What is the Task Manager?

The Windows Task Manager is part of the Microsoft Windows system tools.  It basically runs in the background, can be opened at will and shows what processes, applications and other computer performance.  From the Task Manager, you can close unresponsive programs, see which programs and processes are taking up memory and even shutdown your system.  While most people have seen the Task Manager in action, they rarely use it.

In order to open up the Task Manager, you can either use Alt + Control + Delete or you can right click where your clock is in the lower right corner of Windows. This opens the Task Manager and you will immediately see the types of processes running in the background. This includes the operating system's processes along with any other programs you may have running, such as an Internet browser, an e-mail client or instant messenger. Next to each program or process will be the amount of CPU usage and Memory being used by each.

This information tells you how much memory is being used and which programs our memory drainers. Memory drainers can be tweaked so they do not use so much memory, but sometimes another issue may be causing trouble. This could be due to upgrades, using an older version of a program or some other underlying issue. If you notice a program or process using what looks like too much memory, you may want to investigate further to try and figure out what is causing the issue.

Utilizing the Task Manager can help you understand what your system is doing.  It allows you to take control of your memory usage, monitor CPU usage and work issues out to keep your system performing at peak efficiency.  Taking the time to learn how to use the Windows Task Manager is essential to getting the most out of your system.