(Approx. 757 words)

Windows XP Power Management
by Lynn Page, Editor, Crystal River Users Group, Florida
www.crug.com
newsletter(at)crug.com

Obtained from APCUG with the author's permission for publication by APCUG member groups.

If you use a laptop you know the problem of running down the battery before you finish up. But configuring power management can also reduce electrical usage on your desktop computer.

Power Options

By using Power Options, you can reduce the power consumption of your computer devices or the entire system. Choose a Windows power scheme or create your own. You can even adjust the individual settings in a power scheme.

Turn off your monitor and hard disks automatically to save power. 
Put the computer on standby when idle. While on standby, the system switches to a low-power state where devices, like the monitor and hard disks, turn off and the computer uses less power. When you use the computer again, it comes out of standby quickly, and your desktop is restored exactly as you left it. Standby doesn’t save to disk, so a power failure while on Standby can cause lose of unsaved data. 
Put your computer in hibernation. The hibernate feature saves everything in memory on disk, turns off the monitor and hard disk, and then turns off the computer. When restarted the computer restores the desktop as you left it. It takes longer for the computer to come out of hibernation than out of standby. 

Configure Power Management

To configure power management log on as an administrator, open Control Panel from the Start menu and click Performance and Maintenance. Then cick Power Options in the Performance and Maintenance box.

Control Panel Graphic                                        Performance and Maintenace Graphic

In the Power Options Properties dialog box, select the Power Schemes tab. A power Power Options Properties Graphic scheme is a predefined collection of power options. Select the power scheme that most closely matches how you use your computer in the Power schemes drop down menu. The power settings change depending on the power scheme chosen.

The power options available depend on the specific hardware in your computer system. Preset time settings appear in the Turn off monitor and Turn off hard disks lists on the Power Schemes tab. Change these settings by clicking the arrow and clicking the desired time.

After tailoring a power scheme click Save As and type a name to save your personal scheme.

Standby

To automatically put the computer on standby set the time settings displayed in System standby. To turn off your monitor before your computer goes on standby, select a time in Turn off monitor. To turn off your hard disk before your computer goes on standby, select a time in Turn off hard disks.
Power Options 2 Graphic
If you're using a laptop computer, you can specify one setting for battery power and a different one for AC power.

On the Advanced tab, you can adjust how the power buttons function. With a laptop/notebook computer, you have settings for closing the lid of the computer and pressing the sleep button. To manually put your computer on standby on the Advanced tab, under When I press the power button on my computer, click Standby. If you are using a portable computer, click Standby under When I close the lid of my portable computer.

Hibernation

Hibernation is a state in which the computer shuts down to save power but first saves everything in memory on the hard disk. When restarted computer, the desktop is restored.

To automatically put your computer into hibernation select the Hibernate tab, select the Enable hibernate support check box, and click Apply. Then on the Power Schemes tab select a time period in System hibernates.

To manually put your computer into hibernation on the Hibernate tab select the Enable hibernate support check box. Click Start, and then Turn Off Computer. In the Turn Off Computer dialog box, click Hibernate.

Laptop Low Battery Warning

Set Power Options to for a warning alarm when the level of battery reserve power falls below the levels defined as low or critical. You can easily change the battery level at which the alarm or message is activated.

To set a warning alarm select the Alarms tab in Power Options. Specify the settings in Low battery alarm and Critical battery alarm by dragging the sliders. Then click Alarm Action to select the type of alarm notification.

This article has been provided to APCUG by the author solely for publication by APCUG member groups. All other uses require the permission of the author (see e-mail address above).