11/8/2019 8 things you can do with Computer Management in Windows | Digital Citizen

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8 things you can do with Computer Management in

Windows
TUTORIAL by Codrut Neagu
[https://www.digitalcitizen.life/users/codrut-neagu] published on
05/02/2018

Modern versions of Windows offer many tools that you can use to manage
different aspects of the operating system. One lesser known administrative tool
in Windows is named Computer Management. Few people know of its
existence, and even fewer use it. Over the years, we have come to love
Computer Management, and we use it more often than other similar tools from
Windows. In this article, we would like to share with eight things you can do in
Computer Management. Hopefully, by the end of this article, you will start
using it more often. Let's get started:

NOTE: This guide works the same in Windows 10, Windows 7 and Windows
8.1. Also, we are assuming that you have already opened Computer
Management. If you do not know how, read this tutorial: 10 ways to open the
Computer Management tool in Windows (all versions)
[https://www.digitalcitizen.life/ways-open-computer-management-
windows].

1. Schedule tasks with Task Scheduler

The Computer Management tool is split into three major sections: System
Tools, Storage and Services, and Applications. The most substantial section is
System Tools, and it includes lots of useful tools.

First, there is the Task Scheduler, which allows you to manage all the scheduled
tasks and also create new ones. If you want details, we have tutorials on how to
work with the Task Scheduler and the simplest is How to browse the Task
Scheduler & learn more about existing tasks
[https://www.digitalcitizen.life/first-steps-working-task-
scheduler]. For even more learning, read our whole series of articles about the
Task Scheduler.

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2. Check system events with Event Viewer

The second tool embedded in Computer Management is the Event Viewer. With
it, you can view all the event logs stored by Windows and the applications
installed on your computer. You can also create your custom views that show
specific data which you can use to troubleshoot specific problems. You can find
more details about the Event Viewer in these tutorials:

The basics of working with the Event Viewer in Windows

[https://www.digitalcitizen.life/basics-about-working-
event-viewer-windows]
How to work with custom views in the Event Viewer
[https://www.digitalcitizen.life/how-work-custom-views-
event-viewer]

3. Verify your network shares with Shared Folders

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The third tool and one of our favorites is named Shared Folders. It can be used
to view all the folders you are sharing with the network, the active sessions and
the files opened by others on the network. You can also manage different
aspects of your shared folders. Find more details in this tutorial: How to view a
list of all shared network folders [https://www.digitalcitizen.life/how-
view-list-all-shared-network-folders].

4. Manage user accounts with Local Users and

Groups
Next, you will find another useful tool: Local Users and Groups. You can use it
to manage the user groups defined on your computer, user accounts and their
membership to different groups. Note, however, that this tool is not available if
you use a Home edition of Windows 7 or Windows 10, or if you use a basic
edition of Windows 8.1. We published a tutorial which reveals how to take full
advantage of this tool, here: The geek's way of creating user accounts and
groups [https://www.digitalcitizen.life/geeks-way-creating-user-
accounts-and-groups].

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5. Analyze your system's performance with

Performance Monitor
The fifth tool found in Computer Management is the Performance Monitor. It
works as a great complement to the Event Viewer when you need to understand
how well your system works if there are problems and what is causing them.

You can learn more about this tool, from this tutorial: How to Work with the
Performance Monitor in Windows
[https://www.digitalcitizen.life/basics-about-working-
performance-monitor].

6. View and manage drivers with Device Manager

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The last tool from the System Tools section is the Device Manager. With it, you
can quickly view the hardware components and peripherals that make up your
computer and whether there are any problems with them regarding missing
drivers. You can find a detailed tutorial about this tool here: Find missing
drivers & hidden Devices with Device Manager
[https://www.digitalcitizen.life/find-missing-drivers-hidden-
components-device-manager].

7. Manage disk drives

The Storage section contains only one tool: Disk Management. It is an
advanced tool that you can use to manage all your disk drives and partitions.
We shared some of the coolest tricks that you can perform with it, in the
following tutorials:

How to manage partitions with the Disk Management tool, in Windows

[https://www.digitalcitizen.life/how-manage-your-disks-
using-disk-management-utility]
How to hide or dismount a partition in Windows
[https://www.digitalcitizen.life/how-hide-or-dismount-
partition-windows]
2 ways to create a partition, in Windows (all versions)
[https://www.digitalcitizen.life/ways-create-partition-
windows]

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8. Manage Windows services

Last but not least, you get the Services and Applications section, from where
you can manage all the services found on your Windows computer. You can
learn more about services and how to services them, from these tutorials:

What are Windows services, what they do & how to manage them
[https://www.digitalcitizen.life/what-are-windows-services-
what-they-do-how-manage-them]
Windows services – Identifying dependencies & changing the startup
type [https://www.digitalcitizen.life/windows-services-
identifying-dependencies-changing-startup-type]
Which Windows services are safe to disable & when?
[https://www.digitalcitizen.life/which-windows-services-
are-safe-disable-when]

Conclusion
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As you can see, Computer Management is a great control panel that is filled
with lots of useful administrative tools. We prefer it to the Administrative Tools
list because it has all the tools we use most, all included in a single app
window. We do not have to start each tool in separate windows, and this makes
us more productive when setting up or troubleshooting Windows computers.
Before you close this article, we invite you to share with us your favorite
administrative tools in Windows. Which tools do you use most and why?

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