Help me control my Windows
January 23, 2009 9:55 AM Subscribe
How do I adjust how Windows XP gives individual windows/applications priority?
For example, when Internet Explorer is slow in loading a site, I might switch to Word or something else and begin to type. Then Internet Explorer rears it's head when it's loaded the site.... in the middle of my typing, taking priority over Word (or whatever application I want to stay on top). Windows has gotten so complex, I'm not sure how to tweak such basic stuff anymore.
For example, when Internet Explorer is slow in loading a site, I might switch to Word or something else and begin to type. Then Internet Explorer rears it's head when it's loaded the site.... in the middle of my typing, taking priority over Word (or whatever application I want to stay on top). Windows has gotten so complex, I'm not sure how to tweak such basic stuff anymore.
From the task manager, right-click on a process and choose a priority from the list. It's probably safer to lower the priority of certain processes than to raise the priority of others. Setting a process to "real time" is not a good idea.
posted by sanko at 10:02 AM on January 23, 2009
posted by sanko at 10:02 AM on January 23, 2009
Best answer: Sanko: I don't think he wants to mess with Scheduling priority. I believe what he wants is to adjust Focus priority.
PunkFloyd: You can try using TweakUI, but really, in the end, there isn't much you can do. Applications are written by people who think there app is always the most important app so they don't always follow the guidelines. Internet Explorer is no exception. If you think Windows is complex as a user, trust me when I say its even more complex for developers writing to the win32 API. Its actually hard to write apps that always do the right thing.
Don't mess with Process scheduling (by using Task Manager). You will not be able to do a better job than the NT Kernal can.
posted by jeffamaphone at 10:16 AM on January 23, 2009
PunkFloyd: You can try using TweakUI, but really, in the end, there isn't much you can do. Applications are written by people who think there app is always the most important app so they don't always follow the guidelines. Internet Explorer is no exception. If you think Windows is complex as a user, trust me when I say its even more complex for developers writing to the win32 API. Its actually hard to write apps that always do the right thing.
Don't mess with Process scheduling (by using Task Manager). You will not be able to do a better job than the NT Kernal can.
posted by jeffamaphone at 10:16 AM on January 23, 2009
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posted by nomisxid at 10:02 AM on January 23, 2009 [1 favorite]