220-1102 Resource Monitor (resmon.exe) Practice Question
A technician is troubleshooting a Windows 10 workstation that is experiencing slow performance and high disk usage (100% active time for long periods). In Task Manager, the 'System' process is shown to be using a high amount of disk I/O. Which built-in tool should the technician use to identify which specific files the System process is accessing?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse Resource Monitor with Performance Monitor, assuming Performance Monitor is the more advanced tool for all performance analysis, but only Resource Monitor provides the per-file I/O drill-down for a specific process in real time.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Resource Monitor
Resource Monitor (resmon.exe) is the correct tool because it provides a per-process disk I/O view that can be expanded to show the specific files being accessed by any process, including the 'System' process. Unlike Task Manager, which only shows aggregate disk usage percentages, Resource Monitor allows drilling down into the 'Disk' tab, expanding the 'System' process, and viewing the exact file paths and read/write operations causing the high disk activity.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Resource Monitor
Why this is correct
Resource Monitor shows disk activity per process and specific file paths, enabling the technician to identify files causing high I/O.
- ✗
Performance Monitor
Why it's wrong here
Performance Monitor is used for creating custom data collector sets and logging performance counters over time, not for real-time file-level I/O per process.
- ✗
Reliability Monitor
Why it's wrong here
Reliability Monitor provides a timeline of system stability events (crashes, failures), not file-level disk I/O details.
- ✗
Event Viewer
Why it's wrong here
Event Viewer shows system and application logs but does not display real-time file access information per process.
Go deeper
Related to this question
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Active Listening Skills
Key term
Task Manager
Task Manager is a built-in Windows utility that shows running programs, processes, and system performance, allowing users to monitor and manage computer activity.
Key term
High disk usage
High disk usage is a condition where a computer's storage drive is working near or at its maximum capacity, causing slow performance, lag, or unresponsiveness.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 220-1102 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 220-1102 exam.