Power Settings
Below are instructions for changing the power settings on a windows XP laptop. Please note however that only the tech department has the ability to change the power settings on the student laptops.
Directions
- Right click on an empty area of your desktop. The following menu will appear.
Click on Properties. - In the window that opens, click on the "Screen Saver" tab to bring up the following options
Click on the "Power ..." Button - In the resulting window, adjust the settings to your needs. Please remember that you may need to change both the "Plugged in" and the "Running on batteries" settings. Your options may also include an additional option for Hibernation.
Explanation & Suggestions
- Turn Off Monitor
- This option sets the time period of non-use after which the monitor goes black. Coming back from this state is almost instantaneous, and will result in your computer being exactly as you left it. This reduces the power needed by the monitor by about half.
We recommend 10 or 15 minutes for Plugged in use and 5 minutes for on battery use. - Turn off hard disks
- This options sets the time period of non-use after which the hard drives spin down. After the monitor, the Hard drives typically use the most power. Coming back from this state can take a second or so as the hard drive spins itself up to speed, and resets itself.
We recommend 30 minutes for Plugged in use and 5 minutes for on battery use. - System Standby
- This option sets the time period of non-use after which the entire system goes into Standby mode. In Standby mode all of the system's systems are shut down with the exception of keeping your current state in memory. Coming back from this state can take up to about 10 seconds. A laptop with a full battery can typically last over a day on standby mode. Because your network connections are shut down while in Standby mode, any connections will be terminated, this includes FirstClass. When your system returns from Standby mode you will be asked for our password. You may need to wait about 10 seconds before entering your password for the network connection to reestablish itself.
We recommend Never for Plugged in use and 30 minutes for on battery use. - System Hibernates
- This option sets the time period of non-use after which the system enters Hibernation. In Hibernation, your current state is saved to disk, and your entire system shuts off. Coming back from this state can take about 30 seconds. A laptop with a full battery can typically last over a month in hibernation. As with Standby mode you will need to enter your password, and may need to wait for your network connection to reestablish itself.
We recommend Never for Plugged in use and 1 hour for on battery use.