Solve PC problems with the Resource Monitor

Windows 7 Resource Manager
The Windows 7 Resource Manager includes all the information you need but with an interface that is far easier to use. To start the Resource Manager, click on the Start button, type Resource Monitor and press Enter. The Resource monitor will appear with the Overview tab selected.

The graphs give an overview of what’s been going on over the last minute with detailed information on the left. The top list, CPU, which represents the processor, will look familiar if you have ever used the Processes view in the Task Manager.

The sections below for Disk, Network and Memory can be expanded by clicking on the down arrows to the right. Hover the mouse over a column title to read a description of what it shows.

Laptop users may want to keep an eye on the blue line of the CPU graph as this shows the speed that the processor can work at. The default Windows 7 power mode varies the speed of the processor depending on how hard it is working.

If the computer is handling few tasks, the processor can work more slowly and use less electricity without you knowing about it. Some modern processors have their own built-in technology that can give a serious jump in speed when it’s needed, and again you can spot that here.

Performance mode
If the blue line is constantly at the top of the graph this means the computer is working in Performance mode, so it’s working as hard as it can. This will reduce battery life if it’s a laptop. You may also be aware of the fan making more noise as it has to work harder to keep the processor cool.

If the processor is working flat-out when you are not running any programs, it is worth trying to find out where all the power is going. It could be something benign such as an anti-virus scan, but it could be something malicious such as a virus, so check to see what is running.

The hard disk and network sections work in much the same way but show how these parts of the computer are being used. If your internet connection seems slow, for example, check the network graph.

It could show that your network is running at full capacity, in which case you should check for bandwidth-hogging downloads. If the graph shows there is room to spare, your connection to the internet is likely to be the bottleneck.