What is Windows Task Manager and what does it show?

Task Manager is Windows' control center for all the programs running on your computer. It shows you what's using your computer's power and memory — if something is running in the background that shouldn't be, Task Manager will reveal it. It's like looking under the hood of your car.

Task Manager displays a list of every program and service running on your computer right now. For each one, it shows how much CPU power and memory it's using. Think of CPU as your computer's brain processing speed, and memory as your computer's short-term thinking space. When your computer gets slow, Task Manager lets you see which program is hogging the resources.