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Clear System Resource Usage Monitor (SRUM) data

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Works with Windows 10 and 11Works with Windows Vista, XP, 7, 8, 10, 11, and Windows Server 2008 or newer.
  • Windows onlyThis script improves your privacy on Windows
  • Single actionThis page belongs to a script, containing basic changes to achieve a task.
  • Impact: Minimum

    System Functionality / Data Loss Risk: Low

    This action improves privacy with minimal impact when you run the recommended script.

  • Batch (batchfile)These changes use Windows system commands to update your settings.
  • Administrator rights requiredThis script requires privilege access to do the system changes
  • Fully reversible

    You can fully restore this action (revert back to the original behavior) using this website.

    The restore/revert methods provided here can help you fix issues.

Overview​

This script deletes the Windows System Resource Usage Monitor (SRUM) database file.

SRUM tracks the usage of desktop applications, services, Windows applications, and network connections 1 2 3. SRUM stores its file at C:\Windows\System32\sru\SRUDB.dat 1 3 4.

Before deleting the file, the script temporarily stops the Diagnostic Policy Service (DPS). The DPS helps Windows detect and solve problems with its components 4. Stopping this service is required as modifications to the SRUM file require it to be turned off 5.

Deleting this file can enhance user privacy as it contains usage data and is often used for forensic analysis of user behavior 1 6.

Safe for General Use
All actions in this script is recommended for all users. This is recommended for all users to improve without any noticeable impact on the system functionality.
Sources
PrivacyLearn.com maintains strict sourcing standards for accuracy, integrity and up-to-date content. Our content relies on authoritative sources including vendor documentation, industry standards, and verified research. Learn more about our verification process and quality standards in our editorial standards page.

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Download and run the script directly
  • No app needed
  • Offline usage
  • Easy-to-apply
  • Free
  • Open-source
Help

How to apply or restore "Clear System Resource Usage Monitor (SRUM) data" using script​

  • ≈ 2 min to complete
  • Tools: Web Browser
  • Difficulty: Simple
  • ≈ 5 instructions
  1. 1

    Download

    Download the script file by clicking on the   Apply protection  button above.
    Use   Undo protection button above to restore changes.
  2. 2

    Keep the file

    If warned by your browser, keep the file.
  3. 3

    Open

    Open the downloaded file.
  4. 4

    Exit

    Once it's done, press any key to exit the window.
  5. 5

    Restart

    Restart your computer for all changes to take effect.

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Guided, automated application with safety checks
  • Recommended for most users
  • Includes safety checks
  • Free
  • Open-source
  • Popular
  • Offline/Online usage
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Help

How to apply or restore "Clear System Resource Usage Monitor (SRUM) data" using privacy.sexy​

  • ≈ 3 min to complete
  • Tools: privacy.sexy
  • Difficulty: Simple
  • ≈ 4 instructions
privacy.sexy is free and open-source application that lets securely apply this action easily with more advanced options.
  1. 1

    Open or download

    Open or download the desktop application
  2. 2

    Choose script

    1. Search for the script name: Clear System Resource Usage Monitor (SRUM) data
    2. Check the script by clicking on the checkbox.
  3. 3

    Run

    Click on ▶️ Run button at the bottom of the page.

    This button only appears on desktop version (recommended). On browser, use 💾 Save button.

Run commands​

Copy and run commands manually Requires technical knowledge
Apply changes
:: Stop service: DPS (with state flag) (wait until stopped)
PowerShell -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Command "$serviceName = 'DPS'; Write-Host "^""Stopping service: `"^""$serviceName`"^""."^""; $service = Get-Service -Name $serviceName -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; if (!$service) { Write-Host "^""Skipping, service `"^""$serviceName`"^"" could not be not found, no need to stop it."^""; exit 0; }; if ($service.Status -ne [System.ServiceProcess.ServiceControllerStatus]::Running) { Write-Host "^""Skipping, `"^""$serviceName`"^"" is not running, no need to stop."^""; exit 0; }; Write-Host "^""`"^""$serviceName`"^"" is running, stopping it."^""; try { $service | Stop-Service -Force -ErrorAction Stop; $service.WaitForStatus([System.ServiceProcess.ServiceControllerStatus]::Stopped); } catch { throw "^""Failed to stop the service `"^""$serviceName`"^"": $_"^""; }; Write-Host "^""Successfully stopped the service: `"^""$serviceName`"^""."^""; $stateFilePath = '%APPDATA%\privacy.sexy-DPS'; $expandedStateFilePath = [System.Environment]::ExpandEnvironmentVariables($stateFilePath); if (Test-Path -Path $expandedStateFilePath) { Write-Host "^""Skipping creating a service state file, it already exists: `"^""$expandedStateFilePath`"^""."^""; } else { <# Ensure the directory exists #>; $parentDirectory = [System.IO.Path]::GetDirectoryName($expandedStateFilePath); if (-not (Test-Path $parentDirectory -PathType Container)) { try { New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $parentDirectory -Force -ErrorAction Stop | Out-Null; }  catch { Write-Warning "^""Failed to create parent directory of service state file `"^""$parentDirectory`"^"": $_"^""; }; }; <# Create the state file #>; try { New-Item -ItemType File -Path $expandedStateFilePath -Force -ErrorAction Stop | Out-Null; Write-Host 'The service will be started again.'; } catch { Write-Warning "^""Failed to create service state file `"^""$expandedStateFilePath`"^"": $_"^""; }; }"
:: Delete files matching pattern: "%SYSTEMROOT%\System32\sru\SRUDB.dat"
PowerShell -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Command "$pathGlobPattern = "^""%SYSTEMROOT%\System32\sru\SRUDB.dat"^""; $expandedPath = [System.Environment]::ExpandEnvironmentVariables($pathGlobPattern); Write-Host "^""Searching for items matching pattern: `"^""$($expandedPath)`"^""."^""; <# Not using `Get-Acl`/`Set-Acl` to avoid adjusting token privileges #>; $parentDirectory = [System.IO.Path]::GetDirectoryName($expandedPath); $fileName = [System.IO.Path]::GetFileName($expandedPath); if ($parentDirectory -like '*[*?]*') { throw "^""Unable to grant permissions to glob path parent directory: `"^""$parentDirectory`"^"", wildcards in parent directory are not supported by ``takeown`` and ``icacls``."^""; }; if (($fileName -ne '*') -and ($fileName -like '*[*?]*')) { throw "^""Unable to grant permissions to glob path file name: `"^""$fileName`"^"", wildcards in file name is not supported by ``takeown`` and ``icacls``."^""; }; Write-Host "^""Taking ownership of `"^""$expandedPath`"^""."^""; $cmdPath = $expandedPath; if ($cmdPath.EndsWith('\')) { $cmdPath += '\' <# Escape trailing backslash for correct handling in batch commands #>; }; $takeOwnershipCommand = "^""takeown /f `"^""$cmdPath`"^"" /a"^"" <# `icacls /setowner` does not succeed, so use `takeown` instead. #>; if (-not (Test-Path -Path "^""$expandedPath"^"" -PathType Leaf)) { $localizedYes = 'Y' <# Default 'Yes' flag (fallback) #>; try { $choiceOutput = cmd /c "^""choice <nul 2>nul"^""; if ($choiceOutput -and $choiceOutput.Length -ge 2) { $localizedYes = $choiceOutput[1]; } else { Write-Warning "^""Failed to determine localized 'Yes' character. Output: `"^""$choiceOutput`"^"""^""; }; } catch { Write-Warning "^""Failed to determine localized 'Yes' character. Error: $_"^""; }; $takeOwnershipCommand += "^"" /r /d $localizedYes"^""; }; $takeOwnershipOutput = cmd /c "^""$takeOwnershipCommand 2>&1"^"" <# `stderr` message is misleading, e.g. "^""ERROR: The system cannot find the file specified."^"" is not an error. #>; if ($LASTEXITCODE -eq 0) { Write-Host "^""Successfully took ownership of `"^""$expandedPath`"^"" (using ``$takeOwnershipCommand``)."^""; } else { Write-Host "^""Did not take ownership of `"^""$expandedPath`"^"" using ``$takeOwnershipCommand``, status code: $LASTEXITCODE, message: $takeOwnershipOutput."^""; <# Do not write as error or warning, because this can be due to missing path, it's handled in next command. #>; <# `takeown` exits with status code `1`, making it hard to handle missing path here. #>; }; Write-Host "^""Granting permissions for `"^""$expandedPath`"^""."^""; $adminSid = New-Object System.Security.Principal.SecurityIdentifier 'S-1-5-32-544'; $adminAccount = $adminSid.Translate([System.Security.Principal.NTAccount]); $adminAccountName = $adminAccount.Value; $grantPermissionsCommand = "^""icacls `"^""$cmdPath`"^"" /grant `"^""$($adminAccountName):F`"^"" /t"^""; $icaclsOutput = cmd /c "^""$grantPermissionsCommand"^""; if ($LASTEXITCODE -eq 3) { Write-Host "^""Skipping, no items available for deletion according to: ``$grantPermissionsCommand``."^""; exit 0; } elseif ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) { Write-Host "^""Take ownership message:`n$takeOwnershipOutput"^""; Write-Host "^""Grant permissions:`n$icaclsOutput"^""; Write-Warning "^""Failed to assign permissions for `"^""$expandedPath`"^"" using ``$grantPermissionsCommand``, status code: $LASTEXITCODE."^""; } else { $fileStats = $icaclsOutput | ForEach-Object { $_ -match '\d+' | Out-Null; $matches[0] } | Where-Object { $_ -ne $null } | ForEach-Object { [int]$_ }; if ($fileStats.Count -gt 0 -and ($fileStats | ForEach-Object { $_ -eq 0 } | Where-Object { $_ -eq $false }).Count -eq 0) { Write-Host "^""Skipping, no items available for deletion according to: ``$grantPermissionsCommand``."^""; exit 0; } else { Write-Host "^""Successfully granted permissions for `"^""$expandedPath`"^"" (using ``$grantPermissionsCommand``)."^""; }; }; $deletedCount = 0; $failedCount = 0; $skippedCount = 0; $foundAbsolutePaths = @(); try { $foundAbsolutePaths += @(; Get-Item -Path $expandedPath -ErrorAction Stop | Select-Object -ExpandProperty FullName; ); } catch [System.Management.Automation.ItemNotFoundException] { <# Swallow, do not run `Test-Path` before, it's unreliable for globs requiring extra permissions #>; }; $foundAbsolutePaths = $foundAbsolutePaths | Select-Object -Unique | Sort-Object -Property { $_.Length } -Descending; if (!$foundAbsolutePaths) { Write-Host 'Skipping, no items available.'; exit 0; }; Write-Host "^""Initiating processing of $($foundAbsolutePaths.Count) items from `"^""$expandedPath`"^""."^""; foreach ($path in $foundAbsolutePaths) { if (Test-Path -Path $path -PathType Container) { Write-Host "^""Skipping, the path is not a file but a folder: $($path)."^""; $skippedCount++; continue; }; if (-not (Test-Path $path)) { <# Re-check existence as prior deletions might remove subsequent items (e.g., subdirectories). #>; Write-Host "^""Successfully deleted: $($path) (already deleted)."^""; $deletedCount++; continue; }; try { Remove-Item -Path $path -Force -Recurse -ErrorAction Stop; $deletedCount++; Write-Host "^""Successfully deleted: $($path)"^""; } catch { $failedCount++; Write-Warning "^""Unable to delete $($path): $_"^""; }; }; if ($skippedCount -gt 0) { Write-Host "^""Skipped $($skippedCount) items."^""; }; Write-Host "^""Successfully deleted $($deletedCount) items."^""; if ($failedCount -gt 0) { Write-Warning "^""Failed to delete $($failedCount) items."^""; }"
:: Start service: DPS (with state flag)
PowerShell -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Command "$serviceName = 'DPS'; $stateFilePath = '%APPDATA%\privacy.sexy-DPS'; $expandedStateFilePath = [System.Environment]::ExpandEnvironmentVariables($stateFilePath); if (-not (Test-Path -Path $expandedStateFilePath)) { Write-Host "^""Skipping starting the service: It was not running before."^""; } else { try { Remove-Item -Path $expandedStateFilePath -Force -ErrorAction Stop; Write-Host 'The service is expected to be started.'; } catch { Write-Warning "^""Failed to delete the service state file `"^""$expandedStateFilePath`"^"": $_"^""; }; }; $service = Get-Service -Name $serviceName -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; if (!$service) { throw "^""Failed to start service `"^""$serviceName`"^"": Service not found."^""; }; if ($service.Status -eq [System.ServiceProcess.ServiceControllerStatus]::Running) { Write-Host "^""Skipping, `"^""$serviceName`"^"" is already running, no need to start."^""; exit 0; }; Write-Host "^""`"^""$serviceName`"^"" is not running, starting it."^""; try { $service | Start-Service -ErrorAction Stop; Write-Host "^""Successfully started the service: `"^""$serviceName`"^""."^""; } catch { Write-Warning "^""Failed to start the service: `"^""$serviceName`"^""."^""; exit 1; }"
Help

How to apply or restore "Clear System Resource Usage Monitor (SRUM) data" using commands​

  • ≈ 2 min to complete
  • Tools: Command Prompt
  • Difficulty: Medium
  • ≈ 3 instructions
 View step-by-step guide with screenshots
  1. 1

    Open Command Prompt

    Open Command Prompt as Administrator.
  2. 2

    Copy code

    Copy the code:
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  3. 3

    Paste & run

    Paste the commands into Command Prompt and press Enter to run.

    Some changes require a system restart to take effect

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About the Creators​

These people have authored this documentation and written its scripts:

  • Avatar of undergroundwires. The creator of PrivacyLearn and privacy.sexy. Black and white portrait showing a person wearing a polka dot tie and suit jacket, reflecting the professional expertise behind the privacy protection tools.
    • Certified security professional
    • 7+ years experience securing banks
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    • Hundreds across the globe
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    • Companies, military agencies
    • Community since 2017
About Us

Reviewed By​

This guide has undergone comprehensive auditing and peer review:

  • Expert review by undergroundwires​

    • Verified technical accuracy and editorial standards
    • Assessed system impact and user privacy risks

  • Public review by large community​

    • Privacy enthusiasts and professionals peer-reviewed
    • Millions of end-users tested across different environments

History​

We continually monitor our guides, their impact and all other privacy options. We update our guides when new information becomes available. On every update, we publicly store who made the change, what has been changed, why the change was made and when the change was made.

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