How to Capture ProcMon Logs with Circular Overwrite for Intermittent Issues

Capturing circular ProcMon logs for intermittent issues

Let’s learn about how to capture. process monitor log Circular overwrite Activated. According to the official document, process monitor An advanced monitoring tool for Windows that shows real-time file system, registry, and process/thread activity. Combines the functionality of two legacy Sysinternals utilities. Filemon and LegmonExtensive list of enhancements, including rich, non-destructive filtering, comprehensive event properties such as session ID and username, reliable process information, full thread stack with integrated symbol support for each operation, concurrent logging to files, and more. Add . . Its unique and powerful features make Process Monitor a key utility in your system troubleshooting and malware hunting toolkit.

If you are running ProcMon over an extended period of time where log file size is an issue, configuring Procmon with circular overwrite can help limit log file size while retaining only the most recent activity. This method is especially useful for tracking intermittent problems over time without creating huge log files.

Let’s look at how to configure and capture logs using: Circular overwrite From Procmon.

Download and install ProcMon

• visit Microsoft Sysinternals website to download process monitor.
• Extract the downloaded file and run it. Procmon.exe As a manager.

There is no installation process. This is a standalone executable that you can run directly.

Configure ProcMon filter (can be skipped if you are not sure about process name or other details)

BasicallyProcMon logs all system activity, which can generate huge amounts of data. Therefore, configuring filters to focus only on relevant events is a good way to avoid noise.

• Click Next. filter button (or press CTRL + L).
• at filter In the dialog box, add rules to include or exclude processes, file paths, or registry keys of interest.

Example: To monitor only specific applications such as: notepad.exeCreate filters for: process name equivalence notepad.exe.

• Apply filters and click. great.

Enable circular overwrite (important)

To ensure that ProcMon sessions do not grow indefinitely and that only the most recent logs are captured:

• movement file > backup file.

• at backup file Select from dialog box Use named files Specify the location and name of the log file (for example, C:\Logs\procmon.pml).

Set maximum log file size

Circular logging allows you to set a maximum log file size. To do this:

• below options > depth of historyhow many do you have MB The number of log data ProcMon should keep before starting to overwrite.
• Example: If you set this value to 500 MB, ProcMon will only keep the last 500 MB worth of logs.
• This helps keep the size of the log files manageable and prevents disk space overload.

Set maximum log file size

Circular logging allows you to set a maximum log file size. To do this:

• below options > depth of historyhow many do you have MB The number of log data ProcMon should keep before starting to overwrite.
• Example: If you set this value to 500 MB, ProcMon will only keep the last 500 MB worth of logs.
• This helps keep the size of the log files manageable and prevents disk space from being overloaded.

Start capturing

Once everything is set up:

• Click Next. capture Click the button or press CTRL+E to start capturing logs.
• During capture, ProcMon monitors and records real-time system activity.
• If you need to pause logging at any time capture Temporarily stops again.

Export logs for further analysis

After capturing data, you can export logs for deeper analysis or share them with other team members.

• movement file > get.
• Select your desired output format, e.g. Default PML format, CSVor XML).
• choose all events or Filtered Events To store only information relevant to your investigation. (All events are recommended if you are not familiar with the details and process of the event.)
• Save the file to your desired location.

Using ProcMon with circular overwrite is especially useful when dealing with intermittent problems that cannot be easily reproduced. However, it is important to stop data collection as soon as a problem occurs. Otherwise, if the log file size is too small, you run the risk of overwriting relevant data before the problem can be captured.