Change Foreground and Background Task Priority (Windows NT/2000)

This setting is used to manage the relative priority between foreground and background applications, this is normally accessed through Control Panel > System > Performance.

This tweak can be easily applied using WinGuides Tweak Manager. Download a free trial now!

Open your registry and find the key below.

Modify the existing value, or create a new value, called "Win32PrioritySeparation" and set it to a valid DWORD value from the information below.

Windows NT Workstation

• 0 - foreground and background threads get the same amount of processor time
• 1 - foreground processes get more processor time than background processes
• 2 - Foreground processes get much more processor time than background processes

Windows NT Server

The processor time that threads receive is fixed and the value instead determines the priority boost given to foreground processes, with 2 being the highest boost.

		(Default)	REG_SZ	(value not set)
		Win32PrioritySeparation	REG_DWORD	0x00000002 (2)

	HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Priority...

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Disclaimer: Modifying the registry can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. We cannot guarantee that problems resulting from modifications to the registry can be solved. Use the information provided at your own risk.