Process Explorer v17.07
By Mark Russinovich
v17.07 no longer works on Windows 7. You'll get the following error
--------------------------- procexp64.exe - Entry Point Not Found --------------------------- The procedure entry point GetProcessInformation could not be located in the dynamic link library KERNEL32.dll. --------------------------- OK ---------------------------
Function GetProcessInformation was introduced in Windows 10 (1607), eventhougth the function definitions say's otherwise GetProcessInformation function (processthreadsapi.h) - Win32 apps | Microsoft Learn, introduced for Win8.
The processexplorer.zip contains same processes procexp.exe, procexp64.exe and procexp64a.exe.
What do they do?
| Purpose | |
|---|---|
| procexp.exe | Bootstrap launcher — detects OS architecture and elevation state |
| procexp64.exe | Primary 64‑bit Process Explorer binary — the real program on 64‑bit Windows |
| procexp64a.exe | Alternate 64‑bit binary used for DLL injection into protected processes |
Why two 64‑bit binaries?
Process Explorer injects a DLL into target processes to gather handle/DLL information. On modern Windows versions with Protected Process Light (PPL) and other security boundaries, the normal binary cannot always inject into certain system processes.
So Sysinternals includes:
procexp64.exe → the main UI and engine
procexp64a.exe → an auxiliary binary used when elevated or when accessing protected processes
This is why you sometimes see both appear briefly when launching Process Explorer.
Why drop support for Windows 7 when?
Windows OS has over 1.5 billion active users globally as of 2025, and @2.5% thus 37.5 million are still active Windows 7 users!
Last working version on Windows 7
The last good know version to work on Windows 7 is Process Explorer v17.06 back in 28 May 2024.
Get it here Wayback Machine (archive.org)
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