Process Explorer

Process Explorer at a glance

Process Explorer is a diagnostic tool from Microsoft's Sysinternals collection that extends the Windows Task Manager with a far deeper view of running processes. It displays the process hierarchy, the owning user accounts, and the open handles and loaded DLLs of any selected process. For administrators it is the quickest way to discover which process is locking a file or directory, where an unfamiliar executable comes from, or why memory usage keeps climbing.

Process Explorer ships as a single, portable executable and needs no installation. Microsoft publishes new builds at irregular intervals through the Sysinternals site and the Sysinternals Live service, with the current version always available at the same download address. There is no fixed release cadence.

Updating is simply a matter of replacing the existing file with the new one; saved preferences are kept separately in the registry. Because the tool looks deep into the system and requests elevated privileges, updated builds should be obtained from the official source and their digital signature verified.