How Do I Check What Files Are Running on a PC?

What Is the Task Manager?

The Windows Task Manager is a way to get a look inside your computer through the Windows operating system. The Task Manager is included with the Windows installation and enables you to see detailed information about how your computer is performing. It shows what applications are running, the CPU usage, network activity and system services. More importantly, it shows the processes currently running so that you can see what files are operating in the background. From here you can forcibly stop any process that is hindering the operation of your PC.

Opening the Task Manager

Press Alt+Ctrl+Delete on your keyboard. In Windows Vista or Windows 7, another screen will appear that will ask you what you want to do. Click on 'Start Task Manager.' In earlier versions of Windows, the Task Manager will just appear. Click on the 'Applications' tab to see all of the applications that are running. If you want to forcibly stop a frozen application, click the application to highlight it and then click 'End Task.'Click on the 'Processes' tab. This is all the processes, or files, that are running in the background. You will see the name, the user name of the person running the process (if several users have logged in and used the computer), how much CPU the process is using, the amount of memory it is using and the description for the file. Go through the list to see all of the files that are running on the computer.To free up memory and CPU usage, you can highlight a process and click on 'End Process.' The only processes that are safe to close are the ones that have a user listed in the 'User Name' column. Processes that are listed as SYSTEM or LOCAL SERVICE in the User Name column are processes used by the PC or Windows. These are much more dangerous to close if you don't know what they are.