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This wikiHow teaches you how to change a Windows process' priority in the Task Manager program. Changing a process' priority determines how much of your computer's memory space and resources are devoted to that process.
Prioritizing Tasks in Task Manager
- Start Task Manager by right-clicking on the Start Bar and selecting "Task Manager."
- Click on the Processes tab to adjust process priorities.
- Right-click on the process you want to adjust and select "Set Priority."
- Choose the priority that you want to assign the task.
Steps
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Open Start . Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen.
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Type in task manager . Doing so will search your computer for the Task Manager app.Advertisement
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Click Task Manager . It's the computer monitor-shaped icon at the top of the Start window. Clicking it prompts Task Manager to open.
- You can also open Task Manager by pressing Ctrl + ⇧ Shift + Esc at the same time.
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Click the Details tab. This option is at the top of the Task Manager window, though it may not appear for a few seconds the Task Manager startup.
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Find a process. On the Details tab, scroll down until you find the process for which you want to change the priority.
- If you want to find the process for a currently running program, click the Processes tab, find the program for which you want to change the priority, right-click the program, and click Go to details in the drop-down menu.
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Right-click your selected process. A drop-down menu will appear on top of the process.
- If you came here from the Processes tab, your process should be highlighted.
- If your mouse doesn't have a right-click button, click the right side of the mouse, or use two fingers to click the mouse.
- If your computer uses a trackpad instead of a mouse, use two fingers to tap the trackpad or press the bottom-right side of the trackpad.
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Select Set priority . It's in the middle of the drop-down menu. Selecting it will cause a pop-out menu to appear.
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Select a priority level. Click one of the following options, from fastest to slowest:
- Realtime - Highest priority.
- High
- Above normal
- Normal
- Below normal
- Low - Lowest priority.
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Click Change Priority when prompted. Doing so will confirm your decision and change the selected process' priority.
- Keep in mind that changing a system priority can cause your computer to freeze or crash.
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Close Task Manager. Click the X in the top-right corner of the Task Manager window.
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Community Q&A
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QuestionWhat do I do when it tells me I am not an admin when I'm trying to change priorities?Nikita ManahovCommunity AnswerThat means that you are not logged in as the "Administrator" user, and/or don't have Administrator permissions. To change process priorities, you must have Administrator permissions.
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QuestionHow do I get administrator permissions?CB AndersonCommunity AnswerRight-click on Task Manager during Step 3, and there should be an option to run as administrator.
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QuestionIt says "Access Denied" whenever I try changing priority.Community AnswerYou might be changing priority of some process running with System privileges (e.g. csrss.exe).
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Tips
- When a program freezes, you can use the Task Manager to force-close it. To do so, select the program in the Processes tab of the Task Manager, then click End Task in the bottom-right corner.Thanks
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Warnings
- "Realtime" means this process has exclusive rights to the system resources above all else, including normal window processes. This means that of all the priority options, "Realtime" is the most likely to make your computer crash.Thanks
- On slower computers and with some high memory usage programs, changing process priorities may crash your computer.Thanks
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About This Article
Article Summary
X
1. Open the Task Manager.
2. Click the Details
tab.
3. Right-click a process.
4. Click Set Priority
.
5. Select a priority level.
6. Click Change priority
.
7. Repeat for other processes.
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Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 569,699 times.
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