9 Methods to Open Task Manager Right Click on the Taskbar. So, let’s start with the traditional way to know how to open task. Press Ctrl + Alt + Delete. So, when your mouse doesn’t work, all you are left with is Keyboard. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc. Now, this probably the simplest and the fastest. 10 Ways to Open the Windows Task Manager in Windows 10 1. The Taskbar Method. Step 1: On the blank area present on your taskbar, right-click to open the menu. Step 2: From the options listed in the menu, select “Task Manager.” 2. The Quick Access Menu Method. Step 1: Go to the extreme lower left side of the taskbar and right-click on the little window icon. A menu will open. Step 2: From the menu, click on “Task Manager” to open it. The Start Menu Method.
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.
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.
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.
Open Control Panel From Task Manager Windows 10
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.
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? Hotfix kb893357 download. Stick them in the comments!
Are you looking for an easy way to Run Task Manager as admin in Windows 10 while you are still logged into another user account without admin privileges?
This scenario often plays out on our home computers while someone on a user account without admin privileges gets stuck or is unable to download something due to lack of admin permissions.
Why You May Have Separate User Accounts
Before getting to the actual steps to Run Windows Task Manager as Admin from another account, let us briefly take a look at why different user accounts are required on computers
1. It is a good practice to setup a different user account without admin privileges for your kids on your Windows computer. This prevents them for downloading potentially harmful programs to the computer and executing any action that might harm the computer
2. Computers at a place of work are generally managed by a user with admin privileges while all other users are allowed to log in with restrictive accounts and without administrative privileges
3. It is a good safety measure to have an everyday user account that is separate from the admin account so that you have something to fall back on, in case something goes wrong with the first one.
Run Windows Task Manager As Admin From Another Account
Most of us can remember being forced to logout from our everyday user account and login to the admin account to execute certain tasks that could not be executed while being logged into a regular user account without admin privileges.
This can get inconvenient and at times you may come across a situation where logging out of a regular user account gets difficult and you wish if it was somehow easy to Run Windows Task Manager as Admin without logging out of your regular user account.
Well there is an easier way to do this (in fact two ways), just follow the steps below to Run Windows Task Manager As Admin from any other account without admin rights.
1. Hit Windows + R Keys to bring up the Run command dialogue box. Another way of doing this is to right click on Windows 10 Start button and click on Run (See image below)
2. Type runas /user:Admin taskmgr in the command box and click OK
Note: In this example ‘Admin’ is the name of the user with administrative privileges. In your case, the admin name might be something else. Most likely it might be your own first or last name, as it is quite common to create user accounts with admin privileges using names.
For example you may type the command runas /user:Curtis taskmgr, in case you had created an user account by your first name Curtis and given it admin privileges.
In order to use this command you do need to know the name of the user that has admin rights and you also need to know the admin password.
3. Once you click OK, you will see a popup window asking you to enter the password for the admin account.
Another Way to Run Windows Task Manager As Admin
Here is another way to Run Windows Task Manager As Admin, in case the first method does not suit you or just to know yet another way of doing this.
1. Type in taskmgr in the Windows 10 Start search box. This will bring up the Task Manager desktop app
2. Right-click on the Task Manger Desktop app icon, and select Run as administrator from the pop up dialogue box.
3. On the next screen you will be asked to enter the password for the admin account.
As you can see, this method allows you to Run as Administrator only, while the first method allows you to run the Task Manager command as any other user by replacing the ‘Admin’ name with the name of any other user.