Talk:Task Manager (Windows)

Windows XP and Ctrl+Alt+Esc

In Windows XP, pressing Ctrl+Alt+Esc launches Task Manager whether the welcome screen is disabled or not. Ctrl+Alt+Del is the only key combination that is dependent on the welcome screen. I have reworded the sentence in the article regarding this. 97.85.90.143 (talk) 15:04, 28 April 2010 (UTC)

This is completely wrong. The combo is Ctrl+Shift+Esc, not Alt!! Naki (talk) 18:34, 7 January 2011 (UTC)

Vista changes - new columns

Not sure exactly what the Vista change are, but certainly not the ability to 'add columns'. That is there on XP, and probably on 2K as well. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 218.214.18.240 (talk) 06:03, 5 September 2010 (UTC)

parameters

missing any information about the parameters that can be given to the program via prompt (CLI)

Yes, I see some such as /2, /4, etc, but have no idea what they mean.

To the person who deleted my question, get a life - reverting the main Wiki article is OK, but reverting comments on the Talk page is ridiculous! Naki (talk) 18:26, 7 January 2011 (UTC)

Hmm, it seems (for Windows 7, but not Vista) the "switches" depend on the way Task Manager was launched. If you run it via the Start Menu ---> Run, there are no switches. If you right-click the Taskbar, then run Task Manager from there, the switch is /4. Pressing Ctrl+Shift+Esc produces /2. Pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del that shows a menu (Lock/Log off/Switch user/etc) and then choosing Task Manager from that menu, shows /3. Not sure if /1 is possible.Naki (talk) 18:53, 7 January 2011 (UTC)

Ctrl + Alt + Del opens TM immediately

In Windows NT, Windows 2000, and Windows XP, the key combination Ctrl+Alt+Del opens the Windows Security dialog, upon which the user can then click on "Task Manager" to start Task Manager. [1]

My XP Home machine always opens Task Mgr instantly upon Ctrl+Alt+Del. (the famous "three-finger salute"). Went to another machine, several years newer, with XP Pro. Same result. Friends' machines with XP, to the best of my recollection, get the same result. Wanted to source this to edit the article, but apparently MS backs up the article's statement above. [2].

So, why the difference? I can think of only two possibilities:
1) All of these machines were OEM-preloaded with XP, and the OEM made this change, though I can't imagine why;
2) I'm the sole user, and therefore, Administrator, on these two machines, and I believe the same applies to my friends mentioned above. So there is no need for a "Security Dialog", as we all have Admin privileges.

Whichever, or if anyone knows of the actual reason and can source it, it should be added to the article. Surely others must have had the same experience in opening TM, and would be as confused as I on reading the article. Thanks for any info. Unimaginative Username (talk) 05:30, 18 March 2011 (UTC)

New-style Welcome screen disabled maybe? Some programs disable this, even if you yourself have not...Naki (talk) 20:54, 22 March 2011 (UTC)

Wikipedia is not a forum.Jasper Deng (talk) 23:28, 22 March 2011 (UTC)

Jasper Deng, this wasn't a forum-style question. The article says one thing; multiple users experience a different thing; there may well be an encyclpedia-quality answer why, as the editor above you suggested. If the article is not describing its subject's behavior in all significant versions, then the article is not complete or accurate. Unimaginative Username (talk) 01:02, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

I don't think (@OP) that you get the meaning of "Windows Security." I'll mod the sentence though - Ctrl+Alt+Del only opens Task Manager immediately in XP if the Welcome Screen is turned on.Jasper Deng (talk) 01:05, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

"Windows Security" is an oxymoron. ... OK, now that we're all finished laughing... By "welcome screen enabled", do you mean that there has been no logon password set? I agree that if you set a user account/pw combo to log on to Windows, you will get that dialogue. Being the sole possessor and user of my machine, that was not set. (Win logon is not very secure anyway, and there are much stronger ways to secure your machine, but I understand that's OT here. Just explaining why.) But I never "enabled" a Welcome Screen; it just shows up while Windows is booting. If I understand you correctly, then the article should read something along the lines of "... if no username and password are required to log on to Windows, then C/A/D opens Task Mgr directly" ... or some such, if that's the case. "Enabling welcome screen" is misleading.

Naki said, "New-style Welcome screen disabled maybe?" I use Windows Classic View, not "XP view" or whatever. If *that* makes a difference, then that is also encyclopedic information about the variable behavior of the key combo to launch TM under different settings, and certainly not forum material. It's inherent to the subject. Please make the article convey the various settings and actions properly. Oh, and please do enlighten me on your meaning of "Windows Security" in the context of your post. Thanks. Unimaginative Username (talk) 02:13, 1 April 2011 (UTC)

The Windows Security dialog is Microsoft's name for the usual Ctrl+Alt+Del options. The Welcome Screen is by default enabled on Home edition computers, and is mandatory for Fast User Switching. It does not matter how many users you have or your window appearance. If no username and password are required, it is probably that you have either a logon script or your account has no password. I'm not understanding you much otherwise and cannot take your experience as it's original research.Jasper Deng (talk) 02:21, 1 April 2011 (UTC)

Tiny Footprint Mode

Article previously did not specify which versions of Windows had this Mode. Clicking the source cited, KB 193050, specified the Windows versions to which it applied. Edited appropriately.

Given the many versions of Windows operating systems out there, all editors please be careful to check applicable versions in such circumstances. Unimaginative Username (talk) 08:40, 20 March 2011 (UTC)

The reference is misleading. Tiny Footprint mode is available in all versions of Windows XP. Note, generally, MS KB articles are only (at most) relevant to the actual versions they discuss. Specifically, that KB article talks about NT and 2K: it cannot be used to infer that tiny footprint mode is not available in (for example) Vista or Windows 3.1218.214.18.240 (talk) 07:34, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

The statement "... when Tiny Footprint mode is entered and the tab can't be changed without leaving Tiny Footprint mode" is not accurate. In XP Pro Version 2002 SP3, the standard convention of using Ctrl+PageUp/PageDown can be used to cycle through the Tiny Footprint view for each tab normally visible outside of this mode. I would like to change the text to read "... when Tiny Footprint mode is entered. In some versions of Windows, the standard convention of using Ctrl+PageUp/PageDown can be used to cycle through the Tiny Footprint view for each tab normally visible outside of this mode. ChrisPDX (talk) 16:38, 24 August 2011 (UTC)

Mem Usage column on the Processes tab

* The Mem Usage column on the Processes tab is actually the process' working set. The process has little or no direct control over its working set, which turns this column useless to determine how much memory a process is consuming.

How so? I think knowing a process's working set is quite handy for determining how much memory a process is consuming. In fact, unless I'm misunderstanding something, that's exactly what it means. Theclapp (talk) 14:38, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

Looks original research to me. Deleting ... If anyone has source, he or she may feel free to add back. Fleet Command (talk) 18:11, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

I concur with the deletion. Theclapp is correct. Good catch! Jeh (talk) 06:30, 22 May 2011 (UTC)

Windows 8

Did we exclude ReFS from Windows Server 8 just because this version of Windows is not final?Jasper Deng (talk) 04:22, 16 January 2012 (UTC)

Looking for a little Clarification. CTRL+ALT+DEL is the view where one can choose to open Task Manager in 7. However CTRL+Shift+ESc is the task manager. Yet running completely contrary to older versions of windows killing a process does not immediately end it, generally a second mini window shows with a few options, one of those being close program. This is oddly reminiscently compare-able to my Ubuntu days with "Zombie Processes". Is there a way to change the core functionality of Task manager to do this? Should that be inferred ? - Sorry to post this here but this is where the experts are. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 23.92.139.142 (talk) 00:54, 20 November 2015 (UTC)

External links modified

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Weaknesses?

The section says task manager is common target for viruses and has only a reference to an old website. I would like to know if this is still a problem in Windows 10 or just a thing of the windows XP era. I'll be tagging this section. Felipe lorenzzon (talk) 18:49, 25 May 2021 (UTC)

computing

Task Manager shows a list of currently running programs that have a main window. It has a "more details" hyperlink that activates a full-fledged Task Manager with several tabs. Right-clicking any of the applications in the list allows switching to that application or ending the application's task. Issuing an end task causes a request for graceful exit to be sent to the application. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 116.204.160.41 (talk) 06:18, 2 May 2024 (UTC)

Another weakness: Terminating system processes

From Windows Vista, when a user (logged on as an Administrator) terminates a critical system process (such as "csrss.exe" in Windows Vista or Windows 7,... or "svchost.exe" on Windows 10 or Windows 11), a bug check will occur with the Stop code of 0x000000f4 (in Windows Vista and Windows 7) or 0x000000ef (from Windows 8). 14.188.205.152 (talk) 10:02, 31 August 2024 (UTC)