# Microsoft Teams

Application: Microsoft Corporation

Also called teams, ms teams, microsoft teams

Microsoft Corporation, Productivity

Microsoft work chat and meetings. The current Windows client is ms-teams.exe. It is not Slack and not the Microsoft 365 suite page.

## What you need to know

Teams is ms-teams.exe. Slack is slack.exe. Microsoft 365 is the suite that often installs Teams.

Microsoft Teams handles channels, chats, and meetings. The new Windows client uses ms-teams.exe. Classic installs may still show Teams.exe. Neither filename is the Microsoft 365 installer.

- **What is it?**: Work chat and meetings

  **Current Windows process?**: ms-teams.exe on current PCs

  **Same as Slack?**: No. Different vendor and workspaces

Feex says

If the PC feels slow after a workday, I would quit Teams from the tray before I blame Word. A meeting is this process, not WINWORD sitting idle, and it is not Slack.

## What is Microsoft Teams?

Microsoft Teams is Microsoft's work chat and meeting client. Current Windows installs use ms-teams.exe. Classic Teams used Teams.exe. It is not Slack, not Zoom, and not the Microsoft 365 suite article.

## If you have never used it

If your job said "the meeting is in Teams", this is the Microsoft meeting app, not Slack and not the Microsoft 365 billing page. Download the current client from Microsoft's Teams download page, or take the copy Office Click-to-Run installed. You join with a work, school, or Microsoft account. Slack workspaces do not open here.

## What is it used for?

**Chat and channels**

Work threads that stay in a Teams tenant. Slack channels are a different graph.

**Meetings**

Video, screen share, and calendar join. This is why CPU, RAM, and GPU rise.

**Files and apps in a team**

SharePoint-backed files inside a team. That is not OneDrive Known Folder Move by itself.

## Who is it for?

- Work and school tenants that standardized on Teams
- People comparing RAM with Slack by product name
- Anyone who still has classic Teams.exe beside ms-teams.exe

## Current status

Actively developed. Microsoft retired classic Teams for most Windows users in favor of the new client. This article is the current desktop app.

## How old is it?

Teams launched in 2017 as the successor path away from Skype for Business for many tenants. It is much newer than Word. Skype for Business is a different, retired-line client.

## Versions

Major channels first. Exact build numbers are not all verified here.

New Teams (ms-teams.exe)

Classic Teams (Teams.exe)

Teams on the web

## System requirements

Values follow the publisher's public guidance. Workload still changes the real need.

### Minimum

| CPU              | A dual-core processor Microsoft lists for the current Teams client  |
| ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| RAM              | 4 GB class machines run it. Meetings want more RAM                  |
| Operating system | A current supported Windows 10 or Windows 11 release, per Microsoft |

## Resource profile

- **CPU demand**: High during video meetings

  **RAM demand**: Can stay high after many chats

  **GPU demand**: Video and background effects

  **Network demand**: Active in meetings

## Installed processes

These executables belong to this product when it is installed.

| ms-teams.exe | Current Teams client                         |
| ------------ | -------------------------------------------- |
| Teams.exe    | Classic client on older or leftover installs |

## Startup components

Teams often starts with Windows from its own setting or work policy. That is not a single Microsoft 365 switch and not Slack.

## File locations

| New Teams package | C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\MSTeams\_\*\ms-teams.exe |
| ----------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| Classic leftover  | C:\Users\\\<you>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Teams\\      |

## File formats

meeting recordings and files you share in Teams

## Common problems

### Classic and new Teams both installed

A migration can leave two clients. That is not two viruses. Uninstall classic if Microsoft already moved you.

### High RAM after the meeting ended

Quit from the tray. Ending a helper mid-call drops people. That is not Word.

## Getting unstuck

### Confirm ms-teams.exe versus leftover Teams.exe

Open file location. The new client is the MSTeams package. Classic Teams lived under AppData\Local\Microsoft\Teams.

### Quit from the tray after work

A restart of Teams is a better first step than a Windows reinstall when chat feels stuck.

### Install from Microsoft's Teams download page

A "Teams desktop" MSI from a search ad is the wrong file. Work PCs may also get it from the tenant.

## Alternatives

Slack, Zoom, and Discord overlap for chat or meetings. Pick them for the org you already have. They do not host your Teams tenant.

## Official help and downloads

Start with the vendor. Random exe sites are not a support channel.

| Download     | [www.microsoft.com/microsoft-teams/download-app ](https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-teams/download-app)Official current Windows client |
| ------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Teams help   | [support.microsoft.com/teams ](https://support.microsoft.com/teams)Meetings, chat, and sign-in help                                      |
| Learn: Teams | [learn.microsoft.com/microsoftteams/ ](https://learn.microsoft.com/microsoftteams/)Admin and client documentation                        |
| Status       | [portal.office.com/servicestatus ](https://portal.office.com/servicestatus)When Microsoft 365 services, including Teams, are down        |

## Related hardware

A working camera, headset, and GPU driver matter for meetings. A famous CPU name does not fix a tenant policy that keeps Teams in the tray.

## Technical details

Technical details

The new Teams package version is in the WindowsApps folder name. This article does not pin a package build.

## Related

These entities connect to this article. Type is shown on every link.

[ms-teams.exe: Application Process](https://feex.it/wiki/process/ms-teams.exe)[Slack: Application](https://feex.it/wiki/software/slack)[Microsoft 365: Application](https://feex.it/wiki/software/microsoft-365)

## Sources and verification

Reviewed by Feex editorial. Last verified August 2026 Status: Feex Reviewed. [How we research](https://feex.it/wiki/research).

- [Microsoft Teams download ](https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-teams/download-app)· Official Windows client
- [Microsoft Support: Teams ](https://support.microsoft.com/teams)· Meetings, chat, and client help
- [Microsoft Learn: Teams ](https://learn.microsoft.com/microsoftteams/)· Admin and client documentation
- [Foxhole process map ](https://foxhole.feex.it/)· First-party samples on Windows PCs. Not a lab benchmark.

## Was this article useful?

A yes or no is enough. Pick a reason if you want, or add a short note.

Quick facts

The short identity of this page. Specs, sources, and the full story stay in the article.

- **Developer**: Microsoft Corporation

  **Category**: Chat and meetings

  **Process**: [ms-teams.exe](https://feex.it/wiki/process/ms-teams.exe)

  **License**: Included with many Microsoft 365 plans. A free consumer Teams also exists

  **First released**: 2017

  **Official site**: [microsoft.com/microsoft-teams](https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-teams/download-app)

  **Mapped by Feex**: Seen on Windows PCs in Foxhole

Feex Reviewed: Last verified August 2026

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Source: [Canonical Feex Wiki page](https://feex.it/wiki/software/microsoft-teams/)

[Developer guide](https://feex.it/wiki/developers/) | [API policy](https://feex.it/developers/api-policy/) | [Agent guidance](https://feex.it/wiki/llms.txt)