How to Change Process Priorities in Windows Task Manager

Written by Jack Lloyd

Last Updated: November 2, 2024 Tested

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

Download Article

Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen.
Doing so will search your computer for the Task Manager app.

Advertisement
3
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.
This option is at the top of the Task Manager window, though it may not appear for a few seconds the Task Manager startup.
5
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.
6
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.
It's in the middle of the drop-down menu. Selecting it will cause a pop-out menu to appear.
8
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.
9
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.
Click the X in the top-right corner of the Task Manager window.

Community Q&A

Search

Add New Question

Question

What do I do when it tells me I am not an admin when I'm trying to change priorities?

Nikita Manahov

Community Answer

That 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.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 65 Helpful 17
Question

How do I get administrator permissions?

CB Anderson

Community Answer

Right-click on Task Manager during Step 3, and there should be an option to run as administrator.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 31 Helpful 13
Question

It says "Access Denied" whenever I try changing priority.

Community Answer

You might be changing priority of some process running with System privileges (e.g. csrss.exe).

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 45 Helpful 23

See more answers

Ask a Question

200 characters left

Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.

Submit

Video

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
Helpful 1 Not Helpful 1

Submit a Tip

All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published

Name

Please provide your name and last initial

Submit

Thanks for submitting a tip for review!

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
Helpful 2 Not Helpful 0
On slower computers and with some high memory usage programs, changing process priorities may crash your computer.

Thanks
Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0