Windows 8 Power Management
Windows 8’s power options are configured via the Power Options control panel available on any kind of computer in Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Power Options. There are different ways to access this control panel in Windows Vista and depends on whether you were using a laptop or a desktop PC. Type power options into Start Menu Search to get there quickly, regardless of the kind of PC you have. The control panel shows a selection of two of the three power plans but you may see different options if your PC maker cons its own custom plan. On the left side of the window are a number of power management–related tasks. If you are using a laptop of any kind, navigate through each of these options to ensure that your system is configured the way you want it. Desktop PC users can also quickly access the screen brightness settings directly from this window.
Requiring a Password on Wakeup
“Require a password on wakeup” varies slightly according to your system’s capabilities. There’s more to it beyond the password option hinted at in the link. When viewing this page on a typical laptop, you’ll see options that are directly related to the additional hardware buttons and features included with laptops. On this page, you can modify how Windows 8 reacts when you press the PC’s power button, press the sleep button, or when you close the lid on laptops configured with a lid-based display.
Each of these options has different settings for when the system is operating on battery power versus plugged in. Adding to the “Require a password on wakeup” option, this dialog also includes a single wakeup-related option that determines whether you need to log on again each time the system wakes up after being in the sleep state. Windows 8 does require you to log on again to unlock the computer as a security measure by default. We recommend that you leave this feature enabled, especially if you are using a laptop and often access it during travels.
Returning to the Power Options Display
The following additional options are available on the left side of the window for Returning to the Power ptions display:
Choose What the Power Buttons Do
Choose What the Power Buttons Do option triggers the same display as Returning to the Power options. The top half of the dialog relates to this option.
Choose What Closing the Lid Does
Choose What Closing the Lid Does option, available only on laptops with a lid, also brings you to the same dialog described above. Yes, the three different options all land on the same display and was carried over from Windows Vista to Windows 8 with no changes at all, thanks to the wizards at Microsoft.
Create a Power Plan
When you click Create a Power Plan, you are brought to the Create a Power Plan page, a short wizard you can use to create your own power plan:
1. Choose the preset power plan—Balanced, Power Saver, or High Performance—that you would like to base your plan on. Name the plan and click the Next button.
2. Specify when the system will dim the display, turn off the display, and put the system to sleep, on both battery power and when plugged in. Note that desktop PCs will show only a single option for each, as these PCs are always plugged in. You may not see a “Dim the display” option on desktop PCs either.
Note that the short wizard you just used does not provide access to all of the power management options you can configure. To modify your custom plan or an existing preset plan, click the Change plan settings link next to the plan name in question. This prompts a dialog that is similar to the second phase of the wizard just described, but with one difference: there is now a Change advanced power settings link. Click that link to modify other settings. Doing so will prompt the Power Options Advanced settings dialog. The Power Options Advanced settings window can be confusing since the window itself is not resizable, thus providing only a tiny 1x1” view of the many power management features you can customize. What’s more annoying is that you have to expand nodes in a tree control to find all the options. However, if you’re serious about modifying a power plan then it is worth your time.
Power Management options available via this dialog:
Balanced/Power saver/High performance
This setting, named after the power plan you’re changing, allows you to configure whether the system requires a password when it wakes from sleep. Laptops divide this option into two sub-options: one for when the system is plugged in and one for when it’s attached to a power source. The default option is Yes for both, and it is recommended that you leave them alone unless you know that you are dealing with private data stored on your PC and have a clue on what you are doing.
Hard disk
Use the Hard disk option to configure the hard disk to wind down after a period of time to preserve power. Laptops have separate options for battery and plugged in. On battery, you want this time to be low, maybe five minutes, but you should also configure a desktop PC or plugged-in laptop to wind down the hard drive after a short period as well, if only to conserve power consumption.
Desktop background settings
This Desktop background setting determines what should happen when you’re using a desktop theme with multiple images, like in a slide show. There are two settings, one for battery power, and one for plugged in, and two possibilities for both: Available, which leaves background image changing on, and Paused, which prevents the background from changing to save battery power.
Wireless Adapter Settings
This Wireless adapter setting option may seem fairly obscure, but it can affect the performance of your wireless card (a common feature in laptops) and the PC. This feature is of interest only to laptop users. Under most power management plans, the wireless adapter is set to run with maximum performance by default.
The only exception is the Power Saver plan, on battery power: in this mode, the wireless adapter is configured to run under maximum power-saving mode, which conserves power by lowering the effectiveness of the wireless radio. You can configure this option as follows: Maximum Performance, Low Power Saving, Medium Power Saving, and Maximum Power Saving. To be honest, this might be too tedious for most people, and there is little success determining what effects each state really has on power management and performance overall. We recommend leaving this setting at its default, based on which power plan you based your own plan on.