How to View Running Processes on Mac OS X

Use activity monitor to view the running processes on a Mac.

Checking the running processes on your Mac will help you learn which applications are consuming the most memory or taxing your computer's processing power. Identifying your Mac's memory and any computer processing bottlenecks can keep your computer running faster and smoother.

Instructions

1. Click on the "Applications" icon in the Mac "Finder" window and scroll down to the "Utilities" folder and select "Activity Monitor." Double-click "Activity Monitor" to launch the application.

2. Click on any running application in the "Activity Monitor" list to view its running processes. Click "CPU" at the bottom of the window to view the percentage of CPU, or Computer Processing Units, being consumed by the application or process. Click "System Memory" to view the amount of free and used system memory. Click "Disk Activity" to show the read and write activity to your computer's hard disk. Click "Disk Usage" to view the used and unused disk space on your computer. Click "Network" to view all network activity on your computer.

3. Any frozen or ill-behaving application or process that is consuming too much processing power or slowing down your Mac can be "Force Quit" by selecting that application as a "Running Process" and pressing the "Quit" stop sign icon in the upper left-hand corner of the Activity Monitor. To confirm you want to really quit the application, a warning dialogue will ask if you want to "Really Quit" the process. Click "OK" to quit the process or the "Force Quit" button to force a frozen or misbehaving application to quit.

Tips & Warnings

• You can "Force Quit" any process or application using "Activity Monitor," including invisible and background applications and processes.

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish