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Use Windows Vista Task Manager to See File Name of Running Process

One of the nicer upgrades in Windows Vista is the ability to see the file name of a running process through the Task Manager. How many times have you seen a process in Task Manager but couldn't figure out where on earth it was located? This ability isn't turned on by default, but it's simple enough to do.

To start task manager, just right click on the taskbar and choose task manager. Then select the View menu and Select Columns.

Then select the Image Path Name checkbox in the list.

Now you should see the file name in the list of running processes:

If you see items that don't have an image path name, that's because they are running from the windows directory, or somewhere in the system path.

The Geek is the founder of How-To Geek and a geek enthusiast. When he's not coming up with great how-to articles, he's probably writing at his personal blog. This article was written on 01/21/07 and tagged with: Windows Vista, System Administration

Comments (3)

  1. ishtiaq

    i chose the CPU Usage view once and can't revert back to the original view now. any suggestions?

  2. Jesica

    How do you know what is not needed on the computer in the processes in task manager?

  3. Brian

    my ultimate task manager is gone! does not appear in a Ctrl-Alt-Del nor can I access it thru the taskbar. how can i get it back without a re-install?

    thanx


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