One of the questions this week relates to tracking down programs and processes which could be slowing down the startup time of Windows and also slowing down the operation of the computer. Using the default Windows Task Manager (CTRL-ALT-DEL) is a good place to start looking for resource hungry processes, but often you will want more information than the Task Manager can provide. There is a free utility on the Microsoft website called Process Explorer (technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx). This provides you with much more comprehensive information about the processes currently running on the computer, including other files folders which particular programs or processes may have opened, the historical CPU usage of the program or process, and a facility to search the programs and processes. If you are interested in exactly what is running on your computer then Process Explorer is a very useful utility. Be aware, given the large amount of information it presents, you may initially be somewhat overwhelmed so take your time to understand what each piece of information is representing.