Windows Task Manager is a built-in application available on all Windows OS. It provides information about running applications, processes, and services, as well as computer performance, network activity, and memory information. In this article, we shall discuss ‘the Various methods on how to launch Windows Task Manager”. Please see how to Enable the End Task Option on Windows 11 Taskbar.
It allows users to end processes, adjust priorities, and even shut down Windows. There are multiple methods of accessing the Task Manager and many uses for it.
Please see the following articles. For Process Explorer (SysInternal Tools), how to use SysInternals Live Tools, How to download and use Windows Sysinternals tools locally, and Process Explorer (Replace built-in Task Manager).
Ways to launch the Windows Task Manager
In Windows, there are numerous ways to launch the Windows Task Manager. Below are various methods. I will only describe one process.
1: Using the “Ctrl+Alt+Delete“. Press these buttons on your keyboard. This will open up the Task Manager windows as shown below
This will open up the Task Manager window as shown below. You can navigate across each tab for detailed information.
Explore the Performance tab and even launch the resource Monitor. See how to configure user resource limits and restrictions in Linux, and how to use the Reliability Monitor in Windows.
Determine the Users connected
Display further details of the processes
Determine the services running
2: Via the Taskbar Context Menu
This involves you right-clicking on the taskbar and selecting “Task Manager” as shown below
This will open up the Task Manager window as shown in the gallery above.
3: Press the button “Windows + X” on your keyboard
To access the Power User Menu as shown below. Note: You can also right-click on the Window button and select Task Manager from the Power User Menu as shown below.
This will open up the Task Manager window as shown in the gallery above.
4: Via Windows Search
From the following search window, type in “Task Manager” as shown below and select Under Settings.
View System resource usage in Task Manager
In this step, you may need to manually click on the number of apps displayed and then select the App that is applicable to you. This will open the Task Manager window as shown in the gallery above.
Please see Various methods to launch the Event Viewer, the Various Ansible Authentication Options, the Various ways to restart an AWS EC2 instance, and How to end a program via the Task Manager in Windows 11.
5: From the Run dialog box
You can achieve this by searching for “run” from the search box filter as shown in step 4 above or right-click on the Windows button (or Select Windows + X) and click on Run as described in step 3 above.
Next, enter the command “taskmgr” as shown below. This will end up opening the Task Manager window
6: From the Command Prompt
To achieve this, launch the command prompt windows by searching in the search box. Or by searching for “Run” and when this opens up, enter “CMD” to open up.
From the command prompt, type taskmgr to launch the Task Manager as well.
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7: From File Explorer
In this same fashion, PowerShell.exe can be launched. Simply fire up “Fire Explorer”.
On the Address bar as shown below, Type “Taskmgr.exe” or enter the following string. For more information on environment variables.
"%SystemDrive%\Windows\System32 or C:\Windows\System32\Taskmgr.exe" 
Enter the taskmgr.exe command in the Task Manager Address bar as shown below
8: Browse to “taskmgr.exe” in File Explorer
The Task Manager can launched by opening its executable directly via the File Explorer. This is definitely the longest way of opening Task Manager.
Access the path “C:\Windows\System32” as shown below. Scroll down or search for taskmgr.exe, and then double-click it. View how this is done on macOS.
How to Kill (End) a Task?
To end an application unlike in Linux you will have to select the PID in order to kill the process.
- Launch the Windows Task Manager.
- Select the application you wish to terminate and
- Click on End Task as shown below.
On how to create a shortcut to Windows Task Manager, see similar links below on how to create shortcuts, and finally, on how to make a Desktop App available to all users, see
If you need further information or find this article useful on the various methods on how to launch Windows Task Manager. Kindly leave a comment below.
