Task Manager's Hidden Functionality

very good
key review info
application features
  • Displays disk input/output activity with information about related applications
  • (6 more, see all...)

Task Manager is, undoubtedly, one of the most important applets embedded in Windows. And that is because it provides basic information on the state of the running processes, services (on Vista), shows easy-to-read performance graphs, and it is the main gateway to resource overview that shows a more in-depth view of CPU, disk, network and RAM usage.

However, you have to admit that there is plenty more to be added to the applet and that is why third-party software is always preferred, if you need a clear view of all the processes, threads and modules involved.

Free Extended Task Manager takes the form of the regular Task Manager in Windows, but provides a more extensive set of features and options for the user, and brings back the Shut Down menu that was given up in Vista. The name says it clearly that it is free, so there is no limitation or fee to be paid for the application.

The interface is exactly the same as the original Microsoft Task Manager, but boomed up with more graphs and a greater deal of information. So, from this perspective, there should be no trouble working with the software.

What catches your eye from the beginning is an increment in the number of tabs under the menu bar. Free Extended Task Manager adds a Summary and a Port view. Summary lists all windows active in the taskbar and presents the CPU, Page File, I/O and Networking graphs. In the lower part of the screen, the user is briefed up on the RAM usage and total number of processes, threads and handles currently running. Just like in Windows Task Manager, on the lower strip of the application window there is the total number of processes and percentage of CPU. Commit Charge is an extra here, as Windows' applet does not show it.

The Summary window also permits the user to end any of the tasks listed or direct to its process. A big plus is the fact that you can select multiple tasks and end all of them at once. Simply use the Shift or Ctrl keys for multiple selection, and choose the End Tasks option in the context menu.

Speaking of the right click menu, the application has more surprises for you here. For instance, there is the possibility to switch Free Extended Task Manager with the selected task, bring a task to front, or minimize/maximize them. These may seem trivial to some, but come in extremely handy to others. The Applications tab benefits from the exact same context menu.

Skipping the Applications tab and moving onward to the Processes section, we noticed that we can choose to view only system processes, only those of the current user, or all running processes. Multiple selection is available here as well, as some other pretty handy options.

In the low right hand corner of the window, besides the End Process button, there is one for freezing them. Its purpose is to stop the activity of the selected item until further notice from the user. The process will not close, but simply enter a suspended mode that will only bring CPU usage to a flat zero. It will not respond to any stimuli: it will be just like a non-responsive window, but without the negative side.

Reaching the desired process does not require too much effort from the user, even if there are plenty of them, because you can just type the first letter and the selection will move instantly. The application also shows icons for the listed processes, and this can also be a good indicator. However, we noticed that not all processes benefited from this feature. We were expecting system items not to be appended to an icon, but this also happened to Mozilla Firefox.

A downside of the Processes view is the lack of the brief description, which can be extremely useful if a certain process name hints at no application at all. We also noticed that the value for CPU usage was slightly different from its correspondent in Task Manager. Don't get alarmed, as we are talking about discrepancies of up to 1%.

For each of the listed processes the user can view which files it needs to function, to put it shortly, which files it locks. The most common case when the file lock function comes in extremely handy is when they want to delete something from the hard disk, and because that item is still in use, it will refuse to be erased. Having a view of the locked files of a process may prove efficient as users can release the handles in use.

Additional options in the context menu of the Processes tab allow opening the file location, google the process, set its CPU priority and affinity (with multi-core systems).

The Services window right click options bring choices for stopping/running services, direct you to the main process, set the startup type, or simply delete it from the list. I advise extreme caution, because there are plenty of system services that are an absolute must for the operating system to function properly.

In the Performance tab, instead of the graphs for the CPU and the RAM you will be seeing one for Disk I/O. For each graph the mouse is hovering over, it will bring up extra details under the form of a tooltip window. You will actually get to see the process that performs the activity, together with some graph-specific info. All particularities shown in the tooltip window are in real time, so moving the mouse in a different location of the chart will cause the displaying of different details.

In the case of CPU usage, the info provided comprises the total amount of CPU stress at that specific time, the name of the process together with its PID, the amount of CPU it needed, and the time down to seconds of the occurrence. With Memory Usage, the constants are time and process, name and PID, and you will be given the global memory gulped by all running processes as well as the share taken by that particular processes.

History chart for Disk I/O follows the same pattern, which includes time, processes involved in I/O activity, and their PID. If there are multiple processes acting at the same time, you will get the I/O speed for each and the specific percentage from the global value.

In the lower part, Performance tab shelters a set of details related to RAM, Kernel Memory, number of active processes, threads and handles, as well as counter for Commit Charge (total, limit and peak). Besides all these, you will also get to access the Resource Monitor (available only on Vista systems), an applet introduced in Windows Vista that will provide more detailed information on CPU, disk, and network.

An additional tab available in Free Extended Task Manager is Ports. Here, users can view the ports through which the network activity takes place and the application that communicates through these ports. The application shows the local and remote IP and port of a process, as well as the protocol used and the current state. There isn't much to be done in here, except for viewing all the data and being automatically directed to the Process tab.

The information displayed by each tab may not seem like much, but Free Extended Task Manager is capable of more. For each of them, you can enable more columns so as to fit your needs. Configuration view can be toggled from the far right button in the upper part of the application window, and then you can simply surf through all the tabs and enable/disable whatever kind of information you want.

This extended version of Windows Task Manager comprises all the details you were used to, and, in some cases, it offers something more, like in the case of Processes where you can enable the Disk Load column.

The Shut Down menu supplies the very functions available in XP's Task Manager, meaning that the options present are Stand By, Hibernate, Turn Off, Restart, user LogOff and Switch User.

The flexibility of Free Extended Task Manager widens to the extent of totally replacing Windows' applet. This way, you will be launching the extended version just like the original.

Indeed, the options provided by this small software are extraordinary, as they add a big plus to the list of features provided by Task Manager. There are few drawbacks and, although it requires more RAM than the applet in Windows, there are plenty of improvements added. The biggest plus, however, is that it is totally free of charge.


The Good

All the features and options are wrapped in a very familiar interface that can be handled by any user who has dealt with Task Manager in Windows.

It expands the functionality of Task Manager to port viewing, disk I/O history, process freezing and debugging, and locked files viewing, as well as showing the processes using a specific file.

It can totally replace Task Manager and take over its functions. The Shut Down menu has been introduced just like in the XP version of Task Manager.

All the tabs support various levels of configuration, and users can add columns for a more pervasive view of the internal going-ons of the system.

The application supports terminating multiple processes at once.

The Bad

The Performance tab does not come with a brief description section for each of the processes. This would come in handy especially to newbies.

Services tab does not provide the group a certain item pertains to, making it harder for a user to realize its importance.

In our case, the Firefox icon was not recognized in the Processes tab, and this may be a glitch that could occur with other software as well.

The Truth

With a few fixes and a little brush up, Free Extended Task Manager can become a great utility for monitoring and handling running processes, as well as services. It already brings important and useful features to the table, and the familiar user interface will only make things easier in the future.

It supports plenty of configurations, and integrates perfectly into the system. Getting used to it does not require too much time, and learning all its features is a cinch.

RAM usage is a bit higher than the Windows correspondent, but, considering all the graphs and the level of detail it provides, 6MB is not quite that much.

Here are some snapshots of the application in action:

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user interface 4
features 4
ease of use 5
pricing / value 4


final rating 4
Editor's review
very good
 
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