Using the Processes Tab

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Each application may run several processes simultaneously. The Windows NT operating system runs several processes at a time. You can consider a process a subset of programming code used to run applications.

NT services are also processes. They use system resources such as memory and CPU time. You can monitor each process in the Processes tab of the Task Manager. To free system resources for other applications and processes, you should end services not being used (see Figure 6.3 and the section entitled “Running Windows NT Services”).

The processes in the Task Manager can be sorted in ascending or descending order based on any visible column. You can change columns to reflect different information. Fourteen information columns are available. By changing the sort order or the columns listed, you can organize information by importance; thus less time is wasted on idle or low-impact processes. The Processes tab of the Task Manager has four default-selected columns (see Table 6.1).

To add all other columns to the list, choose Select Columns under the View menu (see Figure 6.4). The Task Manager screen can only display five columns of information at a time. To view additional columns, use the Scroll button.

To sort the information by a specific column, click on the column heading, and then click on the column a second time to change between ascending and descending. Listing processes in ascending or descending order of memory usage can help identify an application’s usage even if idle or to identify a process tying up the CPU sort by CPU usage.




Microsoft does not explain each column directly in the dialog box. You can always obtain more information through the Help menu (F1), specifically the Glossary book. Another good source is Microsoft’s TechNet CD as discussed in Chapter 7, “Troubleshooting.”

Each application or service is a process running on the system and takes up some system resources. An application can be made up of several processes; Windows NT’s several services, however, can fall under one process.

Several Windows NT services fall under the Services.exe process; others have their own process. The Spoolss.exe process, for example, identifies printing. With this in mind, it becomes important to monitor processes and possibly stop a process that might be using up too many resources.

Not all processes can be ended by using the Task Manager. Using the Services icon in the Control Panel stops only some services. You should end applications by using the Applications tab of the Task Manager (stopping the Explorer.exe process, for example). The desktop shuts down, but not the operating system. This would be necessary if the desktop seems to have stopped responding to user input.

To end a process, complete the following steps:

1.	Change to the Processes tab of Task Manager.
2.	Click on the process to end.
3.	Click on End Process.

If you end a process by mistake, you can restart it by accessing New Task (run) in the File menu and typing the task name. Otherwise restarting the computer returns the system to normal.