# Windows Server 2019 plex doesn’t use full CPU power for transcoding

**URL:** <https://forums.plex.tv/t/windows-server-2019-plex-doesn-t-use-full-cpu-power-for-transcoding/688717>\
**Category:** Plex Media Server\
**Tags:** server-windows\
**Created:** [February 9, 2021, 9:47pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/windows-server-2019-plex-doesn-t-use-full-cpu-power-for-transcoding/688717 "2021-02-09T21:47:31Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 8

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**Author:** ![OttoKerner](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/ottokerner/32/10079_2.png) [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)\
**Post date:** [February 21, 2021, 12:49pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/windows-server-2019-plex-doesn-t-use-full-cpu-power-for-transcoding/688717/8 "2021-02-21T12:49:12Z")

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You can use this [PMS as a service](https://forums.plex.tv/t/pms-as-a-service/53381/1)  
or you can use nssm.exe  
Either will work. The latter requires you to install updates manually.

In general, video decoding in hardware won’t work. Windows is preventing services direct access to the hardware drivers which are required for hardware transcoding.

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_[View the full topic](https://forums.plex.tv/t/windows-server-2019-plex-doesn-t-use-full-cpu-power-for-transcoding/688717)._