How to Use Windows Performance Monitor to Speed Up Your PC
(Time: 3-4 min.)
One of the most frustrating things about owning a PC is that, over time, it’s no longer the blazing-fast rocket like when it was shiny and new. Slow startups, program freezes, and system crashes can become extremely frustrating to the point of making you want to buy a new PC.
But wait… there is hope!
Fortunately, for many years Microsoft has quietly included a very useful tool in Windows for diagnosing PC performance problems called Windows Performance Monitor (AKA “perfmon”). Windows Performance Monitor scans and reports on the four primary categories that influence your system performance: Processor (CPU), Hard Disk, Memory (RAM), and Network (bandwidth) performance. In addition, it also includes diagnostics reports on your graphics performance (another important aspect of PC performance) and identifies any critical hardware and software problems, including outdated or corrupt device drivers.
It’s really easy for any computer user, whether novice or experienced, to run a “perfmon” report. The hard part is knowing how to interpret and act on the results to improve your PC’s performance. The “perfmon” report formatting is very confusing and hard to interpret for pretty much anyone except a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP)!
Because of this challenge, we’ve created a tool that makes it very easy for any computer user - regardless of PC knowledge - to utilize the results of the Windows Performance Monitor report in three easy steps:
Simply run a “perfmon” report. It takes about 60 seconds for it to complete.
After the report is complete, save the report results to a file.
Upload your saved report to our cloud-based analysis tool.
After upload, our tool analyzes the results of your report and recommends how to fix any problems or bottlenecks in your system, using easy-to-follow, step-by-step troubleshooting steps with supporting screenshots.
It’s a pretty slick tool, so give it a try now!
Quick (Advanced User) Instructions:
To run a Windows Performance Monitor (“perfmon”) report, simply:
+ R to open the “Run” prompt.- Type “perfmon /report" and hit Enter. The report will automatically start.
- After it is complete, go to “File” -> “Save As”. Name the file something like “Report-Results” and Save the file to your Desktop or somewhere else that’s easy to find.
- Drag and drop your saved file from your Desktop into the file upload area below, or click the “Browse My Computer” button to use File Explorer to find and select your report. Our tool will then begin analyzing your report.
Detailed (Novice User) Instructions:
To run a Windows Performance Monitor (“perfmon”) report, simply:
1. Press the + R key on your keyboard. You will see a small window called Run that will appear. Type perfmon/report into the text box to the right of Open: and click OK.
2. The Windows Performance Monitor report will begin automatically. It takes about 60 seconds to complete.
3. When the report is completed, go to the File menu then click Save As.
4. Save the report to your Desktop so that it’s easy to locate. You can name it something easy to recognize such as “perfmon-report” (the name doesn’t matter).
5. Drag and drop your saved report file into the grey box on the LEFT, or click the Browse My Computer button to use Windows Explorer to find your report file. Our tool will then begin analyzing your report.
Please note: If you are having problems exporting and uploading your report, you can still use our troubleshooting steps. Please select your operating system below to learn how to analyze the results quickly and easily without our tool:
