Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 9, 2026

Resource Monitor

Resource Monitor, a utility in Windows Vista and later, displays information about the use of hardware and software resources in real time. Users can launch Resource Monitor by executing resmon.exe.

Last revised
Jul 9, 2026
Read time
≈ 2 min
Length
357 w
Citations
4
Source
Resource Monitor
DeveloperMicrosoft
ReleaseJanuary 30, 2007 (2007-01-30)
Operating systemMicrosoft Windows
PlatformIA-32, x86-64 and ARM
TypeSystem resources utility
LicenseProprietary commercial software

Resource Monitor, a utility in Windows Vista and later, displays information about the use of hardware (CPU, memory, disk, and network) and software (file handles and modules) resources in real time.1 Users can launch Resource Monitor by executing resmon.exe (perfmon.exe in Windows Vista).

The Vista and later Resource Monitor heavily leverages the Event Tracing for Windows (ETW) facilities introduced in Windows 7;2 the counter setup (event tracing session) used by the Resource Monitor can provide logging as well.3

Features

The Resource Monitor window includes five tabs:4

  • Overview
  • CPU
displays column lists of Processes, Services, Associated Handles and Associated Modules; charts of CPU Usage (separate for every core)
  • Memory
displays overall Physical Memory consumption and separate consumption of every Process; charts of Used Physical Memory, Commit Charge and Hard Faults/sec
  • Disk
displays Processes with Disk Activity and Storage; charts of Disk Usage (KB/sec) and Disk Queue Length
  • Network
displays Processes with Network Activity, TCP Connections and Listening Ports; charts of Network Usage (separate for every adapter) and TCP Connections

Ways to start the application

  • Choose Start→Type to search "Resource Monitor".
  • Start Windows Task Manager→select Performance tab→Click the "Open Resource Monitor" link at the lower left corner.
  • Choose Start→All Programs→Accessories→System Tools→Resource Monitor.
  • %windir%\system32\perfmon.exe /res
  • %windir%\system32\resmon.exe
See also

See also

References

References

  1. Tulloch, Mitch; Northrup, Tony; Honeycutt, Jerry; Wilson, Ed (October 7, 2009). Windows 7 Resource Kit. Pearson Education (published 2009). ISBN 9780735642775. Retrieved June 3, 2014. The Resource Overview screen of the Reliability and Performance Monitor Control Panel item in Windows Vista has become a separate tool in Windows 7 called Resource Monitor [...].
  2. Waterman, Michael (November 4, 2013). "Getting Started with Performance Tracing Part 1 Event Tracing for Windows Demystified". TechNet. Microsoft.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  3. "How to pull the information that Resource Monitor (ResMon.exe) provides?". TechNet. Microsoft. January 4, 2011.
  4. Phelps, Justin (October 14, 2011). "How to Use Resource Monitor". PC World. IDG.