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Ctrl+Alt+Delete


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You're going to run across this a lot - everywhere people will be telling you that the way to manage running applications is with Ctrl+Alt+Delete. Don't believe it. Ending a task through the dialog you invoke and closing an application window the normal way are two very different things.

Ending a task is using the Win32 hook 'TerminateProcess' which is just as cruel as it sounds. Think 'Terminate' as in Terminator Arnie Schwarzenegger, and not the nice one that shoots people in the kneecaps either, and you'll get the idea. TerminateProcess yanks a process out of memory with no consideration or sensitivity whatsoever.

Ctrl+Alt+Delete can and should be used as a last resort, but only as a last resort: once you've used this combination, and the 'End Task' option behind it, you're in need of a re-boot. Maybe your system will run a while without sneezing, maybe not; but you will have leaked memory and your system performance will not be at its peak. It takes only a few seconds to get it back up there again.

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