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How to Use a Task Killer in Windows 10
Use built-in tools or let a third-party app do the job for you
3 min. read
Updated onOctober 4, 2023
updated onOctober 4, 2023
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Key notes
As every Windows 10 user out there already knows, once you’ve pressed the Windows key on your keyboard, your device will go to the Start Screen.
However, the apps will remain open on your device, and if you take a look at the right-side menu you will see all of them.
But how exactly do you close running apps on your Windows 10 device? On other mobile devices, like Android, when you have too many running apps, you can use a task killer that will close all of them and free up some memory.
However, when it comes to Windows 10 what do you do? Where do you get a Windows 10 task killer?
How can I find a Windows 10 task killer?
Truth be told, when you exit an app on Windows 10, it doesn’t just stand there and hog resources, the OS automatically puts the app in a standby state, similar to what iOS users experience.
And while these apps don’t eat up too much memory whilst in this state, when you have many opened, you will see a drop in performance.
If you were thinking of getting a Windows 10 app killer, then think again, as no such apps are available on the Microsoft Store at this moment.
But even so, Microsoft was kind enough to implement a way in which users can stop running apps and free up some memory.
What task killer options do I have for my device?
1. Kill tasks using Task Manager
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Press down theCtrl + Shift + EscorCtrl + Alt + Delkeys at the same time. Alternatively, you can right click on the taskbar and selectTask Managerfrom the list.
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The Task Manager window should now open.
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Navigate totheProcessestab from the top-menu. Here you will see all the running apps on your device.
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Locate the task that you want to kill in the list and right-click on it.
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A menu with options will appear. SelectEnd Task.
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The task is no longer running. You can close the Task Manager’s window.
By now, you have seen the new Task Manager in Windows 10, and if you are new to Windows 10 and didn’t get a chance to get familiar with it, know that you will be able to use it to close running apps.
Task Manager is a good background app killer for Windows 10. You will find the background running apps right below the running ones and you will also be able to end them in one click.
2. Use third-party alternatives
Another way to go around the problem is to use aTask ManagerAlternative, which are other desktop programs that allow you to close lagging or not respondingprocesses.
However, these third-party apps have more advanced functions, and if you only need to close a few apps, there would be no point in installing and fiddling with them.
But for those who want to have complete control over what apps are running on their computers, we havea great list ofTask Manageralternatives.
It would be nice if Microsoft would add a quick and fast option to close all the running apps, instead of having to go toTask Manageror close them manually one by one. We hope that future updates of Windows will bring such features.
3. Use the hidden Terminate option under Apps & Features
Speaking of closing active apps and programs, Windows 10 does offer a series of settings that allow you to better control what apps can run on your machine at any given moment.
If you go toApps & Features, you’ll see a list of all the apps installed on your computer and you can quickly uninstall those that you haven’t used for a while.
From there, select the application you want to kill. Click on theAdvanced optionsorAdvanced app infobutton. Click theTerminatebutton to immediately kill the app.
You can also limit the number of running apps by performing a clean boot. In this manner, your Windows 10 computer will boot up using only a limited number of drivers.
We hope that our guide on task killers for Windows 10 helped you. Let us know in the comments section below if you have any questions.
More about the topics:Task Manager,Windows 10 Guides
Milan Stanojevic
Windows Toubleshooting Expert
Milan has been enthusiastic about technology ever since his childhood days, and this led him to take interest in all PC-related technologies. He’s a PC enthusiast and he spends most of his time learning about computers and technology.
Before joining WindowsReport, he worked as a front-end web developer. Now, he’s one of the Troubleshooting experts in our worldwide team, specializing in Windows errors & software issues.
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Milan Stanojevic
Windows Toubleshooting Expert
Before joining WindowsReport, he worked as a front-end web developer. Now, he’s specialized in Windows errors & software issues.
