How to Get to Task Manager on Your Computer

The task manager on your Windows PC allows you to view currently running applications and monitor PC usage data. The task manager is most commonly used when a program is frozen; you can use task manager to terminate the program. Mac computers also have a similar program called activity monitor. The following methods for accessing the task manager will work on all versions of Windows.

Step 1

Use keyboard shortcuts to open the task manager. Press and hold the "Control," "Alt" and "Delete" buttons. Select "Task Manager" to open the task manager window.

Step 2

Manually open the task manager. Right-click the taskbar (bottom portion of the screen), and select "Task Manager" to open the task manager window.

Step 3

Select "Applications" when the task manager window pops up. From this menu, you can view or terminate the programs you are currently running. Right-click a program and select "End" to terminate it.

Tip

• Mac has a function similar to the task manager. It's called the activity manager. You can access the activity manager by opening the "Applications" folder and entering the "Utilities" folder. The activity manager is found here.

References

• Microsoft Support: Windows Task Manager
• Apple Support: OSX Help

About the Author

Leonardo R. Grabkowski has been writing professionally for more than four years. Grabkowski attended college in Oregon. He builds websites on the side and has a slight obsession with Drupal, Joomla and Wordpress.

Photo Credits

• working barefoot at home image by Leticia Wilson from Fotolia.com