** Process Explorer Bugs **

Process Explorer 15.13 64bit for Windows 7 64bit
Win32 native process, 32bit.

If, in Process Explorer's main screen, you select a process, double-click on it to open the process's properties dialog box, and then select 'threads',
then Process Explorer will read the .pdb program database/debug information for the process to
determine the threads' entry points.

If the process then exits, and you close the process properties dialog box, then Process Explorer
does not close the .pdb file.

This prevents you from recompiling the process.
I can't see a way to release the .pdb files without either
1) Exiting Orocess Explorer, or
2) Using the 'find handle' dialog box, and forcibly closing the .pdb handle

I'm writing to follow up on something I wrote earlier this year. Process Explorer in Windows XP SP3 shows [The handle is invalid.] for some processes. Seems to be arbitrary.
I'm using 15.23 now on Windows XP SP3 x86

I'm not sure if this bug has been reported in the past already but I just noticed that even if the option to only allow one instance of Process Explorer is selected, if you try to launch an instance of Process Explorer and then try to launch another before the first instance's window has been displayed you will end up with two instances, thus defeating the feature entirely.

Edit:  This bug seems to be more easily duplicated while Windows is first loading background processes and start-up applications.  Once Windows is fully loaded it is much harder to duplicate due to the speed at which the Process Explorer window is displayed.


Edited by SyKoTiK - 17 December 2012 at 3:57pm

I understand CPU cycle based accounting shows higher usage than Task Manager, but I believe I found an issue with it. This is in 15.23 as well as 15.3.

On a ThinkPad T61, vanilla Win7 Ultimate x64 installation, ProcExp shows around 40% CPU usage while Task Manager shows 0-2%. In ProcExp, I can see consistently TaskMan CPU around say 15%. I close TaskMan, expecting the CPU usage would go down by about that. But it does not, it still stays around 40%, with the 15% now shifted to ProcExp.
Another example, on the same machine, but on my regular Win7 x64 install: Firefox consistently showing 35% or more, ProcExp 3%, total CPU 50%. I close Firefox down, total CPU goes down very little, but now ProcExp is showing at 15%.

Bottom line: It seems to be shifting of CPU percentages among processes with the total CPU way high. The behaviour is independent of the length of the update interval.

When I put the hard drive with the Win7 vanilla install into an X61 tablet, ProcExp shows reasonable CPU usage (6% or so). There is none of this moving cycles around and excessive CPU compared with the Task Manager. The X61 and T61 are same generation, very similar hardware, the X61 is actually having a weaker processor.

I know it is the machine that triggers this behaviour because it happens with two different installations of Windows 7 x64.

Happy to provide more information or run tests. Apologies if this is a known issue.

My problem is that i can't get the process explorer to start with shortcuts only by opening it manually. This is after changing it so that it should replace the normal task manager.

By shortcuts i mean the keyboard shortcuts ctrl-shift-esc or using ctrl-alt-del and then selecting "start task manager"

This is with PE. 15,3 on Win 7 on a standard user account.

Edit: Was able to fix this by logging on as admin user and going through the need steps there to replace the task manager with process explorer.


Edited by veitekki - 26 February 2013 at 3:18am