Examine Resource Monitor
You can access Resource Monitor from Task Manager or by running the perfmon /res command at a command prompt. Similar to Task Manager, the primary goal of Resource Monitor is to monitor system performance and utilization of CPU, disk, network, and memory resources. However, you also can use it to help you to identify reliability problems, such as excessive use of system resources or unresponsive apps.
Resource Monitor provides a snapshot of system performance, including a summary and tab with detailed information for the four key system components: processor, memory, disk, and network. If a Windows computer runs slowly, you can use Resource Monitor to view current activity in each of the four component areas, and determine which is causing a performance bottleneck. However, Resource Monitor can show only resource utilization for the local computer, not remote or virtual computers.
Resource Monitor (resmon.exe) is a real-time diagnostic tool built into Windows.
Think of it as Task Manager’s forensic microscope.
• Task Manager → Who is using resources?
• Resource Monitor → Exactly which process, file, port, and thread is responsible — and why.
IT use cases:
⭐ Performance troubleshooting
⭐ Application freezes
⭐ High CPU / RAM / Disk / Network usage
⭐ Malware or suspicious activity detection
⭐ Correlating user complaints with real system behavior
⭐ Keyboard shortcuts:
1️⃣ Win + R → resmon → Enter
2️⃣ Task Manager → Performance tab → Open Resource Monitor
Automation tip:
⭐ Create a shortcut to
C:\Windows\System32\resmon.exe
Useful for helpdesk jump boxes & VM templates.
⭐ Processes
⭐ Services
⭐ Threads
⭐ Associated Handles
• CPU % → actual processing usage
• Average CPU → more accurate than spikes
• Threads → misbehaving apps often spawn hundreds
User says:
“My PC is slow even when nothing is open.”
Steps:
1️⃣ Open CPU tab
2️⃣ Sort by Average CPU
3️⃣ Expand the process
You notice:
⭐ antimalware service executable stuck at 30%
➡ Likely real-time scan loop or corrupted signature
➡ Action: update Defender, schedule scan off-hours
⭐ In Use = actively used RAM
⭐ Standby = cached, reusable (NOT a problem)
⭐ Hard Faults/sec = memory pages pulled from disk (bad if constant)
User says:
“Teams freezes when I switch apps.”
You see:
⭐ Hard Faults/sec constantly above 100
⭐ Chrome + Teams consuming 90% memory
Diagnosis:
➡ System is paging to disk
➡ Recommendation: close tabs OR upgrade RAM
Tip:
⭐ High Standby memory ≠ problem
⭐ High Hard Faults/sec = problem
⭐ Which file is being read/written
⭐ Which process is hammering the disk
⭐ Response Time (ms) → critical metric
User:
“Everything freezes when I open Excel.”
You see:
⭐ Disk Response Time = 500+ ms
⭐ OneDrive.exe syncing large PST file
Conclusion:
➡ Disk I/O saturation
➡ Pause OneDrive sync temporarily
➡ Exclude PST from sync scope
Pro tip:
⭐ Disk response time > 100 ms = noticeable lag
⭐ > 300 ms = user-visible freezes
⭐ Processes with Network Activity
⭐ TCP Connections
⭐ Listening Ports
User:
“VPN is slow.”
Steps:
1️⃣ Network tab
2️⃣ Sort by Send / Receive (B/sec)
3️⃣ You spot:
⭐ cloudbackup.exe uploading at full speed
Fix:
➡ Pause backup
➡ QoS recommendation
➡ Educate user on bandwidth contention
Security angle:
⭐ Unknown process listening on port 4444
➡ Immediate malware investigation
➡ Correlate with Defender & Event Viewer
This is where Resource Monitor becomes lethal.
Steps:
1️⃣ Check the box beside a process
2️⃣ All tabs instantly filter to that process
Example:
⭐ Select outlook.exe
➡ CPU: threads
➡ Disk: OST/PST access
➡ Network: Exchange traffic
This lets you trace a single app across the entire system.
⭐ Task Manager:
• Overview
• Fast triage
• User-friendly
⭐ Resource Monitor:
• Deep technical insight
• File-level disk access
• Port-level network analysis
• Memory paging visibility
IT rule:
➡ Task Manager to confirm
➡ Resource Monitor to diagnose
⭐ Use Resource Monitor during screen sharing to justify decisions
⭐ Screenshot CPU/Disk spikes for ticket documentation
⭐ Combine with:
• Event Viewer (event correlation)
• perfmon (long-term trends)
• netstat -ano (advanced port mapping)
⭐ Keyboard shortcuts:
• Ctrl + Shift + Esc → Task Manager
• Win + R → resmon
• Alt + Tab → quick app switching during diagnosis
⭐ Panicking over high Standby memory
⭐ Killing system processes blindly
⭐ Ignoring Disk response time
⭐ Confusing CPU spikes with sustained load
Resource Monitor is used to identify exactly which process, file, or network connection is causing performance issues. I use it when Task Manager shows symptoms but not root cause — especially for high disk I/O, memory paging, or unexplained network usage.
Below is a hands-on troubleshooting simulation, exactly how you’d be tested in a remote IT Helpdesk interview.
You answer out loud, step by step, as if the user is on the phone and you’re screen-sharing.
• Windows 10 / 11
• User working remotely
• Complains of freezes when opening apps
• No error messages
Your job: diagnose using Resource Monitor, not guess.
⭐ Professional framing:
• Acknowledge the issue
• Explain you’ll check system resources
• Avoid blaming hardware too early
Example phrasing:
“I’m going to check how your system resources are being used in real time to identify what’s causing the slowdown.”
English tip:
• “I will check” → neutral future
• Avoid “maybe”, “probably”
⭐ Action:
1️⃣ Win + R
2️⃣ Type resmon
3️⃣ Enter
Say aloud:
“I’m opening Resource Monitor to see CPU, memory, disk, and network activity in detail.”
Interview note:
⭐ Naming the tool clearly earns points.
⭐ Sort by Average CPU
• Teams.exe → 18% average
• Chrome.exe → 22% average
• CPU never drops below 50%
“The CPU is under sustained load, not a short spike, which explains the slowness.”
English upgrade:
• “constant” → “sustained” (more technical)
⭐ RAM usage: 92%
⭐ Hard Faults/sec:
• Chrome → 150–300
• Teams → 80+
• System is paging memory to disk
• Disk becomes a fake RAM → very slow
Say aloud:
“The system is running out of physical memory and is using the disk as virtual memory, which causes freezing.”
Key term to remember:
⭐ Hard Faults/sec = disk-based memory access
⭐ Disk Response Time: 400–600 ms
⭐ pagefile.sys active
⭐ OneDrive.exe syncing in background
Say aloud:
“High disk response time confirms the slowdown is caused by memory paging and background disk activity.”
Interview gold:
⭐ Correlating Memory + Disk shows senior thinking.
• Normal traffic
• No unknown listening ports
Say:
“Network usage looks normal, so the issue isn’t related to bandwidth or malware traffic.”
Security awareness = bonus points.
⭐ Close unused Chrome tabs
⭐ Pause OneDrive sync
⭐ Restart Teams
⭐ Upgrade RAM (8 GB → 16 GB)
Say professionally:
“Short term, closing background apps will help. Long term, increasing RAM would prevent this from happening again.”
Example note:
Root cause: High memory usage causing disk paging
Tool used: Windows Resource Monitor
Resolution: Reduced background apps, paused sync
Recommendation: RAM upgrade
❌ “I would reinstall Windows”
❌ “It’s probably a virus”
❌ “The computer is just old”
✅ Evidence-based diagnosis
✅ Tool-driven reasoning
✅ Calm explanation
“I use Resource Monitor when Task Manager isn’t enough. I check CPU average usage, memory hard faults, disk response time, and correlate them to identify whether the issue is CPU load, RAM paging, disk I/O, or background services.”
• Remote employee
• Corporate VPN (AnyConnect / GlobalProtect / FortiClient—vendor irrelevant)
• Internet works, but internal apps crawl
• No VPN error messages
Your mission: prove whether the problem is bandwidth, latency, background traffic, or something abnormal.
Say calmly:
“I’m going to check live network activity to see which applications are using bandwidth and how connections behave while the VPN is active.”
English tip:
• “check live network activity” sounds technical but clear
• Avoid “test stuff”, “look around”
⭐ Fast path:
1️⃣ Win + R
2️⃣ resmon
3️⃣ Enter
4️⃣ Click Network tab
Explain aloud:
“This view shows which processes are sending and receiving data, including VPN traffic.”
⭐ Send (B/sec)
• cloudbackup.exe → 4.5 MB/sec upload
• vpnclient.exe → normal
• Browser → minimal
Say:
“There’s a background backup process using most of the upload bandwidth, which impacts VPN performance.”
Technical insight:
⭐ VPN traffic competes with everything else on the same uplink.
⭐ Latency (ms)
⭐ Remote Address
• Backup server → 250 ms latency
• Internal VPN app → 40 ms
Interpretation:
• VPN tunnel itself is fine
• Latency spike is external congestion
Say:
“Internal VPN traffic shows normal latency, so the tunnel is healthy. The slowdown is caused by external upload saturation.”
⭐ Unknown processes listening on ports
You observe:
• Only expected services (VPN client, system services)
Say:
“No unexpected listening ports, so there’s no indication of malware or unauthorized services.”
Interview bonus:
⭐ Security + performance in one pass.
⭐ Check the box next to vpnclient.exe
➡ Other sections auto-filter
Say:
“Filtering by the VPN process confirms its traffic volume is normal.”
This proves you know Resource Monitor’s signature feature.
⭐ Pause cloud backup
⭐ Limit upload speed if supported
⭐ Schedule backups outside work hours
⭐ QoS on router (if applicable)
Say:
“Once the background upload is paused, VPN performance should return to normal immediately.”
Issue: VPN slow while connected
Root cause: Background upload saturating uplink
Tool: Windows Resource Monitor
Resolution: Paused cloud backup
Prevention: Reschedule backup jobs
“In Resource Monitor, I identify VPN slowness by checking network send rates, TCP latency, and filtering by the VPN process to confirm whether the tunnel itself or another application is causing congestion.”
Avoid:
• “VPN is laggy because internet is slow”
Use:
⭐ “VPN performance is impacted by upstream bandwidth saturation.”
This signals technical fluency.
Resource Monitor answers:
• Who is using the network
• How much
• Where the traffic goes
• Whether it’s expected
That’s evidence, not opinion.
• Windows 10 / 11
• User notices fan noise + network activity when idle
• Antivirus did not alert
• System is on a home network
Goal: use Resource Monitor to determine whether this is normal, misconfigured software, or suspicious behavior.
Say:
“I’m going to verify which applications are communicating over the network and whether those connections are expected.”
Why this works:
• Reassures the user
• Shows structured thinking
• Avoids panic language
English precision:
• “verify” > “check” (more professional)
⭐ Steps:
1️⃣ Win + R
2️⃣ resmon
3️⃣ Enter
4️⃣ Network tab
Say:
“This tool lets me see active network connections and listening ports in real time.”
⭐ Sort by Receive (B/sec)
• svchost.exe → moderate traffic
• updater.exe → steady background traffic
• Unknown process: x9svc.exe → 800 KB/sec
Red flag:
⭐ Non-descriptive process name
⭐ Sustained traffic while idle
Say:
“There’s a process sending and receiving data continuously while the system is idle, which is unexpected.”
⭐ Remote Address
⭐ Latency (ms)
You observe:
• Connections to multiple IPs
• No recognizable domain patterns
• Latency fluctuating wildly
Say:
“The process is communicating with multiple external IP addresses instead of a known service endpoint, which is unusual.”
Technical nuance:
⭐ Legit services usually talk to few, stable domains.
⭐ Listening Ports section
You observe:
• x9svc.exe listening on port 4444
Why this matters:
⭐ Port 4444 is commonly used by backdoors (not exclusive, but suspicious)
Say:
“The process is also listening for inbound connections, which increases the risk profile.”
Interview phrasing:
⭐ “increases the risk profile” sounds mature and cautious.
Switch tabs (without closing Resource Monitor).
You observe:
• CPU: low but constant usage
• Disk: periodic writes to AppData
Say:
“Low but persistent resource usage aligns with background persistence behavior.”
Key idea:
⭐ Malware avoids spikes to stay hidden.
⭐ Disconnect from network
⭐ Do not kill process blindly
⭐ Preserve evidence
Say:
“I recommend isolating the system from the network and performing a full security scan.”
⭐ Run Defender Offline Scan
⭐ Check:
• Startup entries
• Scheduled Tasks
• Services list
Mention:
“I would also review security logs and confirm whether the process is registered as a service.”
Suspicious background network activity detected
Tool used: Windows Resource Monitor
Indicators: Unknown process, external IP traffic, listening port
Action: Network isolation and security escalation
This shows incident-handling discipline.
“I use Resource Monitor to identify suspicious behavior by analyzing unknown processes, external connections, listening ports, and correlating that with CPU and disk patterns before escalating.”
Avoid:
• “This looks like a virus”
Use:
⭐ “This behavior is inconsistent with expected system activity.”
This keeps you professional and defensible.
Security is probabilistic, not absolute:
• One indicator ≠ malware
• Multiple weak signals = action
Resource Monitor helps you build a case, not jump to conclusions.