Windows Task Manager Lab

• Open Task Manager using at least five different access methods.
• Identify resource-heavy processes and analyse details for troubleshooting.
• Capture performance metrics and export process lists for documentation.
• Configure startup impact analysis and set alerts for future diagnostics.

• Windows 10/11 device with administrative privileges.
• Optional: secondary standard account to compare Task Manager permissions.
• Optional: CPU or memory intensive application (e.g., web browser with multiple tabs) to observe performance changes.

1. Keyboard shortcut: Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
2. Security screen: Press Ctrl + Alt + Delete and choose Task Manager.
3. Start menu search: Hit Windows, type Task Manager, and press Enter.
4. Win + X menu: Press Windows + X then select Task Manager (or press T).
5. Run dialog: Press Windows + R, type taskmgr, and press Enter.
6. Command prompt: Open cmd and run taskmgr.exe.
7. Taskbar context menu: Right-click an empty area of the taskbar and choose Task Manager (Windows 10). For Windows 11, right-click the taskbar and select Task Manager from the new context menu.

Record each method you used along with success/failure notes in your lab log.

1. Switch Task Manager to More details view if necessary. Sort the Processes tab by CPU, Memory, and Disk to identify top resource consumers.
2. Select a heavy process (e.g., browser) and choose Go to details. Observe the associated PID and child processes.
3. Right-click the same process and choose Open file location to confirm executable path. Capture a screenshot for documentation.
4. Optional: Right-click and select Analyze wait chain to see if the process waits on other handles (Windows 10/11 Pro).

1. Open the Performance tab. Review CPU, Memory, Disk, GPU, and Ethernet graphs. Note current utilisation and available capacity.
2. Click Open Resource Monitor to drill down into network and disk usage. Track the same process you identified earlier.
3. Take screenshots or jot down peak values to compare with future baselines.

1. Navigate to the Startup tab. Sort by Status or Startup impact to find high-impact applications.
2. Disable an unnecessary startup item (e.g., chat or gaming overlay) and note the change. Re-enable it after testing.
3. Document the difference by capturing a before/after screenshot or listing impacted apps.

1. Use File > Run new task and execute cmd /c tasklist > %USERPROFILE%\Desktop\tasklist.txt to export a snapshot of running processes.
2. Alternatively, right-click the column header row in the Processes tab, choose Select columns to add CPU time or command line details, then press Ctrl + C to copy the highlighted process list into your documentation.
3. Summarise the top findings: highest CPU process, memory usage, uptime, and any anomalies discovered.

• Compare Task Manager in normal vs. safe mode or on a remote system via taskmgr /7 (older versions).
• Configure View > Update speed to High and observe refresh intervals.
• Use the App history tab to review resource consumption over the last month for Store apps.