Windows Tip: Set priorities to application tasks
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed to receive the latest updates. Thanks for visiting!
Ever felt helpless when an anti-spyware program slows down your computer killing the program you’re currently using?
There have been times when an unneeded application pops up when you’re doing something very important on another one. You get annoyed, turn the program off.. but the work you did on the other app is gone, or the app is not responding.
Here’s a tip that’ll tell Windows to give more importance and resources to your favourite program.
- Press CTRL + ALT + DELETE to fire up the Windows Task Manager
- Click on the tab Processes
- Locate the application process, right click and select Real time, high, normal, above normal, below normal or low.
- Windows will now allot system resources like RAM, etc. to the ones that you set to top priority
For example, if you use an anti-virus that sits in the system tray eating up resources, you could change its priority to low and save things for the apps you want.
As the dialog warns, this tweak can result in system instability at times. Do it at your own risk. Did that prove useful?
Popularity: 1% [?]
huh.. I’ve seen that lots of time..Didn’t know it actually works.. Never tried :p
Never tried it. Generally I run AVs when I step out of my system.
Wow! Never noticed that. Thanks for sharing. Will come in handy someday
Interesting. Thanks for sharing.
another great post shankar,
uhh this might be a typo but:
As the dialog warns, this tweak can result in system instability at times. Do it at your “won” risk.
Last paragraph =)
~Lost
That’s a really useful tip.
nice small handy tip i never cared about setting up priorties…it would save some cpu processing.
I’m glad you guys found it useful
@Nirmal: Me too, but this may help when your antivirus tool runs in the background.
@Lost: Thanks for pointing out, fixed it.
[...] One more windows tip from Shankar : Set priorities to application tasks [...]
Cool tip, Shankar! I have to try this..
I usually use the task manager only to end a certain program that refuses to let go of it’s ram even after it has crashed but this tip is will certainly come in handy! Thanks!
[...] Set priorities to application tasks in Windows [...]
Nothing new here. Now if you could teach us how to save those priority settings so every time some service starts up, it’s priority is set to that I chose from there myself last time it ran, that would be useful.
For example if you are setting that low priority to that iTunesHelper for the 100th time, it get’s really dull.
I never tried the “Set Priority” portion. This tip would be a boon for me. I suggest you republish selected posts (or at least links to them) on killertips blog.