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How to Fine-Tune a Custom Power Plan
Updated: May 31, 2012
Applies To: Windows 8, Windows Server 2012
A power plan is a collection of hardware and system settings that manages how computers use and conserve power. You can create custom power plans that are optimized for specific computers.
You can manage most common power plan settings through Control Panel. For more information, see How to Create a Custom Power Plan. To fine-tune hardware-specific configurations that are not configurable through Control Panel, use the PowerCfg tool.
You can customize all configurable Windows power options by using the powercfg command from an elevated command prompt. This includes hardware-specific configurations that are not configurable through Control Panel.
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On your technician computer, at an elevated command prompt, type the following:
powercfg -LIST
The computer will return the list of available power plans. In the following examples, these plans are Balanced and Power saver.
Existing Power Schemes (* Active) ----------------------------------- Power Scheme GUID: {guidPlan1} (Balanced) * Power Scheme GUID: {guidPlan2} (Power saver)Note the GUIDs that are listed next to the power plans that you want to change. You will need these GUIDs to manually update settings and capture the power plans.
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To modify a plan, use the GUID of the power plan that you want to change to set that power plan as the active power plan. For example:
powercfg -SETACTIVE {guidPlan2}
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This section describes how to manually configure other power configuration settings by using the
powercfgcommand. Test these settings to create an optimal power plan for your system.-
At an elevated command prompt, type the following:
powercfg -QUERY
The computer displays information for all of the power settings for this plan.
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Find the GUID for the subgroup of the setting that you want to change. For example, to modify a display setting, find the GUID for the Display subgroup:
Subgroup GUID: {guidSubgroup-Display} (Display) -
Find the GUID for the setting that you want to change. For example, to modify the Display Brightness setting, find the GUID for the (Display brightness) setting:
Power Setting GUID: {guidPowerSetting-Brightness} (Display brightness) -
Review the information from the query command, review the possible settings, and determine a value that works for your computer.
Note You must enter these values by using decimal integers. However, the values appear on the screen as hexadecimal values that are specific to the setting. For example, to set the maximum display brightness to 50 percent brightness, enter the value as 50. When you use the
powercfg -QUERYcommand to confirm the setting, the value appears as 0x00000032.Power Setting GUID: {guidPowerSetting-Brightness} (Display brightness) Minimum Possible Setting: 0x00000000 Maximum Possible Setting: 0x00000064 Possible Settings increment: 0x00000001 Possible Settings units: % Current AC Power Setting Index: 0x00000064 Current DC Power Setting Index: 0x00000032
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Adjust the value for the power setting for times when the computer is plugged in. For example, to set the display brightness level to 100 percent when the computer is plugged in, type the following:
powercfg -SETACVALUEINDEX {guidPlan-New} {guidSubgroup-Display} {guidPowerSetting-Brightness} 100 -
Adjust the value for the power setting for times when the computer is on battery power. For example, to set the display brightness level to 75 percent when the computer is on battery power, type the following:
powercfg -SETDCVALUEINDEX {guidPlan-New} {guidSubgroup-Display} {guidPowerSetting-Brightness} 75 -
Use the Query command to verify the setting. For example:
powercfg -QUERY
The computer shows the new power setting index in hexadecimal notation. For example:
Power Setting GUID: {guidPowerSetting-Brightness} (Display brightness) Minimum Possible Setting: 0x00000000 Maximum Possible Setting: 0x00000064 Possible Settings increment: 0x00000001 Possible Settings units: % Current AC Power Setting Index: 0x00000064 Current DC Power Setting Index: 0x0000004bThe hexadecimal value 0x00000064 represents 100 percent display brightness when the computer is plugged in. The hexadecimal value 0x0000004b represents 75 percent display brightness when the computer is using battery power.
