How To Save A List of Running Processes in Windows

In the Task Manager, you can see all the tasks currently operating on your Windows PC. Task Manager, however, does not allow you to preserve a list of ongoing processes for later use or as part of troubleshooting. Fortunately, there are additional simple ways to capture a list of your current Windows processes.

Troubleshooting is the primary reason for exporting a list of processes on your PC. The Task Manager allows you to observe processes in real-time, but you may need to provide a list of processes to a third party. You’ll need to save data in a format that’s easy to understand. It’s also helpful to keep track of the processes running at any time so that they may be compared to those running later.

How to Save a List of Running Processes in Windows PC

Obtain A List Of Running Processes Using Command Prompt

The Command Prompt is a powerful in-built tool that helps users perform many tasks on Windows PC. One of them is to get a Windows tasklist of the all the currently running processes:

Step 1: Press Windows + S on your keyboard to open the Search box.

Step 2: Type CMD, and you will see the Command Prompt App under Best Match Results. Click on the Run As Administrator option to open Command Prompt in elevated mode.

Step 3: Type the following command followed by the Enter key.

tasklist /v > %userprofile%\Desktop\Running-Process-List.txt

Step 4: On your desktop, a new text file named Running-Process-List.txt will emerge, including a complete running process list. Details such as the Process ID, Memory Usage, and so on will be included in the list.

Obtain A List Of Running Processes Using Power Shell?

If you are not comfortable with using Command Prompt, then you can use the PowerShell to export the Windows tasklist of the all the currently running processes:

Step 1: Open the Windows Search box by pressing Windows + S.

Step 2: Type PowerShell and look for Windows PowerShell app among the search results.

Step 3:  Click on the Run As Administrator option.

Step 4: Type the following command in the PowerShell window and then press the Enter key.

Get-Process | Out-File -filepath "$Env:userprofile\Desktop\Running-Process-List.txt".

Step 5: The process list will be saved on your desktop.

Bonus Tip: Advanced PC Cleanup

Advanced PC Cleanup is a fantastic tool that helps users optimize their PC and maintain it ensuring that it delivers optimal performance at all times. After obtaining a list of running processes in your system, you may want to end those processes. This can be done through the Task Manager, but these processes will restart after every reboot. Hence, you have two further options – Remove the app permanently or Remove the app from the startup programs list.

Remove The App Permanently

Removing or Uninstalling the app permanently will remove the processes linked to the app from executing on your PC. You need to use third-party software like Advanced PC Cleanup to uninstall apps. This app has a separate module that will help scan your PC for all the apps installed and display it in a list form on your screen. You can easily remove all the apps you don’t need or don’t recognize.

Remove The App From Startup

Suppose you do not want to permanently remove an app from your PC but do not want it to start up whenever your PC boots, then you can simply remove it from the Startup list. The Advanced PC Cleanup helps users remove or disable Startup apps to ensure that their PC boots faster and RAM consumption is less.

The Final Word On How to Save a List of Running Processes in Windows

Although Task Manager is a valuable tool, it does not allow you to view processes in any other mode than real-time. You now know how to create and export a list of Windows processes, which may be pretty helpful for diagnosing issues with apps and system functions.

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