switch power schemes automatically when changing to or from battery power

in windows xp it was smart enough to figure out that when i was on battery power, it should run in powersaver and when i was plugged in, it should run on high performance.

i cant see a setting to make windows 7 do this and must make sure i click into power options and select the scheme each time.

this is made more annoying because the quick menu only shows balanced + powersaver or balanced + high perforrmance. so i have to click 3 or 4 times just to change the power scheme.

frustrating that it doesn't do this by itself when it used to. i cannot understand why a common-sense feature like this was removed. also the CPU throttling does not appear to work at all, as it shows 1.6ghz instead of 800mhz when on powersaver, and this feature worked fine in windows XP.

if these two things were fixed i might find windows 7 usable.

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Answer

Amrita M

Hi,

Welcome to Microsoft Answers!

In Windows 7 we have three different power plan settings, which you may choose according to your convenience. You may also customize the power plans and also create a new power plan according to your need.

To create a new power plan:

1. Open Power Options by clicking the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Security, and then clicking Power Options.

2. In the left pane, click Create a power plan.

3. On the Create a power plan page, select the plan that's closest to the type of plan that you want to create.

4. In the Plan name box, type a name for the plan, such as "Giving a presentation," and then click Next.

5. On the Change settings for the plan page, choose the display and sleep settings that you want to use when your computer is running on battery and when it's plugged in.

To keep your display turned on during presentations

· Change the Turn off display after setting to Never for both On battery and Plugged in.

To keep your laptop awake during presentations

· Change the Put the computer to sleep setting to Never for both On Battery and Plugged in.

6. Click Create.

If you're using a laptop, your plan appears under Plans shown on the battery meter. If you're using a desktop computer, your plan appears under Preferred Plans. The plan that you based your new plan on is moved, and appears under Additional plans

For more details on Power plan settings follow the links below

Power plans: frequently asked questions

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Power-plans-frequently-asked-questions

Change, create, or delete a power plan (scheme)

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/Change-create-or-delete-a-power-plan-scheme

Unleash the power of your laptop

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Unleash-the-power-of-your-laptop

Hope this information is helpful.

Amrita M

Microsoft Answers Support Engineer
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