer.

Other programs will be less obvious, especially system utilities and driver-related software that came with your computer. Much of this manufacturer-installed junkware is unnecessary, but you may want to do a bit of quick research so you understand what you’re disabling.

For additional help, you can right-click a program and select “Search online.” Windows will open a web search page with the name of the program and its .exe file, allowing you to determine exactly what the program is and what it’s doing if you’re not sure. The “Open file location” option will show you exactly which .exe file on your computer is starting at boot.

More Ways to Make a Windows 10 PC Boot Faster

RELATED:It’s Time: Why You Need to Upgrade to an SSD Right Now

There are other ways to make your computer boot faster, too. If your computer doesn’t have a solid-state drive — especially if you’ve upgraded a Windows 7-era computer that came with a mechanical hard drive — upgrading your Windows 10 PC to a solid-state drive will dramatically improve its boot speed along with everything else that requires saving and accessing files. An SSD is the single most important upgrade the average computer can get, and yes, you’ll definitely notice it.

PCs that came with Windows 10 — like PCs that came with Windows 8 — use UEFI firmware, and boot faster for that reason alone. On an older computer that’s been upgraded to Windows 10, you can potentially get some boot-speed savings by tweaking a few BIOS settings. For example, if your BIOS checks your computer’s DVD drive or network locations every time you boot before it boots from your hard drive, you can change the boot order and have it boot from the hard drive first, which will speed things up.

RELATED:10 Windows Tweaking Myths Debunked

Cannot Run Task Manager Windows 10

Other common Windows-tweaking tips aren’t necessarily useful. Disabling system services won’t offer a noticeable improvement on most computers, unless you have heavy services from third-party applications installed. Windows 10 automatically defragments mechanical drives and optimizes SSDs, so you shouldn’t ahve to worry about defragmenting manually. Cleaning your registry won’t help. “PC cleaner” applications that promise faster computer speeds don’t deliver on those promises, although they can remove temporary files and free up disk space.

The startup manager was added to the new Task Manager in Windows 8, but most Windows 10 users will be coming to it straight from Windows 7. The entire Task Manager has been overhauled since Windows 7, too — feel free to poke around if you were used to the old one. You’ll find more streamlined ways to view resource usage for running programs and the entire system.

Start Task Manager Windows 10 Windows 10

Image Credit: Aaron und Ruth Meder on Flickr

Open Task Manager

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