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TechKnowSurge Catalog Videos DEMO: Processes
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DEMO: Processes

Operating systems use processes to track and manage every running program and task, assigning each a unique process ID so the CPU scheduler can prioritize and execute work efficiently. Windows Task Manager provides a practical view of these processes, their IDs, and their resource consumption in real time.

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About this video

Modern operating systems must manage dozens or even thousands of simultaneous tasks across multiple running programs. To do this, the OS represents each active task as a process, a discrete unit of work that can be individually tracked, prioritized, and executed. Every time an application opens, the system generates one or more processes on its behalf and assigns each a unique process ID, allowing the OS to distinguish between them even when hundreds are running concurrently. Between the processes and the CPU sits a component called the scheduler. When a process needs computational work done, it signals the scheduler, which evaluates priorities and places the process in a queue for CPU execution. Once processed, the result is returned to the originating program or forwarded to the appropriate output device. Different processes carry different priority levels, so the scheduler continuously makes decisions about which work gets CPU time first. Windows Task Manager illustrates these concepts in a practical, observable way. Its Details tab lists every active process along with its process ID, and sorting by ID can reveal that a typical session generates process IDs numbering in the thousands. Opening a browser like Google Chrome demonstrates how a single application can spawn multiple separate processes, one for each tab or background function, and closing those tabs or the application entirely causes the corresponding processes to disappear from the list. Monitoring CPU and memory columns in Task Manager shows exactly how much each process demands from system resources at any given moment.

What you'll learn

What's covered

Computer Processes

Aligned to

CompTIA Tech+
3.2 Compare and contrast components of an operating system.
1.3 Illustrate the basics of computing and processing.
CompTIA A+ Core 2
1.3 Given a scenario, use features and tools of the Microsoft Windows 10/11 operating system (OS).
Cisco CCST IT
4.1 Assist users in resolving Windows OS issues
CompTIA Server+
2.4 Given a scenario, perform server administration.

Key terms

Process
An instance of a program being executed by the operating system, assigned resources and managed alongside other running processes.
Process Identification Number
PID
A unique numeric identifier assigned by the operating system to each active process. Administrators use PIDs to monitor, signal, or terminate specific processes.
Scheduler
An operating system component that prioritizes and queues processes for CPU execution.
Task Manager
A Windows utility (accessed via Ctrl+Shift+Esc) that displays running processes, application status, CPU and memory usage, and allows users to end unresponsive programs.
Background Process
A task running on a computer that operates without direct user interaction, managed by the operating system alongside active applications.

Topics

Operating Systems Processes Process Management Windows Task Manager Cpu Scheduling Process Id

Transcript

Your computer can have a lot of different stuff going on at the same time. It can have lots of different programs open, and within those programs it could have a lot of different tasks that are operating all at the same time. So how does it keep track of all of this? Well, it keeps track of it through something called a process.

Processes and the Scheduler

Let's say each one of these circles is software. I don't know about you, but I often have lots of different software that's up on my computer running all at the same time, and with something like Google Chrome I'll have lots of different tabs open at the same time. So each one of these represents different software that I have up on my computer. And then within there, this software might have many different programs going on at the same time, and maybe it's performing many different tasks at the same time.

So what we have here is a lot to keep track of. How does it keep track of each one of these tasks that are happening, and keep them separate? Well, it keeps track of these through something called processes. Every time you open up a program it will launch a new process, or perhaps many different processes for that program. So we have all of these processes that are lined up.

Now, when something needs to be calculated or compiled or processed, what will happen is it will flag — and there's something that sits in between here called the scheduler — it will flag the scheduler and say, hey, I need to process this information. And the scheduler will then prioritize that process accordingly, and different processes have different priorities. So then it will put it in the queue to be processed by the CPU and then sent out on its way, whether it's going to return it back to the program, or send it to some sort of device, or whatever it is that it's being processed for.

Now, it does need to keep track of all of these processes, so it gives it a number. You could have thousands of processes open and running on your computer at any given time, but this process ID allows it to be able to identify certain processes.

Processes on a Windows Machine

Let's take a look at what this looks like on a Windows machine. I'm going to open up my Windows here and type in Task Manager. Task Manager looks a little different on the newer versions of Windows, but this gets us really close. I mean, it's got a lot of the same tabs, it's just on the left side instead.

What we see here is a couple of categories. We actually see apps, so there's our apps, and then we see background processes that are happening. And then here we have a few apps that are up and running, so Task Manager is running, and I can open this up. There's only one task that's associated with each one of these. So these are the different processes that are running.

I can actually see a better view if I go into the details of this, and under the details I see all of the processes that are running, and it actually has the process ID. So we can see all the process IDs that are associated with this, and I can sort by process ID. I'm going to sort in reverse order, because now we see that the highest process ID number is 12,000 here.

I can also click back — I'll go back to this processes — and I can also see the different usage that happens here. So if I click on the CPU, I can sort by the CPU usage from top to bottom, and I can see that Task Manager has the most amount of resources here.

I'm going to open up another program so we can see it. In fact I'm going to open up Chrome, and it comes up with what's new. I'm going to open up another tab, so I'm going to go to google.com, and perhaps one more, maybe techknowsurge.com, and we'll go to that website. So I've got those up and running now.

Let's take a look at the processes now that we've launched with Google Chrome. Let me sort by name so it doesn't keep adjusting on us, and we can see that here's an example of lots of different processes that are happening with just those three tabs here. I probably could close out of a couple of these tabs, and we can see that the list gets a little bit shorter here. So that's an example of those processes that get launched. If I close out of Chrome entirely, then we see that they go away entirely.

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