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Process Explorer for Windows v10.21By Mark RussinovichPublished: November 1, 2006
IntroductionEver wondered which program has a particular file or directory open? Now you can find out.
Process Explorer shows you information about which handles and DLLs processes have opened or loaded.
The
Process Explorer display consists of two sub-windows. The top window always shows a list of the currently active processes, including the names of their owning accounts, whereas the information displayed in the bottom window depends on the mode that
Process Explorer is in: if it is in handle mode you'll see the handles that the process selected in the top window has opened; if
Process Explorer is in DLL mode you'll see the DLLs and memory-mapped files that the process has loaded.
Process Explorer also has a powerful search capability that will quickly show you which processes have particular handles opened or DLLs loaded.
The unique capabilities of
Process Explorer make it useful for tracking down DLL-version problems or handle leaks, and provide insight into the way Windows and applications work.
Process Explorer works on Windows 9x/Me, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Server 2003, and 64-bit versions of Windows for x64 processors, and Windows Vista.
What's new in Version 10.2:
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Vista integrity level and virtualized columns and process properties
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Signed driver for 64-bit Vista for x64 processors
What's new in Version 10.1:
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Vista process cycle counters in process properties and as column
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Service permissions viewing and editing
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Workaround for .NET runtime handle leak
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Many new I/O columns and process properties
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System and per-process I/O bytes history graphs
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I/O history minigraph
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Memory commit history minigraph
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Optional I/O history tray icon
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Windows 64-bit for Itanium support
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InstallationSimply run
Process Explorer (procexp.exe).
The help file describes
Process Explorer operation and usage. If you have problems or questions please visit the Sysinternals Process Explorer Forum.
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Related ItemsHere are some other handle and DLL viewing tools and information available at Sysinternals:
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TechNet On-Demand Webcast: Advanced Malware Cleaning - Learn from Mark how to use the Sysinternals tools to identify malware infestations, from standard spyware to kernel-mode rootkits, and clean them off your systems.
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Handle - a command-line handle viewer
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ListDLLs - a command-line DLL viewer
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PsList - local/remote command-line process lister
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PsKill - local/remote command-line process killer
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Microsoft Process Explorer KB ArticlesThe following Microsoft KB articles reference Process Explorer for diagnosing or troubleshooting various problems:
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319034: FIX: Thread Handle Leak in PrintReport Method of Data Report
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232830: HOWTO: Determine File Handle Ownership
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242131: How to: Display a List of Processes That Have Files Open
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216368: PRB: Access Violation During Application Setup When File in Use
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166112: PRB: Conflict with EOF When Using #import with ADO
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301357: PRB: DLLs Not Unloaded After Calling CoFreeUnusedLibraries
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816683: Process Explorer from SysInternals Does Not Start
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247957: SAMPLE: Using DUPS.exe to Resolve DLL Compatibility Problems
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313735: XCON: The MTA Process Is Leaking Memory with a High Handle Count
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276525: Your Computer May Stop Responding When You Monitor Open Handles
Download Process Explorer (1.5 MB)