Download Review: Find out what programs are running with Microsoft Process Explorer

Very often an unusually slow computer is down to one or two programs taking up too much of the computer's memory. Process Explorer is a useful tool from Microsoft that reveals a lot more information than Task Manager about what is going on.

There is no installation to speak of as the download is a compressed folder with four files: 32- and 64-bit versions of Process Explorer, the help file and the licence. Extract the folder and double-click on the correct version for your version of Windows.

This is designed as an advanced tool so it fits a lot more information into the window. This makes it a little more daunting at first but it soon becomes clear.

There are graphs at the top of the window for checking on CPU, RAM, network and disk activity. They don't have labels, but hover the mouse over them for more information. Generally speaking, if a graph is full, that means there's a problem somewhere.

The main part of Process Explorer is dedicated to a list of all the running processes on the computer. Processes include programs as well as the invisible apps that run in the background making important stuff happen.

Processes are grouped when they are being used by another program, which is handy for pinpointing problems.

The System Information tool shows bigger versions of the graphs with more detail about the different sections.

If you find a program that is overloading the computer it is possible to shut it down but you should do so with care as programs won't have the chance to save any work.

You can find out more about using Process Explorer by reading our Step by Step guide to it here.