Control Alt Delete
These 3 simple keys on your keyboard can be combined to do some pretty important things. When you press Ctrl+Alt+Delete you will notice that the Task Manager appears. Please keep in mind that this is only available on PC compatible computers. Using the Task Manager you can access open applications and close them, view all the current running processes, note the performance and networking of your computer, and see active users. The Task Manager also allows you to shut down or restart your computer without going through the Start Menu.
You can shut down your computer through the Task Manager by selecting the Shut Down Menu and clicking Turn Off or you can press Ctrl+Alt+Delete after the Task Manager is already open to restart the computer. This is good thing to know if you experience a completely frozen computer, where your mouse won’t even move. You can simply press Ctrl+Alt+Delete twice to restart your entire system. You can also access the restart option and other such commands from the Shut Down Menu in the Task Manager.
If you have one window or program that freezes the best thing to do if you are unable to close out of it is to use the Task Manager. Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete, and then under the Applications Tab select the frozen program and click End Task. The Task Manager usually knows which program is frozen and will say Not Responding in the Status column to the right of the frozen program(s).
Another neat thing you can do through the Task Manager is start a whole new application. To do this, go to the File Menu in Task Manager and select New Task. A window will pop up for you to type the program in that you would like to start up. You can also use the Browse Button in that small window to locate the program you wish to open. This is especially helpful if your Start Menu is not cooperating.
The Ctrl+Alt+Delete keys can get you out of many sticky situations. This 3-key combination, created by David Bradley of IBM PC, is widely known among computer experts and novices alike. Now that you know the common things about the Task Manager you can start using Ctrl+Alt+Delete to control your applications and such.
Wish I had a dime for every time that key combo has been hit and another dime for every visitor who came to my site looking for an explanation.
db
Hi,
My laptop restarts when I press Ctrl+Alt+Del upon trying to open task manager. It shows “Task manager has been disabled by your administrator” and the system restarts itself. I checked upon the system but it is no where disabled. I’ve tried fixing this problem through the net but I cudn’t. Is this a system virus? Please Help!!!