Windows Task Manager is such a tool that most users of Windows 10 will hardly bother with. It's a shame, because sometimes you can get very interesting information out of it!
Windows Task Manager not only displays an overview of all running processes, but also their relative load, divided into various categories. Think CPU, network and disk. You can therefore quickly see whether a process may cause too much (continuous) processor or disk load. And with that you have the explanation for that constantly roaring laptop fan in no time. Also stuck processes are easy to recognize, while the real sleuths also quickly pick out unwanted processes. In that case, consider, for example, adware. Furthermore, processes can be closed in case of emergency with the right mouse button, although you have to be a bit careful with that. Shutting down a system process can cause Windows to stop working. Use Task Manager primarily as a kind of patient monitor, which is safe and practical.
Usage
To start Task Manager, right-click on an empty part of the taskbar. Then click in the opened context menu on task management. Certainly if you have never used this program, it is undoubtedly in the most minimalistic view in which you will find little interesting information. In the Task Manager window, be the first to click on the button for More details. Then drag the window larger, so that – in terms of width – all columns on the default open tab Processes To Be Visible. You can now select ascending or descending per column; each time you click on the column title, the sort order changes. For example, if you sorted the CPU column in descending order, you'll see the most taxing processes at the top. In a Windows system where no other programs are open, the total load should usually be no more than 1…3%, on an older system maybe just a little more. If you see taxes of continuously more than 10% here, then something crazy is going on. In such a case, check which process is the most taxing. If it turns out that your virus scanner is just doing a background scan or an update, then you have already found a logical explanation! In that case you will see that after a while the tax drops again. Processes that continuously form a high load is usually something wrong. Check if there is an update for the affected program. Or check if there is a tool that runs continuously on the System Toolbar in the lower right corner of the screen. If you close that tool there and the processor load decreases, then you know the cause. It is then up to you to decide if you want that tool (running continuously) on your system.
Watch out for the outliers
You can do the same check with disk activity, network traffic and – nowadays – even the GPU. Look especially for crazy outliers that remain visible for a long time. The occasional spike of a few seconds of some process is not a problem; sometimes something has to be done. If you prefer a graphical representation of the loads of the various components, that is also possible. In the Task Manager window, click Performance. The disadvantage is that you will then no longer see the individual processes. If you want graphs and detailed information, click on Open Resource Monitor at the bottom of this tab. An old friend then opens: Resource Checker. With indeed a combination of all possibilities.
More tabs
Task Manager offers other tabs. below App history find the usage time of Windows apps, if you're interested. the tab Startup is more interesting, here you will find the processes/programs that are started together with Windows. If things go well, you will also see a time indication behind it regarding the start-up time. If it is very long, you might consider not allowing the program in question to start automatically. below Users find the percentage that a user forms and under Details detailed information about running processes can be found, including the PID or Process Identification. You sometimes need that if you only come across a PID of a process somewhere in a crash log; Here you can find out which process is involved. Note: that PID differs per Windows session, so after restarting your system, a PID from the session before the restart is no longer useful. The last tab Services lists all running and stopped Windows services. With a right mouse click you can manually stop or start services, but then you have to know exactly what you are doing!
