What Is a Button Monitor?

A button monitor utility keeps track of your printer's status.

A button monitor is a utility that monitors the state of the buttons on a computer's case or on a peripheral such as a printer. A button monitor utility may be able to tell whether a device is on or off and can also keep track of important settings. It may also send information to other utilities.

Button Monitor Processes

Button monitor utilities usually run in the background; you may never become aware of them unless you happen to look at the processes your computer is running. The exact details of what a button monitor utility does will depend on the utility and the associated peripheral; some simply collect and process information about the state of the buttons on a device, while others may then send this information to other programs. Some button monitors may launch automatically when your computer starts up or when a device is activated. Others you may have to start yourself.

Example of a Button Monitor

One example of a button monitor is dlbtbmon.exe. This is a small executable file associated with Dell printers, which monitors the status of the buttons on your printer. This diagnostic utility does not run automatically; you need to launch it. It is not a Windows system file and is not essential for your printer.

Button Monitor Problems

Button monitors can sometimes cause problems. Normally they run unnoticeably in the background, taking up very little disk space and requiring minimal processor power. Sometimes button monitors can clash with other software, cause errors or stop working properly. This can interfere with the smooth running of your system.

Fixing Problems

In some cases, you can simply uninstall a button monitor program without causing any major problems other than a minor loss of functionality. Re-installing or updating the program may also solve your problems -- typically, you can do this by downloading the program you need from the website of the company that makes it.

References

• PC Pitstop Process Library: Dlbtbmon.exe
• PC Pitstop Process Library: Buttonmonitor.exe
• ProcessLibrary.com: What is Dlbtbmon.exe?

Resources

• Bleeping Computer: Dbtmon.exe -- Program Information