Find active processes and DLLs in your system

Process Explorer lists every running application on your PC, as well as information about running processes and open files.

In Process Explorer, the list is shown in a tree structure, and everything is displayed in a two-panel window. The upper panel lists current applications, while the bottom panel gives you access to detailed information on the process you select. You have the option to stop individual applications, change the priority of the process that are currently running, and view the properties of each process. The properties show how much memory and space each process is taking up.

You can also discover specific information about your system using Process Explorer. This includes a summary of what your system is currently doing, as well as statistics and graphs on your PC’s CPU, memory, input, and output.

Since Process Explorer lists all DLL (Dynamic Link Library) files in your system, it is also a useful tool when it comes to trying to locate errors specific to those functions. You can even filter your results to show only DLLs and memory-mapped files.

The help file unfortunately does not work in Process Explorer, making it difficult to learn to use the program if you encounter difficulties or have questions.

Process Explorer is a good way to see what’s running on your PC, if you don’t need guidance via the help file.

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.