Process Priority Helper (WPF)

A simple WPF tool to manage persistent CPU, I/O, and memory page priority overrides for processes on Windows 10/11.

It writes to:

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options\<program.exe>\PerfOptions

Features

• View all current PerfOptions overrides (CPU, I/O, page priority)
• Add/edit overrides with validation and optional advanced values
• Remove overrides (values only or delete the whole PerfOptions key)
• Always uses the 64‑bit registry view on 64‑bit Windows
• Safe relaunch into elevated, 64‑bit, STA desktop host to ensure WPF reliability

Requirements

• Windows 10/11
• PowerShell 5.1 (the script relaunches into 64‑bit powershell.exe with -STA automatically)
• Administrator rights (writes to HKLM)

Install / Run

• Run the packaged executable

  • Download ProcessPriorityHelper.exe
  • Double-click it, and approve the UAC prompt.
  • If Microsoft SmartScreen blocks the executable,
    • Click "More info" in the SmartScreen warning dialog.
    • Click "Run anyway" to allow the executable to run.

• Run the PowerShell script

  • Download ProcessPriorityHelper.ps1
  • Recommended launch (temporary bypass, no policy changes persist):

    powershell.exe -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File ".\ProcessPriorityHelper.ps1"

    The script will relaunch itself as elevated, 64‑bit, and STA if needed.

Optional logging

.\ProcessPriorityHelper.ps1 -LogPath "C:\ProgramData\ProcessPriorityHelper\pph.log"    # Write a UTF‑8 text log
.\ProcessPriorityHelper.ps1 -Quiet                                                     # Suppress console logging

Why relaunch to 64‑bit, STA, elevated?

• 64‑bit: guarantees access to the 64‑bit registry view
• STA: WPF requires STA for reliable UI
• Elevated: writes to HKLM require Administrator

How it works

• Reads and writes DWORD values under HKLM\...\IFEO\<exe>\PerfOptions :
  • CpuPriorityClass (1=Idle, 2=Normal, 3=High, 4=Realtime, 5=Below Normal, 6=Above Normal)
  • IoPriority (0=Very Low, 1=Low, 2=Normal, 3=High)
  • PagePriority (1=Low .. 5=High)
• Changes take effect when the process next starts

Packaging (optional)

• Convert to EXE:

  Install-Module ps2exe -Scope CurrentUser
  Invoke-PS2EXE .\ProcessPriorityHelper.ps1 .\ProcessPriorityHelper.exe -title "Process Priority Helper" -version 1.0.0

License

MIT