(Originally from Chapter 6 in the book; cut for space reasons.)

Windows 98/Me

Windows XP

Most users who put up with, er, I mean who use Windows 98 and Windows Me are aware of the Close Program window. It's where you (often) go to rid yourself of programs that refuse to shutdown or to kill off programs that are "Not responding." This handy tool is shown here:

To summon the window, press Ctrl+Alt+Delete. Each item you see in the list represents a program running on the computer. Click the Cancel button to close the window and get on with your life.

I suppose the problem some people have is identifying all the programs. Some you can see right away; they represent the names of open applications or windows on the screen. Others are more mysterious, and that's what bugs people.

Any program that starts in Windows ends up on the list. They can start either by Windows itself, from items listed in the Start menu's StartUp submenu, or programs you start manually.

Can you remove programs from the list? Certainly. Windows needs only two programs on the list: Explorer and Systray. Explorer is the program that displays the visual interface you use to control Windows. Systray displays the System Tray. But even if you remove either one, Windows automatically starts it up again. It's like trying to hammer down a lump in the carpet.

So suppose there are programs in there that bug you and for some reason you feel the need to remove them. Okay. I don't recommend doing this randomly, but if you feel compelled, why not? It's your computer . . .

Tip! To be safe, first save your stuff and close any open program windows.

Next, to remove a program, select it in the list. Click the End Task button. Secretly, Windows sends a "close" signal to the program. Most programs quite right away. In fact, the close signal is the same thing as the FileExit command or clicking a window's X button to close it. Same difference.

If the program refuses to quit, Windows displays a "Hey! This stubborn program won't quit" message, and you can direct Windows to shut down the program by brute force. (Windows removes the program from memory.)

Warning! The only problem with deleting some of the items is that they perform tasks you may find necessary to use your computer. In the figure above, the Creatcd and Directcd programs are what allow the CD-R drive to be used on that Windows Me system. Halt those programs and you can no longer burn CDs — unless you restart the computer and the programs start back up again.

In Windows XP, pressing Ctrl+Alt+Delete summons the Windows Task Manager. The Task Manage is the much-improved successor to the Close Program window of Windows 98/Me.

Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete to summon the Windows Task Manager.
Click the Applications tab.

You'll see a set of applications running listed in the window, as shown below:

The entire list of programs is not shown, merely the "heavy-hitters" or applications that you would otherwise also see as buttons on the taskbar.

To kill off an application, click to select it and then click the End Task button.

As with other versions of Windows, this merely sends a "quit" signal to the program, which closes the program as if you closed its window or chose FileExit or an equivalent command.

If the program is too stubborn to quit, then you'll see a dialog box urging you to further kill off the program.

Click the Processes tab.

The meat of the matter in Windows XP are the processes, not the actual applications running. In the Processes tab you see every wee little program running -- even programs run by others logged into the same computer. As the figure above attests, it's a mess!

To kill off a process, you select it from the list and then click the End Process button.

Why kill off a process? Either you're directed to do so by tech support or some manual, or you may notice a dead process in the list. For example, if a process — other than System Idle Process — is consuming a lot of CPU time (see the CPU column above) and the system seems sluggish, then you have a "memory leak" and should kill off the process to fix it. (See Chapter 11 in the book.)

Close the Windows Task Manager window when you're done a-gawkin’.

As I stated above with the Windows 98/Me advice, don't go about killing off random programs. But if the urge to purge does hit you, and you feel the compelling reason to kill off some program or process, don't let me stop you! It is, after all, your computer.