Task Manager and processes: When the computer hangs

In short: The Task Manager shows running programs and their use of processor, memory and disk and allows you to end hanging programs.

In more detail: Every running program is a process. If an application hangs or the computer slows down, a look at the Task Manager helps. It shows what is eating performance.

In Depth

Opening it

Windows: Ctrl+Shift+Esc (or right-click the taskbar). Mac: Activity Monitor (Cmd+Space, then “Activity Monitor”) or Cmd+Alt+Esc for “Force Quit”. Linux: system monitor or top/htop in the terminal.

What you see

Tab Processes (programs, CPU, memory, disk, network), Performance (charts for CPU, RAM, SSD, GPU), Startup (programs that load at boot), Details and Services. Sort by CPU or memory to find culprits. A browser with many tabs often uses the most.

Ending hanging programs

Select the process and click End task. Unsaved work is lost in the process. If nothing responds, Ctrl+Alt+Del helps. As a last resort: restart. Do not end unknown system processes (for example svchost.exe, csrss.exe) if you do not know what they do.

Slow computer: checklist

• Disable too many startup programs.
• Close many browser tabs, check extensions.
• Memory full? Then more RAM helps.
• Disk at 100 %? Replace an old HDD with an SSD, free up space.
• Check updates and virus scan.
• Heat: check fans and dust. A process that constantly uses 100 % CPU while you are doing nothing can also point to malware (for example crypto mining).

See also: Cryptojacking, Installing updates, SSDs