easyMultiple Choice
220-1202 Practice Question: That their Windows 10 PC is running slowly after…
A user reports that their Windows 10 PC is running slowly after they installed a new program. You need to identify which service or startup program is consuming the most CPU resources to troubleshoot the issue. Which administrative tool should you use?
⚠ Common exam trap
220-1202 often tests the confusion between tools that show live resource usage (Task Manager, Resource Monitor) and tools that show historical or event-based data (Event Viewer, Performance Monitor), luring candidates toward the more 'advanced-sounding' option.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Task Manager
Task Manager's Processes and Startup tabs show real-time CPU, memory, disk, and network usage per process and per startup item, making it the fastest tool to identify which newly installed program or service is consuming CPU. The user can sort by CPU column and immediately see the offending process, then disable it from the Startup tab if needed. This directly matches the troubleshooting goal of identifying a resource-hungry service or startup program.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Event Viewer
Why it's wrong here
Event Viewer is a Windows utility primarily used for logging and reviewing system, security, application, and setup events. While it records critical errors or warnings that might indirectly relate to a process consuming excessive resources (e.g., an application crash), it does not provide a live, granular view of CPU utilization by individual processes. Its core function is historical logging and diagnostics, not real-time performance monitoring for resource consumption.
- ✓
Task Manager
Why this is correct
Task Manager is the definitive Windows utility for real-time system monitoring and process management, making it ideal for diagnosing high CPU usage. Specifically, its "Processes" or "Details" tab provides a dynamic, sortable list of all running applications and background processes, clearly displaying their current CPU, memory, disk, and network utilization. This direct visibility allows a technician to quickly identify which specific process is causing excessive CPU usage and impacting overall system performance.
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Services.msc
Why it's wrong here
Services.msc, or the Services console, is designed for managing background Windows services, allowing users to configure their startup type, start, stop, or disable them. While a misbehaving service could indeed consume excessive CPU resources, this utility only shows the service's operational status (e.g., running, stopped) and configuration details, not its current resource consumption. To determine a service's CPU usage, one would typically need to identify its associated process within Task Manager.
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Performance Monitor
Why it's wrong here
Performance Monitor, part of the Reliability and Performance Monitor suite, is a powerful and highly configurable tool for collecting and viewing extensive performance data over time using various system counters. While it is capable of displaying real-time CPU usage for processes, its interface is more complex and geared towards detailed analysis, logging, and custom reporting rather than a quick, immediate identification of a single high-CPU process. For a rapid assessment of current CPU usage, Task Manager offers a significantly more direct and user-friendly experience.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official CompTIA exam blueprint
This 220-1202 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 220-1202 exam.