IFSM 201
Task Manager

Name:________________________

Task Manager: view and manage the software tasks/processes 
running on your computer.

Start Task Manager by Ctrl Shift Esc  or maybe by Ctrl Alt Del
or by Start | Run... | taskmgr
or by Right-click Taskbar | Start Task Manager

[You might want to turn off the "Always on Top" in Options tab.]

Using its Processes tab.
Click on the "Show processes from all users" if able.

How many processes are in the system:_____
(these are actively running programs/software in the system,
most are non-interactive background software.  They are all
periodically or sporadically using the CPU and they all use
some RAM).  They range from vital for the running of the system
to mostly useless "bloatware".

XP: What is the "Commit Charge" value:________________ (this is roughly how much RAM is being used).
7: What % of physical memory is in use:______

The columns are sortable.  Click them to sort/reverse sort by that column.
What is the largest process by Memory/Mem Usage and how much RAM memory is it using:
_____________________________

Turn on the display of the process identifiers (PIDs) by
View | Select columns... | PID
PID is assigned to running process by the operating system and
is how the operating system controls/manages the processes. 
What is the PID of the explorer.exe process:_______
What is the lowest numbered PID __________
 and what is the name of that process:_____________________
What is the PID of the running TaskManager itself:____________
Close/terminate TaskManager.  Start it again.  What is its PID now:_______

Non-essential processes can be terminated.  Useful for ending unresponsive programs.
Delete the ctfmon.exe process.  What results:_____________________________
Delete the GrooveMonitor.exe process.  What results:________________________
Delete the Bubble.exe process.  What results:__________________________
If your system has none of the above processes, find a process that can be deleted;
what is its PID and name:____________________
Delete one of the svchost.exe processes. What results:_______________________
Delete the running taskmgr.exe. What results:__________________
(Start it again.)

You can start/launch programs from within TaskManager.
In the Applications tab: New task... notepad
What is the PID of the notepad process you just now started:_______

Delete explorer.exe.  What results:_____________________________
Minimize all windows, what is on the screen:__________
Use Alt Tab to cycle around the running programs to Task Manager,
restart the desktop by New task... explorer.
What is the PID of the explorer.exe process now:_______

Using My Documents or Windows Explorer navigate to C:\WINDOWS\System32 folder.
This is where most of the operating systems files are, including the
system processes running.  Find any 3 files in this folder that are 
running in the processes list.  What are their names, PID, and file size:
_______________________________ 
_______________________________ 
_______________________________ 

In TaskManager's Performance tab:
How much Total Physical Memory does the system have:__________
In XP, the PF Usage meter is the same as the Commit Charge (K)  Total,
In 7, the Memory meter is the same as Total - Available
it shows how much RAM is used:__________________________
Vista changes some names...

Download the cpuburn.exe program (link on class web site next to the
link to this file) and run it.  What does the CPU Usage meter go to:________
In TaskManager's Processes tab, sort by CPU column, what program is
using the most CPU:_____________
While still running that cpuburn, start it again. Two of them will be
running.  Display both on the desktop.
What does the CPU Usage meter indicate now:_________
Each process is using about how much of the CPU:_______
In the Processes tab, choose one of the cpuburns and click the End Process 
button.  You can usually terminate any program that you start this way.


Windows 7 only:
Services tab, sort by Status, how many Running services are there:__________
Notice they have a PID, meaning each service is running as a process
or as part of some process.


blackviper.com is a good site if you're interested in learning about Services
and reducing unnecessary ones to imporce system performance.