You're working on a letter or email, or browsing the web, when suddenly the computer slows to a crawl, or worse, freezes altogether. So what's next? The first impulse is usually to kick the computer, or any nearby sturdy object.
But apart from allowing you to vent your frustration, this achieves very little and there are other, more scientific, ways of dealing with the problem.
Crashes often occur simply because a program has struggled to complete a task, so trying to identify the piece of software that is in distress can help you out in both the short and long term, especially if a specific program is causing problems on a regular basis.
So before your foot lashes out at the PC, consider trying another course of action: hold down the Control and Alt buttons on the keyboard, and press Delete (we'll refer to this as pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del).
Long-term PC users might recognise this as the old-fashioned way to reset a computer, but under Windows it is the way to access the advanced tools for diagnosing and fixing problems.
Think of it in the same way as opening the bonnet of a car to have a look inside. In this case, the bonnet and the tools for fixing PC gremlins are found in the same place: the Task Manager.
Be warned, though: while you can't permanently damage your computer using the Task Manager, clicking the wrong button can freeze the PC so that you will need to reboot it.
The Task Manager operates differently depending on which version of Windows you are using. If you are using earlier versions, such as 95, 98 or Me, pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del will bring up a single Task Manager window, working similarly to the Applications tab in Windows XP's Task Manager.
Although it doesn't offer the same level of control as Windows XP, you can still use it to diagnose and cure some faults. You will see a list of applications; some may have the words 'Not Responding' after their names. If this is the case, click the End Task button to close that application, which may return your system to normal.
Flip open the bonnet
If you are using Windows XP Pro or Windows 2000, pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del will bring up the Windows Security dialogue box. This features settings for a range of Windows housekeeping tasks, and you can click on the button for Task Manager here.
If you are using Windows XP Home, pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del will open the Task Manager straight away. You can also access it from your Windows Desktop by right-clicking on the taskbar and selecting Task Manager, or by holding down Control and Shift, and pressing Escape.
The Task Manager dialogue box has several tabs running along the top, the first of which is the Applications tab. If a program seems to have stopped working, this screen should be your first port of call. It shows you what applications your computer is running, and their current status.
If a program is working normally, its status will be marked Running under the Status heading. If the status of a program is shown as Not Responding, it may have crashed or frozen. We'll cover how to deal with this further on.
Back to front
Right-click on any program in the Applications list and a menu will appear. Choosing the first option in the list - Switch To - will make that program the active one; in other words it will be brought to the front of the Desktop and you can use it as normal. The second option, Bring To Front, also moves the program to the front of the Desktop.
The next set of options, Maximize, Minimize, Cascade and Tile, are used to arrange windows on the screen. You can use them one by one on particular programs in the list, or select a group of programs by clicking on one, holding down the Control key and clicking on any others you want to select, and arrange the selection of windows on-screen as you like. Try launching three or four programs and arranging them in different ways.
The final two options are useful if you think a program has crashed or frozen, or is behaving oddly. 'End Task' is used to force programs to close, leaving others free to use the computer's processor in peace.
If a program seems to have stopped working, first make sure that it is not simply working through a complicated task, such as saving a large file. One indicator you can use to judge this is the computer's hard disk status light on the front of the computer, which should flash if the hard disk is being used.
If it is not flashing, it is likely (but not definite) that a program has frozen. Try closing it manually, by clicking the Close button (marked with an X) at the top-right of the window, or by pressing Alt+F4.
If it will not close, call up the Task Manager and right-click the program, which should be listed as Not Responding. Select End Task from the menu that appears and wait for the computer to respond.
It may take several seconds or even minutes, after which time a dialogue box will appear asking you to confirm that you want to end the program. Click End Now to close it or Cancel if you have changed your mind.
At the bottom of the Applications tab are dedicated buttons that perform the same functions as the End Task and Switch To options in the menu that appears when you right-click on a listed application.
There is also a button marked New Task, which does the same thing as the Run option in the Start menu, letting you run any program by typing in its name or by clicking the Browse button, finding it on your hard disk, and double-clicking it to start it. This can be useful if the Start menu has frozen and you need to run a program.
Probing processes
Another menu option under the Applications tab is the Go To Process option. Click on this to switch to the application's entry under the Processes tab, which gives more detail on the constituent parts of each program running on the PC.
This is handy because the processes do not have neat names like those listed under the Applications tab. Outlook Express, for example, is listed under MSIMN.EXE.
It's worth being sure that you are working with the correct process, because otherwise you might kill off an important part of Windows. If that happens, just reboot the PC and everything should start normally again.
The next tab is the Performance tab, where you will find four graphs providing system information. The first two at the top of the screen relate to the processor.
The CPU Usage meter on the left shows how much the processor is being used as a percentage of its maximum capability, and the CPU Usage History graph on the right shows the same data plotted against time.
The second pair of graphs (labelled PF Usage and Page File Usage History) relate to virtual memory, where a PC will use part of the hard disk for temporary storage if it doesn't have enough memory to perform the task it's carrying out.
This can slow down the PC and if the Page File Usage History graph is consistently above the halfway point, consider closing some applications or installing additional system memory.
Freezing out spies
Windows XP, but not Me, has a Networking tab, which shows how the PC's network connection is being used. If you think your PC might have picked up a virus or spyware, try closing all applications and watching this graph.
If it shows a lot of activity - regular peaks above quarter-height - then something might be hijacking your internet connection. At the bottom of the tab you will see the current status of the network link, including its top speed.
At the bottom of the Task Manager dialogue box, the status bar shows the number of processes running, the current processor usage and the 'commit charge', or total available memory.
Take control
Pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del can help solve all sorts of PC troubles. If a program freezes or the system is running slowly, fire up the Task Manager and try to find the cause.
Look under the Applications tab for non-responding programs, or under the Performance tab for unusually high processor usage or memory usage.
You can then use either the Applications tab or the Processes tab to end the offending program and restore your system to normality without having to restart it.
Take your computer to task
The settings in Task Manager can get you out of a host of tricky situations. Here's our guide to a few of the best fixes to common problems:
If Word, Excel or another office program freezes, move the mouse. If the pointer moves, it's probably just working through a complex task. Try pressing Control and S to save your work. If the application doesn't come to life in minutes, open the Task Manager and close the applications that are not responding by right-clicking them and choosing End Task.
If the Start menu won't respond, open the Task Manager and click on the New Task button. If you know the name of the program you wish to open, type it in and press OK. If not, click Browse and navigate to the Program Files folder. There should be a folder in there for the program you wish to open. Double-click on it and look for the program file, then double-click this to open it.
If you're worried that you have spyware on your computer, close any applications that are running and open the Task Manager. If the usage graphs (under Performance or Networking) show activity, you may have a problem, although it could easily be a part of other software. Run a full spyware scan and a virus scan to be sure. See below for some free anti-spyware and antivirus downloads.
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