How to Open the Task Manager in Windows 10 in different ways

How to Open the Task Manager in Windows 10 in different ways

The Task Manager is probably one of the most critical applications of a Windows operating system, especially since it is the only tool capable of keeping track of all the processes running in your system and the only one you can use to close an application not responding.

The ways of accessing Task Manager in Windows 10 haven’t changed much from earlier versions of Windows; keep reading the article below to know more about how to open the Task Manager.

How to Open Task Manager in Windows 10

There are several ways to open the Task Manager in Windows 10; you can use the start menu or a keyboard shortcut. Here are

  1. Right-click the taskbar anywhere except the icons and choose Task Manager from the sub-menu.
  2. Pressing Windows key + X to open the Power user menu and selecting Task Manager from the menu
  3. Pressing Ctrl + Alt + Delete keys at the same time to open the Task Manager from the security options menu that comes up
  4. Pressing Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open up the Task Manager directly
  5. Creating a shortcut of Task Manager in Desktop

These methods will show you how to open Task Manager in Windows 10

How to Open Task Manager on Keyboard

Here are a few keyboard shortcuts to open up Task Manager quickly:

Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE

How to Open Task Manager in Windows 10

Ctrl+Alt+Delete keys are rather old and one of the most widely used shortcuts for Windows since the days of yore. Originally, pressing the combination opened up Task Manager itself, which remained till the release of Windows Vista.

Now the shortcut’s functions have changed instead to open up the ‘Windows Security’ screen when pressing the combination. When the security menu opens up, choose Windows 10 from it.

Press Windows + X Button

How to Open Task Manager in Windows 10

Windows 8, along with Windows 10, primarily have a rather nifty function called ‘Power User Menu’; this menu can be directly opened up by pressing Windows + X key; the menu has a variety of practical applications inside for accessing valuable tools; you can also open up Task Manager from this menu.

How to Open Task Manager without Keyboard Shortcuts

If you are the type not to press keyboard shortcuts such as Ctrl+Shift+Esc, then there are some manual alternatives to open up the task manager without keyboard shortcut keys.

Right Click on the Taskbar

How to Open Task Manager in Windows 10

Right Clicking the Taskbar is one of the most obvious ways to open up the Task Manager; this method can help those unwilling to do keyboard shortcuts.

Click the Taskbar on your Windows 10 PC anywhere at the bottom and choose ‘Task Manager’.

Open through Run command

How to Open Task Manager in Windows 10

Alternatively, you can try using the Windows 10 search feature to get access to Task Manager in different ways.

Pressing Windows Key + R will quickly bring up the Run command box; enter taskmgr in the empty box field and either click or Enter ‘ok’; this will open up the Task Manager.

Search on Start Menu

How to Open Task Manager in Windows 10

Either that or you can use the Start Menu of your Windows 10 to search for Task Manager by either writing the tool’s name or typing ‘task manager’, waiting for the results to appear and clicking Open to open the Task Manager in Windows 10.

Create a Shortcut of Task Manager

If you are the type to require the usage of Task Manager a couple of times, then it would be prudent to work on creating a shortcut; there are various ways of doing that.

When Task Manager is open and running, create a shortcut in the Taskbar itself by right-clicking the Task Manager icon and choosing ‘Pin to Taskbar’. This will ensure that the Task Manager is pinned to your Taskbar and easily accessible.

Otherwise, you can try creating a desktop shortcut by following the steps below for more direct access:

  1. Right-click anywhere on your desktop as long as it is on an empty area, and select new from the submenu that opens up.
  2. Choose ‘Shortcut’.
  3. Type C:/Windows/System32/task mgr in the Create Shortcut menu window that opens up, and click on ‘Next’.
  4. Type ‘Task Manager’ for the shortcut title you create on your desktop, then click ‘Finish’.

Most of these methods should be more than helpful in ensuring you know how to open Task Manager.

How to Use Task Manager in Windows

Now you may be wondering, while you know how to open up how to open Task Manager, how would you strictly use the Task Manager effectively and precisely? This article will also deal with that elusive topic; continue reading below to know more.

What is Processes Tab in Task Manager

How to Open Task Manager in Windows 10

This tab will show you all the processes of Windows 10 that are currently active, including background processes. This is the best choice for closing an unresponsive application rather quickly.

You can also right-click a process to change how much Windows prioritize it using the ‘Set priority’ option.

Under the Processes tab in Windows 10, you will find all the programs that are up and running on your PC; you will have the option to close any one of them by clicking on the ‘End task’ button located at the bottom of the processes window, either that or you can right click on an application to choose options such as ‘Go to details’ or ‘open file location’ along with the End task option being there also.

What is Services Tab in Task Manager

How to Open Task Manager in Windows 10

This tab located in Windows Task Manager will probably confuse a new user since it includes the processes of the functions of Windows itself; you can either start or disable a service if you know what it does.

There will also be an option to open the Services tool by clicking on the extreme bottom of the Services tab, named ‘Open Services’.

What is Performance Tab in Task Manager

How to Open Task Manager in Windows 10

This tab shows you how your PC is performing, how much the RAM is consumed and how your WiFi is performing; the statistics shown in the performance tab are:

  • CPU: Displays how your CPU is functioning and how much it is being utilized
  • Memory: This shows how much memory is being consumed (by programs running on your PC), it can be helpful when your PC is running slow and you want to get some analysis of your PC’s memory usage
  • Disk: Displays statistics about your Hard Disk Drive (HDD)
  • WiFi: Displays analytics about your WiFi
  • GPU: Displays how your Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) is being utilized

The performance tab of the Task Manager can be helpful if you want to get a quick analysis of your PC. You can also open the resource monitor for more features.

What is Users Tab in Task Manager

How to Open Task Manager in Windows 10

The Users tab displays all the currently active users on your Windows 10 PC; this is a good feature if you share your PC with another person, as you can see the multiple user accounts on your pc.

You can also right-click one of the users and either expand to see the running processes or disconnect the user, ending their current running session.

And with this, you now know how to open the Task Manager and use it; make sure not to unintentionally close any applications you are working on while using it.

Mohammed Nihal
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