User Experiences

The Problem:

A user noticed their computer was running slowly and the CPU fan was constantly running at high speed, even when idle. Task Manager showed high CPU usage but couldn't identify the specific process causing it.

The Solution:

Using Process Hacker, the user was able to:

• Identify a suspicious process with high CPU usage that wasn't visible in Task Manager
• View the process's network connections, revealing connections to unknown IP addresses
• Check the process's file location, which was in a suspicious temporary folder
• Terminate the malicious process and remove the associated files

Result:

The cryptocurrency mining malware was successfully removed. CPU usage returned to normal, and the system performance improved significantly. Process Hacker's detailed process information and network monitoring capabilities were crucial in identifying and removing the threat.

The Problem:

A developer couldn't delete or modify a file, receiving "file is in use" errors. Windows didn't provide information about which process was using the file, making it impossible to resolve the issue.

The Solution:

Process Hacker's "Find Handles or DLLs" feature allowed the developer to:

• Search for the file path to find all processes with handles to it
• Identify that a background service was holding a lock on the file
• View the service details and stop it temporarily
• Successfully delete the file after closing the handle

Result:

The file lock issue was resolved in minutes. The developer was able to continue their work without restarting the system. Process Hacker's file handle discovery feature saved hours of troubleshooting time.

The Problem:

A system administrator noticed a server was experiencing performance degradation. CPU and memory usage were high, but identifying the root cause was difficult with standard Windows tools.

The Solution:

Using Process Hacker's advanced monitoring features:

• System graphs revealed sustained high CPU usage from a specific application
• Memory analysis showed a memory leak in a background service
• Disk I/O monitoring identified excessive disk activity from a logging process
• Network monitoring revealed unnecessary network connections

Result:

The administrator optimized the problematic processes, fixed the memory leak, and reduced disk I/O. Server performance improved by 40%, and Process Hacker's detailed system graphs and statistics were instrumental in identifying the issues.

The Problem:

A software developer's application was crashing intermittently. Standard debugging tools couldn't capture the crash information, and the application logs were insufficient.

The Solution:

Process Hacker's stack trace functionality enabled the developer to:

• Capture kernel-mode and user-mode stack traces when the crash occurred
• Identify the exact function and module causing the crash
• View thread information to understand the execution context
• Analyze memory usage patterns leading up to the crash

Result:

The developer identified a race condition in a third-party library. With Process Hacker's detailed stack traces, they were able to fix the issue and prevent future crashes. The debugging process was significantly faster than using traditional debugging tools alone.