Adjust Power Settings in a Windows Vista

In Windows Vista, laptop owners can now choose and even make power plans to their preference. Depending on whether you have to make the most of the laptop or you want a short session to watch videos or photos, choosing a power plan for your laptop is a useful tool to know.

 

 

Default Power Plans

1. Decide what you are going to be using your laptop for. If you're always in reach of a plug-in unit for the AC cable, then maybe this isn't for you. But for notebook users with so much to do on a limited battery life, or gamers on an extended amount of time, power options are recommended.Â
2. Select Start>Control Panel.
3. Click Mobile PC, or Change battery settings, the sub-heading (skip to Step 5).
4. Select Power Options.
5. Review the range of available plans displayed in the window with their corresponding stats judged on Battery life and Performance.
6. Decide which option is best for you:
   • For people on the go (i.e. frequent business trips), Power saver would be the best plan for you, as it saves energy by reducing your computer's performance where possible.
   • For people who are not worried about setting a power plan, or who have convenient access to an AC cable in most situations (i.e. at home), choose a Balanced plan which balances performance with energy consumption on available hard ware.
   • Or if you're going to be running applications which use high-end graphics or speed, choose the High performance power option which favors performance where necessary, but may use more energy.
7. Choose your preferred power plan by simply clicking on the bullet point corresponding to a plan.

Custom Power Plans

1. Start from Step 5 in the Default Power Plans section of this article. Select Create a power plan from the left pane of the window.Â
2. Choose out of Balanced, Power saver, or High performance which is closest to what you would like, and name the plan you are about to create (default is My Custom Plan 1). Now you can adjust the settings judged by On battery and Plugged in in order to suit your preferences:
   • How long it will take for the display to turn off
   • How long it will take for the computer to sleep
   • How bright the screen will be
3. Click Create to make the power plan.Â

Tips

• See Save Power on a Laptop for more information on how to get the most out of a laptop running on battery alone.
• If you've opted to display your battery info in the system tray, you can edit your power options from there. See which power plan you've got running quickly by floating your mouse pointer over the power icon.Â
• Clicking on the actual icon will bring up a quick menu with a set of radio buttons, and you can hover over each one to see the ToolTip describing what they entail. Change your power options on the fly if you're frequently docking and undocking your laptop. Â