If you’re a Windows 7, Vista, or XP user, you may be familiar with the task manager. It’s a tool that lets you see how many tasks are running at once, and how much time is left on each one. But what if you want to use the task manager in a different way? For example, if you want to see which programs are taking up the most CPU time? Or if you want to know how much memory is being used by your computer? In these cases, you can use the task manager in a different way. For example, let’s say you want to see which programs are taking up the most disk space. You could use the task manager to list all of the programs that are using up disk space, or to show how much space each program has taken up on your computer. If you’re using Windows 7 or Vista, there’s a built-in way to use the task manager in these ways. Just open Task Manager and type “process”. Then click on the process that interests you. You’ll see information about that process such as its name and its CPU time usage.
One of the new features in Windows 8 is the improved Task Manager, which provides access to more information and settings. If you don’t want to upgrade, there is a way you can use a simple Windows 8-like Task Manager in Windows 7, Vista, or XP.
The Windows 8 Metro Task Manager does not need to be installed. Simply download the .zip file (see the download link at the end of this article), extract the files, and double-click the Windows 8 Task Manager.exe file.
A window displays a list of tasks currently running with the status of each task listed. To end a task, select the task in the list and click End Task.
One advantage the Windows 8 Metro Task Manager has over the Windows 7 Task Manager is the ability to restart Windows Explorer with one click. To do so, simply click Restart Explorer.
Just like the Windows 8 Task Manager, there is a More Details link.
However, when you click the More Details link, the Windows 7 Task Manager opens to whichever tab was active the last time it was open. Unfortunately, you do not have access to the same tabs available in the real Windows 8 Task Manager.
However, the Windows 8 Metro Task Manager does provide the useful Restart Explorer button lacking in the Windows 7 Task Manager.
For easy access, you can pin the Windows 8 Metro Task Manager to the Taskbar, create a shortcut on the Desktop, or add it to the Desktop context menu.
Download Windows 8 Metro Task Manager for XP, Vista and 7 from http://vishal-gupta.deviantart.com/art/Windows-8-Metro-Task-Manager-for-XP-Vista-and-7-300826389. Microsoft .NET Framework is required to run Windows 8 Metro Task Manager. Download the Web Installer or the Standalone Installer.
