Finding what holds a port
- Type the port number in the search box.
- Switch on “listening only” if the port is one something binds rather than connects to.
- Read the process name and its path — the path is what distinguishes your own build from the one installed last year.
- If the process is
svchost.exe, read the service column: that is the name to stop. - Select the row and use the details panel to show the file in Explorer, or to end the process.
Before ending anythingA port held by a Windows service is better released by stopping the service than by killing the process — the service manager will otherwise restart it, or record a failure you then have to explain.
Administrator rights
Without elevation the table is still shown, but the details of processes belonging to other accounts may be unavailable, and ending them is refused by Windows rather than by this program. Run it as administrator when you are investigating a system service.
Auto-refresh
Refreshing every two seconds is useful while reproducing a problem — a port that opens and closes quickly is otherwise never on screen when you look. For ordinary use, leave it off: the table is a snapshot, and one that changes under the cursor is harder to read.
When the answer is not there
| Symptom | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| The port is reported busy but nothing is listed | A process in another session, or a reserved port range — netsh int ipv4 show excludedportrange protocol=tcp lists reservations Windows made for itself |
| The process column is empty | Insufficient rights for that process; run as administrator |
| The service column is empty | The process is not a service host — it is an ordinary program |
| Ending the process changes nothing | The service manager restarted it; stop the service instead |
The port is held by System | A driver or the kernel — often a hypervisor or a sharing feature rather than an application |
Frequently asked questions
Does it write anything to the system?
No. It reads the socket table and, if you ask it to, ends a process. The portable build keeps its settings in its own folder.
Can I copy a row?
Yes — the details panel copies the process and port information as text, ready to paste into a ticket.