Windows Performance Diagnostics

Dive deep into the performance characteristics of your Windows applications and system. Utilize these tools and techniques to identify bottlenecks, optimize resource usage, and ensure a smooth, responsive user experience.

Understanding Performance Bottlenecks

Performance issues can stem from various sources, including CPU utilization, memory pressure, disk I/O, network latency, and inefficient application code. Effective diagnostics involve systematically isolating and addressing these problems.

Key Diagnostic Tools

Performance Monitor (PerfMon)

A comprehensive tool for real-time monitoring and logging of system performance counters. Track CPU, memory, disk, network, and more.

Resource Monitor

Provides a more granular and real-time view of system resources compared to Task Manager. Easily identify processes consuming specific resources.

Windows Performance Recorder (WPR) & Analyzer (WPA)

Capture detailed system traces (including CPU, disk, and power usage) and analyze them to pinpoint performance regressions and issues.

Process Explorer

An advanced task manager that shows detailed information about processes, threads, handles, and DLLs, helping to diagnose resource leaks and unexpected behavior.

Common Performance Scenarios

Explore guides and best practices for diagnosing performance in specific scenarios:

Application startup time optimization
Reducing memory footprint
Improving disk I/O performance
Network latency troubleshooting
GPU performance analysis

Advanced Techniques

For deeper analysis, consider leveraging tools like:

ETW (Event Tracing for Windows): A powerful framework for tracing system and application events.
WinDbg: A kernel-mode and user-mode debugger for in-depth analysis of system crashes and performance issues.

Example of capturing a trace with WPR:

                        wpr.exe -start CPU -start Disk -start FileIO -start NetIO -start Power -start Memory -start Profiling -start Heap -start CFA -start PkgMgr -start Registry -start Module -start ProcessorSchedules -start CSwitch -start ContextSwitches -start DiskIO -start FileIO -start NetIO -start Power -start ProcessorSchedules -start ContextSwitches -start CSwitch -start Memory -start Profiling -start Heap -start CFA -start PkgMgr -start Module -start Registry -numDepth 16 -filemode 3 -onDemand 1 -recordOnDemand 1 -capturetime 30 -filepath C:\traces\mytrace.etl
                    

And analyzing with WPA:

wpa.exe C:\traces\mytrace.etl