Gallery: Extend PC battery life in Vista

Open Windows Vista’s Control Panel by clicking on the Start button followed by the Control Panel link. In the pane to the left of the Control Panel window, click on the Classic View link so that all available options are visible and then locate and double-click on the Power Options icon. Here you’ll find a choice of three predefined power schemes, each of which provides a different balance of computer performance and energy-saving. Each plan can be customised as required, but start by selecting one of the radio buttons below the ‘Preferred plans’ heading.

With one of the built-in power plans selected, it is possible to customise it as necessary – simply click on one of the three ‘Change plan settings’ links. To start with, it is only possible to adjust two basic settings. After a certain period of inactivity, Vista can automatically switch off the monitor to save power. You can select this time limit from the first of the two dropdown menus. Similarly, use the second menu to choose how long Windows should wait before putting the computer into sleep mode.

A wide range of additional power options can be accessed by clicking on the link labelled ‘Change advanced power settings’. Click on the ‘+’ (plus) sign next to each of the entries in the list to display further options relating to the existing power plan. The first option makes it possible to password-protect the computer when it is woken from sleep mode so other people won’t be able to log in without supplying a valid password. The options beneath this can be used to switch off hard disks after a period of inactivity and balance the power use and performance of wireless network cards.

In the sleep section it is possible to configure how long Vista should wait before putting the computer to sleep, and how long it should wait before switching to hibernation mode. The USB settings can be used to suspend USB devices when Vista goes to sleep. The ‘Power buttons and lid’ section lets you choose what action the physical buttons on the computer’s case should perform and, perhaps most importantly, change the default action of the power button that appears in the Start menu.

To reduce power consumption, Vista can reduce the performance of the computer: in the ‘Processor power management’ section, for example, the minimum and maximum speeds of the processor can be configured. To save power when running a notebook on its battery, this section can be used to prevent it from using its processor at full speed. This should increase its battery life. Further power-saving and performance-balancing can be achieved by adjusting how much time Windows should dedicate to keeping its search index up to date.

If a Vista PC is connected to a network then other computers on the network will no longer be able to access shared files when it enters sleep mode. This can be particularly annoying if big media files are being shared between computers. The final option in ‘Advanced settings’ can be used to prevent sleep mode from being activated while media files are being shared. With all options configured, click on OK followed by Save Changes.

Some of the settings that have been configured using the Advanced settings dialogue box can also be configured using the shortcuts in the panel to the left-hand side of the Power Options window. Click on one of the links labelled ‘Require a password on wakeup’ or ‘Choose what the power buttons do’ to configure the power and sleep buttons or password protection. To prevent against accidentally entering sleep mode, it is a good idea to set the sleep button to ‘Do nothing’.

If you find that none of the default power plans includes the ideal options or you want to be able to switch easily between a built-in power plan and a custom one, click on the link labelled ‘Create a power plan’. After entering a name for the plan, choose one of the existing plans as a basis, click on Next and configure the basic options. Use the instructions provided in the previous steps here to configure more advanced options and completely customise the power plan.

While a properly configured power plan and a user account password can prevent opportunists from viewing your personal files, it is also a good idea to enable a screensaver so that the contents of the screen can automatically be hidden when not in use. Click on the Personalization link to the lower left of the Power Options window followed by Screen Saver. Select the screensaver to be used and indicate how long Windows should wait before displaying it. Password-protection can be enabled by ticking the box labelled ‘On resume, display logon screen’.

When you want to shut down Vista, don’t wait for the selected power scheme to kick in – just use the shutdown options on the Start menu. Click on the Start orb and the red power button will perform the action assigned to it in step four or seven. To access additional power down options, such as manual hibernation or sleep mode, click on the arrow button to the lower-right of the Start menu and make a selection from the menu that appears.

When you want to shut down Vista, don’t wait for the selected power scheme to kick in – just use the shutdown options on the Start menu. Click on the Start orb and the red power button will perform the action assigned to it in step four or seven. To access additional power down options, such as manual hibernation or sleep mode, click on the arrow button to the lower-right of the Start menu and make a selection from the menu that appears.