Windows 11 Task Manager is one of the most useful tools in the latest operating system from Microsoft. And this from previous versions, because it is one of the oldest internal Windows management applications.

As you know, we know this tool by its English name Task Manageris intended for intermediate or professional users who want thoroughly check the operation of your computer or solve any problems resulting from its use. The average user mostly uses it only for its most famous function, such as terminating a frozen application, but its uses go much further, as we will remind you.

Microsoft revamped it extensively in Windows 10 by adding some features and more integration, which was completed in Windows 11, so we’re left with a really interesting tool knowing its capabilities.

How to Access Windows 11 Task Manager

Accessing this tool is very simple and can be done in several ways, including using keyboard shortcuts. We review them:

• Ctrl + Alt + Del. This is a method that almost everyone knows, but it’s not the fastest because it doesn’t run directly in Windows 11 and you’ll have to make an extra click to run it.
• Ctrl + Shift + Esc. More direct than the previous one, it immediately launches the task manager and also has the advantage that it can be done with one hand due to the position of the keyboard.
• Main panel. If you right-click on the main panel, you will see an option to access the administrator.
• Power User Menu. Another shortcut using the mouse. Right-clicking on the Start button will take you to the advanced menu, and you’ll also find this Task Manager.
• Run. If you are used to using commands, press Win + R and type “taskmgr”.
• Search. Simply type “tasks” into a general search engine and you’ll see access to this tool.

Using Windows 11 Task Manager

1.- Check why the application froze

As we mentioned above, the most common and well-known reason for opening the task manager is to exit a frozen application. Simply right click on the application to “end task”. Less well known is a new feature called “scanning” that can help identify the problem and avoid having to brute force kill the app, which can lead to data loss. It is available in the Details tab.

2.- Performance and resource monitor

This is where the Windows 11 Task Manager really shines. It not only provides an overview of all running processes and applications, but has several tools for effectively monitoring system performance and how resources are allocated. It contains a lot of information from the resource monitor (RAM, processor…), which offers real-time data visualization; diagnostic information with logs that you can share for evaluation; network details and other interesting resources.

3.- Restart Windows Explorer

Sometimes there are parts of the operating system that are unresponsive (taskbar, file explorer, Start, etc.) while other applications still run properly. Restarting your computer usually fixes the problem, but restarting your browser may be enough. Task Manager has a special action for this. If you use it, it will complete the task and restart automatically.

4.- Administration of Windows applications

Task Manager is far from the best window management tool out there, but it does have a few actions that you might find useful. To access them, click the dropdown arrow next to the one you want to manage. The ones that work offer five actions, from bringing to the fore, maximizing, minimizing, or ending the task.

5.- Search online for suspicious processes

Sometimes you may see unknown processes in the task manager. Most of them will be legitimate, but if you don’t believe it, you can check it by clicking on the suspicious process and activating an online search. This will start a browser search for the application and process name and help you determine whether or not it is safe or malicious.

6.- Additional columns for more details

By default, the new Windows 11 Task Manager shows only five columns when listing processes: Name, CPU, Memory, Disk, and Network. While those are the most important, you can actually add up to six more columns just by right-clicking on the header area. All of these can be useful in the right situation, especially the process name, as it makes it easier to detect suspicious applications by process name.

7.- Switching between values ​​and percentages

When scrolling through the list of processes, the CPU column may show percentages, but in the other three default columns you can change them to absolute values, which is more useful in some situations. Just right-click on any process, go to the resources sub-menu, and you can switch between one and the other.

8.- Discover the open application file

Sometimes it is difficult to find out the installation location of a particular program. File Explorer is a generic option, but if the app is in use, you can access it from the task manager in record time. Just click on any process and select “open file location”. This will take you directly to the folder that contains the process executable. It works for applications, background processes and Windows processes. Fast and practical.

9.- Run the command line directly

In the task manager, you can go to the File menu and select “start new task” to launch the launch dialog. Most people who use this tool know this because it is one of the ways to manually restart a frozen browser in older versions of Windows. What not everyone knows is that you can access the Windows console in the same way by simply holding down the Control key. Very useful.

10.- Starting the system configurator

In Windows 11, if you run the “msconfig” command to configure the system, you will see that the startup function has been moved to the task manager. It is a tool that allows us to configure the applications that run at startup. The tool offers information about the impact of individual applications on system performance and allows you to disable them at startup. If your computer starts up slowly or runs slower than normal, disable all non-essential applications/services from starting.

As you may have seen, task manager goes far beyond quitting a frozen app which locks the system (the most famous function) and is an advanced management tool for thoroughly checking the operation of a personal computer or solving some problems that arise when using it, nothing unusual in Windows systems.