SetPriority - powershell.one

Changes the execution priority of a process.

Example

Do not run below example code just to see what happens next. Many methods seriously affect your system. Always make sure you actually understand what the method and the code do.

# define the arguments you want to submit to the method
# remove values that you do not want to submit
# make sure you replace values with meaningful content before running the code
# see section "Parameters" below for a description of each argument.
$arguments = @{
    Priority        = [SInt32](12345)  # replace 12345 with a meaningful value
}


# select the instance(s) for which you want to invoke the method
# you can use "Get-CimInstance -Query (ADD FILTER CLAUSE HERE!)" to safely play with filter clauses
# if you want to apply the method to ALL instances, remove "Where...." clause altogether.
$query = 'Select * From Win32_Process Where (ADD FILTER CLAUSE HERE!)'
Invoke-CimMethod -Query $query -Namespace Root/CIMV2 -MethodName SetPriority -Arguments $arguments |
Add-Member -MemberType ScriptProperty -Name ReturnValueFriendly -Passthru -Value {
  switch ([int]$this.ReturnValue)
  {
        0        {'Successful completion'}
        2        {'Access denied'}
        3        {'Insufficient privilege'}
        8        {'Unknown failure'}
        9        {'Path not found'}
        21       {'Invalid parameter'}
        default  {'Unknown Error '}
    }
}

To run this method on one or more remote systems, use New-CimSession:

$ComputerName = 'server12','server14'  # adjust to your server names
$Credential   = Get-Credential         # submit a user account with proper permissions

# define the arguments you want to submit to the method
# remove values that you do not want to submit
# make sure you replace values with meaningful content before running the code
# see section "Parameters" below for a description of each argument.
$arguments = @{
    Priority        = [SInt32](12345)  # replace 12345 with a meaningful value
}


$session = New-CimSession -ComputerName $ComputerName -Credential $Credential

# select the instance(s) for which you want to invoke the method
# you can use "Get-CimInstance -Query (ADD FILTER CLAUSE HERE!)" to safely play with filter clauses
$query = 'Select * From Win32_Process Where (ADD FILTER CLAUSE HERE!)'
Invoke-CimMethod -Query $query -Namespace Root/CIMV2 -MethodName SetPriority -Arguments $arguments -CimSession $session |
Add-Member -MemberType ScriptProperty -Name ReturnValueFriendly -Passthru -Value {
  switch ([int]$this.ReturnValue)
  {
        0        {'Successful completion'}
        2        {'Access denied'}
        3        {'Insufficient privilege'}
        8        {'Unknown failure'}
        9        {'Path not found'}
        21       {'Invalid parameter'}
        default  {'Unknown Error '}
    }
}


Remove-CimSession -CimSession $session

Learn more about Invoke-CimMethod and invoking WMI methods.

Syntax

uint32 SetPriority(
  [in] sint32 Priority
);

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
Priority	SInt32	The Priority parameter specifies the new priority class for the process. Values: Idle - Specified for a process whose threads run only when the system is idle. The threads of the process are preempted by the threads of any process running in a higher priority class. An example is a screen saver. The idle-priority class is inherited by child processes. Below Normal - Indicates a process that has priority above IDLE_PRIORITY_CLASS but below NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS. For Windows 2000. Normal - Specified for a process with no special scheduling needs. Above Normal - Indicates a process that has priority above NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS but below HIGH_PRIORITY_CLASS. For Windows 2000. High Priority - Specified for a process that performs time-critical tasks that must be executed immediately. The threads of the process preempt the threads of normal or idle priority class processes. An example is the Task List, which must respond quickly when called by the user, regardless of the load on the operating system. Use extreme care when using the high-priority class, because a high-priority class application can use nearly all available CPU time. Realtime - Specified for a process that has the highest possible priority. The threads of the process preempt the threads of all other processes, including operating system processes performing important tasks. For example, a real-time process that executes for more than a very brief interval can cause disk caches not to flush or cause the mouse to be unresponsive.

Return Value

Returns a value of type UInt32. Return values:

$returnValues = @{
  = 'Successful completion'
  = 'Access denied'
  = 'Insufficient privilege'
  = 'Unknown failure'
  = 'Path not found'
 = 'Invalid parameter'
}

Requirements

To use Win32_Process, the following requirements apply:

PowerShell

Get-CimInstance was introduced with PowerShell Version 3.0, which in turn was introduced on clients with Windows 8 and on servers with Windows Server 2012.

If necessary, update Windows PowerShell to Windows PowerShell 5.1, or install PowerShell 7 side-by-side.

Operating System

Win32_Process was introduced on clients with WindowsÂ Vista and on servers with Windows ServerÂ 2008.

Namespace

Win32_Process lives in the Namespace Root/CIMV2. This is the default namespace. There is no need to use the -Namespace parameter in Get-CimInstance.

Implementation

Win32_Process is implemented in CIMWin32.dll and defined in CIMWin32.mof. Both files are located in the folder C:\Windows\system32\wbem:

explorer $env:windir\system32\wbem
notepad $env:windir\system32\wbem\CIMWin32.mof

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