If you recently purchased a laptop and want to fine tune your power settings for different states like plugged in or on battery, then I'll explain all the different power options available in Windows vii and Windows eight. Both operating systems have pretty much the same power options, so I'll use screenshots of Windows 7 for the article.

To configure any of the ability options, you commencement have to go to Start, then Control Console, then click on Ability Options. In Windows 8.i, just right-click on the new Outset Button and select Control Panel from there.

power options control panel

Now you'll be brought to the master Power Options dialog, which put ability plans front and middle. Microsoft has really simplified this downward from the previous power schemes that used to be in Windows XP and Vista. Now there are two principal ones and a third, which is subconscious but can be viewed if you click the View boosted plans button.

power options

By default, Windows will be set to use the Balanced power program. Y'all can change that,  merely first allow's have a expect at all the options along the left side.

– Require a countersign on wakeup – This one is pretty self-explanatory, but a little confusing because it depends on whether or not yous have a password set for your user account. If y'all do, then when you lot come back from sleep or hibernate, you lot'll take to enter your password. If y'all don't have a countersign for your user account, then requiring a password here won't make any difference and you'll still exist able to login, then that's worth noting.

password on wakeup

– Choose what the power buttons practice – This brings y'all to the aforementioned screen as the previous option, only information technology's just the summit section. Hither you can cull if you want the estimator to Slumber or Shutdown or Do Nothing when yous press the power or sleep buttons or shut the hat. You can cull different options when you're on battery and when you're plugged in.

what power buttons do

– Cull what endmost the lid does – Not certain why this is hither considering it brings y'all to the same set of options equally above.

– Create a power plan – If you don't like the three default power plans or if you desire to edit the default settings for one of those three power plans, and so this is where you can do it. To create a new plan, requite information technology a proper name and choose one of the plans as a starting point. Basically, yous can adjust the timings for when the reckoner display turns off and when the computer goes to sleep.

create power plan

– Choose when to turn off the brandish – This link will bring you to the aforementioned screen that y'all go to when you click the Modify plan settings link adjacent to the currently selected power program. I'll explain those options there.

– Change when the figurer sleeps – Aforementioned set of options as the above link. Will explain below.

Now to really see what your power settings are, become alee and click on the Modify plan settings link next to the power programme that is currently selected.

change plan settings

The basic options you lot can change are when the display turns off and when the calculator goes to slumber. For the Balanced plan, the default settings are shown higher up. To edit more settings, click the Change advanced power settings link.

advanced power settings

Here you can pretty much edit all the settings associated with that power program. Some options are self-explanatory, but some demand a little flake of description.

i. Under Hard Disk, you'll see the option to Plow off hard deejay afterward a set amount of time for battery and ability. Annotation that this is different than the screen before where you chose the fourth dimension when you wanted the computer to go to slumber. As y'all can see in my ability settings, the hard drives will turn off at 10/20 minutes, but the figurer won't slumber till 15/30 minutes on bombardment and ability respectively. So first the drives will turn off and after a little flake of fourth dimension, the estimator will then go to sleep.

2. Under Wireless Adapter Settings, make certain Maximum Performance is selected for Plugged In.

3. If yous're having issues with your Windows vii not going to sleep or staying asleep, make sure you Disable wake timers for both battery and power.

disable wake timers

iv. There is normally no demand to mess with certain settings like USB Settings, PCI Express, Processor Ability Direction and Multimedia Settings unless you really empathise the technical aspects.

five. Under Battery, y'all tin can adjust what happens to your computer when it reaches certain battery states like Critical, Depression, etc. You can too accommodate the percentage for those bombardment states if yous like. By default, low is 10% battery left and disquisitional is v%. You can accept the computer get to sleep, hibernate, shut down or do nothing when these different states are reached.

battery power

If someone else changed your power settings and y'all simply want to go them dorsum to the default values become ahead and click on the Restore plan defaults button. Also, make sure to click the Change settings that are currently unavailable link at the top to see all ability options because some are hidden as they require administrator privileges to modify. In my example, I didn't meet any new options, but it depends on the reckoner.

Hopefully, this will give you enough info on how power options piece of work in Windows 7 and Windows 8 so that you can maximize your bombardment life when on battery and reduce ability usage when plugged in. If you lot have any question near the power options, leave us a annotate. Savor!