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Winamp 5 - Troubleshooting

Movies Playing Slow? Change the Priority

SUMMARY: Speed up Winamp 5 if it has difficulty playing movies and other multimedia files at full-speed.

If your multimedia files are playing slowly in Winamp 5, you can try speeding up Winamp at the expense of other software programs' speed. This is done by increasing Winamp's processor priority class from Normal to a higher class, presumably focusing more of the computer's attention on running Winamp and less on other activities. While this can be done via the Windows Task Manager, this tip shows how to do so from Winamp itself.

Note that changing process priority is not necessarily recommended by Winamp or MalekTips, and may result in your computer becoming unresponsive. Make sure you have no other running applications or open documents first!

1. Access the "Winamp Preferences" dialog box. You can click on the "Main Menu" button, choosing "Options" - "Preferences". Or, right-click on the title bar and choose "Options" - "Preferences". Or, press Ctrl + P.


Accessing Winamp 5 Preferences



2. When the "Winamp Preferences" dialog box appears, click "General Preferences" in the left side of the window.

3. In the right side of the window, underneath "Priority Class", raise the slider from "Normal" to "High" or "Realtime" (be careful!).


Changing Winamp 5's priority class



4. Click "Close" to close the dialog box.

This tip was written regarding Winamp 5.57 on a Windows XP machine. Features, information, and screenshots may differ between versions and operating systems.

Return to the Winamp 5 - Troubleshooting page.

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The MalekTips website was created in 1998 by Andrew Malek of Envision Programming. The page's goal is to freely disperse computer-related tips, hints, and informative articles. Tips are organized to be easy to find, and are presented clearly, in easy-to-understand language. MalekTips also provides information and links to public-domain, open source, freeware, shareware, and commercial software available for download. < more >