How to

Hi, Win XP Pro SP3 I keep reading in various posts about people being able to see which progys are running and which is using how much of CPU. How do I do the same,please. Thanks in advance.

Hi wesi, There are a number of programs you can use to do this, but a very simple way is to try this: 1 Hold down the Alt key and press Ctrl and Del at the same time (so the 3 keys are pressed down just for a second all at the same time! (Some folks refer to this as Alt+Ctrl+Del) 2 A window will spring up called Task Manager Along the tabs at the top press the "Applications" and this will list the applications that are running at the moment. 3 Press the tab along the top that is called "Processes" and this will show you all the processes that are running at this instant on your computer….. there may well be 60 or so of them so don't be alarmed by a large number of them. 4 Experienced Technicians get to know what each process does and if its necessary for it to be running…… but other folks often use a search engine (Google etc) to remind ourselves of what it does. 5 Don't end a process unless you have searched and found it's Ok to do so….. just ending a process if you are not sure what it does can have unpredictable and sometimes unfortunate results…so don't guess, but look it up if you are thinking of ending it! 6 Some folks worry about the System Idle Process taking a lot of the CPU…….BUT that is a good thing…..on my machines I like to see 98 or 99% System Idle Process, when I'm not doing anything else with the computer, then I know things are OK. 7 Finally to "file" the processes in order of max CPU they are using click on the CPU column header box (you may need to click twice and then the processes that are using the most CPU will be put at the top…. Enjoy Regards paws

Thank you very much,Paws. The idle thingy is at 99%.

Hi wesi,

The idle thingy is at 99%.

That's good to hear…. it shows that things are looking good with your setup

Regards
paws