# monitoring system resources on Windows XP

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monitoring-system-resources-on-windows-xp/242209>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 27, 2004, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monitoring-system-resources-on-windows-xp/242209 "2004-04-27T02:38:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![MaceMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@MaceMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaceMan)\
**Post date:** [April 27, 2004, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monitoring-system-resources-on-windows-xp/242209/1 "2004-04-27T02:38:49Z")

</div>

This morning, I found this interesting program on my computer that tracked all sorts of things, like cpu usage statistics. It was a live graph on a black background. Now I can’t find the program I was using…I searched the online help files, and tried to search for all programs accessed/used in the last day (but I don’t know how to do this). I found one graph under the administrative tools section, but this had a white background and isn’t the same program. Anyone have any ideas of what this program is and where to find it? Also, is it possible to search for programs I’ve accessed?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\
**Post date:** [April 27, 2004, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monitoring-system-resources-on-windows-xp/242209/2 "2004-04-27T03:14:06Z")

</div>

Hit ctrl-alt-delete, click **Task Manager** , and go to the **Performance** tab.

> [@MaceMan](#):
>
> Also, is it possible to search for programs I’ve accessed?

You can turn on auditing of process tracking in Local Security Policy under Administrative Tools. This generates a ton of entries in the Security log though, and may slow your machine down.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\
**Post date:** [April 27, 2004, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monitoring-system-resources-on-windows-xp/242209/3 "2004-04-27T03:35:06Z")

</div>

Oh, unless you’re using XP Home. Then you might have to right-click the taskbar and hit **Task Manager**.

There also isn’t a Local Security Policy snap-in, so you’re probably out of luck there.