What’s happening in Windows right now?



A client has complained of sluggish performance from their brand new desktop computer, and they’re not sure what’s causing the slowdown. After asking questions about their application use and computer history, you’re interested in examining the active processes and current memory use. What Windows utility can give you this information in real-time?

A) Device Manager

B) Event Viewer

C) MSCONFIG

D) Task Manager


The answer: D) Task Manager

The Windows Task Manager can give you information about the current status of applications, processes, memory utilization, CPU usage, and much more.


The incorrect answers:

A) Device Manager
The Windows Device Manager can give you real-time information, but only on the status of hardware used by the operating system.

B) Event Viewer
The Windows Event Viewer is a historical log of Windows activity and doesn’t include any real-time information.

C) MSCONFIG
The MSCONFIG utility is very useful for configuration and startup changes, but it won’t help with real-time information about the operating system.

Want to know more? Watch “Diagnostic Utilities and Tools.”

There are numerous utilities that can assist with the diagnosing of problems in the Windows operating system. In this video, we’ll work with the Task Manager, Device Manager, Event Viewer, MSCONFIG utility, Remote Desktop, System File Checker, Registry Editor, and demonstrate the features of the Computer Management console.