See how to manage Windows Startup programs with Autoruns for more information. Autoruns helps you manage Windows startup processes as well as detect particularly pesky embedded malware. You can download Process Explorer from this page on the Microsoft website. Process Explorer, on the other hand, is similar to Windows Task Manager but with a ton of additional features. All you have to do is download the zipped folder, extract the files and then double-click on the procexp64.exe file. Process Explorer doesn’t have to be “installed” in order to run it. You can also Restart a process if it is hung or acting flaky, preventing the need to shut down or restart the PC. All you have to do is right-click on it and click “Kill Process”.

Killing a process is fast and easy with Process Explorer. Windows Explorer closes but all other applications, including Task Manager, remain open. Process Explorer displays every process currently running on your PC in an easy to visualize “tree” structure.Įverything is easy to read and understand, and if there is a process running that you don’t recognize, just right-click on it and click “Search Online” and a browser window will immediately open with a Google search for that process already open inside it! In the Image Name column, locate explorer.exe. Microsoft offers a free program called Process Explorer that takes the concept of the Task Manager to a whole new level. Luckily, there’s an awesome replacement for the Windows’ Task Manager that you can download right now, and it won’t cost you a dime. While Microsoft has really expanded the features and power of Task Manager in recent years, it still has some serious limitations. The native Windows Task Manager has long been the go-to utility when we need to see which programs are running on our PC or kill a “hung” process.

Windows explorer task manager