Programs listed in Task Manager CPU use moving up and down

[jmt356]

After I recently and unsuccessfully attempted to upgrade to Windows 8.1, Task Manager in Windows 8 did not display constantly shifting programs in the Processes tab, with some going up and down in the list based on their CPU use, as the Task Manager traditionally did. Rather, the items were all frozen as if in a cross section photograph, changing their positions in the list of CPU users only if I pressed f5 to update the list.

Today, I launched Task Manager and the programs are again constantly shifting positions based on their CPU use. How can I revert to the previous setting, which displayed the programs as a cross section that were not all moving up and down?

[HansV]

You can sort the list by clicking on a column header. If the list is sorted by CPU usage, items will move up and down as their CPU usage changes. If the list is sorted by name, the list will be more static.

[jmt356]

Since I tried to upgrade to Windows 8.1 a few weeks ago, the items in the list stopped moving up and down, even when they were sorted by CPU usage. I came to like that view because it is difficult for me to catch the items when they are moving up and down to right click and terminate them. Yesterday, however, they randomly started moving up and down again. I wonder if there is a way to revert to the previous view where they were static, yet still sorted by CPU usage.

[HansV]

That is rather strange - if the list is sorted by CPU usage, the item with the highest CPU usage should be at the top. Since this changes all the time, items should be moving up and down all the time.

[Leif]

My ready of JMT's last post is that, yes - he wants the list sorted by CPU usage, but also wants to be able to 'freeze' the display so that it doesn't change.

Short of making a screen grab, I can't see how that would be doable.

The nearest thing I can think of is that once the columns are sorted on CPU, single-clicking the name of an application should highlight the row, which makes it slightly easier to track visually.

[Argus]

[...]if the list is sorted by CPU usage, the item with the highest CPU usage should be at the top. Since this changes all the time, items should be moving up and down all the time.

I agree; that's the whole purpose (of having it sorted by CPU usage).

The only way to completely freeze the display when sorted by CPU usage would be to pause Task Manager; View menu > Update Speed.
(Then it's a different matter that it quickly becomes obsolete, of little interest.)

(Maybe that's what jmt356 had done earlier.)

[jmt356]

Argus, thank you for that. Apparently, the Task Manager was set to Pause under View | Update Speed. That is the view that was in place for several weeks before 11 Aug. I am not sure why, after attempting to upgrade to Windows 8.1, it became set to Pause, nor do I know why on 11 Aug. it was set back to Normal.

I have set it back to Pause, which enables me to more easily manipulate the various items displayed (right-click, expand, etc.), while allowing me to update the status of CPU usage by pressing f5.