If you are a Windows user who wants to monitor or control your system's activities or just perform quick troubleshooting, you should definitely try Microsoft's Sysinternals Suite. It's a collection of free-to-use utility tools that offer various features for advanced system management. It simplifies many tasks, such as process monitoring, registry analysis, resource management, file management, and more.

The tool is not included in Windows OS by default, but I'll show you how to set it up quickly. The Sysinternals Suite currently consists of more than 70 tools, but here are the 10 that I find most helpful.

Start by setting up Sysinternals on your Windows PC

Before proceeding, you need to download and set up the Sysinternals Suite to be able to utilize its tools. Microsoft offers two ways to do that. The first and most convenient way is through the Microsoft Store. Just launch the Microsoft Store app, search for "Sysinternals Suite" in the search bar, and select it from the search results. Install it from here and then launch the app, which will redirect you to the Microsoft page, where you'll find all the information on how to use the tools. Basically, you'll need to use the command prompt to launch every tool under Sysinternals. However, on my Windows 10 device, I couldn't run some tools by installing Sysinternals using this method.

Another way is to download the Sysinternals Suite package directly from Microsoft's official page. On the download page, click the Sysinternals Suite link, and a zip file containing all the tools will be downloaded. Now, extract the contents of the ZIP file to the drive and folder of your choice. Open the folder, and you'll find the executable files of all the tools. Further, you can add Sysinternals to your system PATH. It will let you run the tools directly from the command line without navigating to their folder every time.

Now, let's take a look at the best tools within the Sysinternals package.

8 Process Explorer (procexp.exe)

Your Task Manager on steroids

Process Explorer can be considered an advanced or evolved version of the Windows Task Manager tool. It gives you highly detailed information about running processes, including the handles associated with them and the dynamic link libraries. This information can help you know what program is using which files so that you can diagnose the issues with the system and the process responsible for it. If you find any suspicious process, you can easily check if it's malware by right-clicking on it and selecting the Check on VirusTotal.com option.

Another feature I like about Process Explorer is its real-time monitoring. This feature displays which process is using your CPU and FPU in real-time through a graph. This lets you identify the resource-intensive apps running on your system and easily detect anomalies that are slowing it down. Further, the tree view of processes makes it easier to understand the hierarchy of the running processes. You can suspend, terminate, or resume the processes right from the tool itself.

The tool also gives detailed information on each process, such as command line arguments, security attributes, open handles, and more. If you like, you can replace Windows's default Task Manager with the Process Explorer from the Options menu. To launch the tool, use the procexp.exe command on a command line tool or just search for it in the Start Menu.

7 Autoruns (Autoruns.exe)

Taming your startup programs

Autoruns is similar to the Startup Apps section of the Task Manager, but with way more features and options. It gives you complete control over the apps and other Windows components that start automatically as soon as the system is booted. So, apart from the Startup apps, you get the list of the services, drivers, registry keys, media codecs, and scheduled tasks configured to run at startup. On top of that, the browser extensions and add-ons are also listed with details.

With Autoruns, you can easily analyze, identify, and eliminate unnecessary or suspicious components running in the background. Further, for advanced troubleshooting, Autoruns provides detailed information about each entry, including file paths, descriptions, and publishers. It also highlights unsigned or potentially malicious files, helping users detect and remove malware. You can also check for that manually by right-clicking and selecting Check VirusTotal.

Beyond viewing the startup entries, you can easily enable, disable, or delete them. This ensures that only essential components are loaded during Windows boot, thereby optimizing the boot time. Launch Autoruns by searching for it in the Start Menu or using the Autoruns.exe command.

6 TCPView (tcpview.exe)

Simplify network monitoring

TCPView is a network monitoring tool that lists the active TCP and UDP connections on your system with advanced detail. It shows critical information, including the local and remote addresses, the connection status, and the processes related to each connection. This makes it a valuable asset for comprehending and maintaining network activities on Windows.

Using TCPView, you can check which applications are consuming your internet bandwidth and see how they are connected to remote servers. This tool updates in real-time, allowing the user to easily monitor any changes in the current connection states. This helps spot unauthorized access to a network or detect if malware is communicating with servers outside the network.

TCPView also breaks down process-specific details for each connection so you can identify which application is doing what on your network. If your work is dependent on the network, TCPView is an essential tool for monitoring and solving network issues. Run it by using the tcpview.exe command on a command-line tool or simply searching for it.

5 ZoomIt (ZoomIt.exe)

The perfect presentation companion

ZoomIt is a useful tool that can help you during screen presentations. It lets you zoom into specific areas of the screen, draw annotations, and add text directly to the display, making it a great option for students, educators, IT professionals, or anyone performing a presentation.

The zooming feature lets you enlarge any section of the screen so that your audience can concentrate only on that particular part. This is especially helpful if you want to emphasize small text or detailed elements during live presentations. ZoomIt's annotation tools allow you to draw on the screen (by hand on a touchscreen, or by using a mouse or digital pen, if supported) or add text, which can help you explain complex concepts to your audience visually.

ZoomIt also supports live zoom, in which you can show your magnified screen by working on it live. For example, if you are drawing on a huge canvas, you can show a specific part of it by zooming while also working on it live. To get started with it, use the ZoomIt.exe command or search for it in Windows search. Use Ctrl + 1 for a fixed zoom and Ctrl + 4 for a live zoom.

4 SDelete (sdelete.exe)

Eradicate your data permanently

SDelete is a handy tool for securely deleting directories and files so that they cannot be recovered. It replaces the data with random patterns so that recovery software cannot retrieve the original data. This tool is crucial for those dealing with sensitive or confidential data. It also offers drive wiping to free up space, preventing deleted files from being recovered from free disk space.

For anyone discarding old hard drives or sensitive documents, SDelete offers peace of mind by ensuring that the deleted data is really gone. Because of its simplicity, minimalism, and efficiency, it is the easiest and best solution for securely managing your data. You don't need any third-party data eradicator to safeguard your privacy, since you have a command line tool that can be accessed using the sdelete.exe command. As soon as you enter this command on a command-line window, you'll get all the details on how to use the tool.

3 PendMoves (pendmoves.exe)

Managing pending file operations

Are you unable to delete or move a file because another program is using it? PendMoves is a useful command line tool under Sysinternals that is used to manage such stuck operations. The command displays the list of all file operations queued by the operating system for the next restart. This will help you determine which files are locked by which programs. You'll have precise control over the file operations using PendMoves. Just open a command-line tool and use the pendmoves.exe command to run this utility,

2 MoveFile (movefile.exe)

Forcing file moves and deletions

MoveFile complements the function of PendMoves. If you are unable to perform a moving or renaming function because a file is locked and used by some other program, you can schedule that operation on the next system restart. The scheduling will automatically perform the action after the next restart without your intervention. Just use the movefile.exe command to get started with it.

To move a file from one location to another, follow this format: movefile

.

For example, if you would like to move MoveThisFile.txt from E: drive to D: drive, use this command movefile E:\MoveThisFile.txt D:\MoveThisFile.txt

1 SigCheck (sigcheck.exe)

Verifying file integrity and signing

SigCheck is a command-line tool that verifies digital signatures of the files on your system. It's particularly useful for ensuring the authenticity of software and identifying unsigned or tampered with files. Using SigCheck, you can display detailed version information for files, including publisher details and cryptographic signatures. This helps in determining whether a file is from a trusted source. The tool also integrates with VirusTotal to check files for potential threats. This combination of features makes SigCheck a reliable solution for verifying the legitimacy of files before executing them.

If you regularly download files from unofficial sources, SigCheck is a good tool to keep in your library. Access it using the sigcheck.exe command. If you want to check the signatures of the files in a certain folder, such as System32, use the command sigcheck -e -c C:/Windows/System32 >System32Signature.csv. This will create a System32Signature.csv file with signature details of all the files under the System32 folder. Wait for some time, and the file will be saved in your user profile folder. Open it and check the signature of the files under the System32 folder.

Take control of your Windows PC with these tools

These are several of the most useful Sysinternals tools specially designed for power users. As you can see, they are pretty easy to set up and use. Trust me, I've only scratched the surface of what these tools can do. You'll discover even more features as you start using them. Also, check for more useful tools under Sysinternals Suite, since there are more than 70 of them.