Switch between several power schemes with a click of the mouse

Before creating shortcuts, make sure that all the power schemes are set up and ready to use. To do this in XP, begin by clicking Start, then click Control Panel and open the Power Options item. In Vista/7, type power options in the Start search box and then press Enter. In XP, a new scheme can be created by changing the power settings in the dropdown boxes then clicking Save As and giving it a name. In Vista/7, click the ‘Create a power plan’ link, select a plan to customise, give it a name, then Next to start the wizard.

Click Start, then point to All Programs, followed by Accessories, then click Notepad. Open the Accessories folder again, right-click on Command Prompt and choose ‘Run as administrator’ (in XP, just click it). Now type powercfg -L and press Enter to see a list of all available power schemes. Press Alt and Space, choose Edit, then click Select All. Press Alt and Space again, choose Edit, then Copy. Switch to Notepad and press Control (Ctrl) and V to paste the copied text, then save the file by pressing Ctrl and S. Return to the Command Prompt window and close it by typing exit and pressing Enter.

Before we can create the shortcut, we need to know the unique Windows identifier for the power scheme. In XP, the schemes are numbered. Although the number is not shown, the schemes are listed in order of their ID (identity) in the Notepad file created in Step 2. The schemes are numbered from 0, starting at the bottom of the list, and schemes that you create are always added to the top. So, in our example, the ‘Home/Office Desk’ scheme is number 0 and ‘My Power Scheme’ is number 6.

In Windows Vista and 7, power schemes are identified using a different system, called a Globally Unique Identifier (GUID). Again, this information was saved in the Notepad file in Step 2. The GUID is a 36-character combination of letters, numbers and dashes, which is why we copied them into a file so that we can easily copy and paste them into our shortcuts: although the GUID is not case-sensitive, typing it is a tedious and error-prone process.

In XP, right-click an empty part of the Windows Desktop and choose New, followed by Shortcut. Determine the ID number of the desired power scheme (see Step 3). For number 6, for example, the following should be typed into the text box: powercfg.exe -S 6 -N (the number must be located between the -S and the -N, and be sure to include the spaces). Click Next and give the shortcut a descriptive name that will help identify it, then click Finish. A new shortcut icon will appear on the Desktop. Repeat this for other schemes for which you would like a shortcut.

In Vista/7, we need the GUID of the power scheme from Step 4. In Notepad, highlight the entire 36-character GUID for the scheme and copy it (press Ctrl and C). Right-click the Desktop, click New, then Shortcut and type powercfg -S in the box. Press Space, then paste the GUID by pressing Ctrl and V. Click Next, type in a name and press Finish. Repeat for additional desired schemes. Now, in order to activate a power scheme, double-click its shortcut. In Windows 7, shortcuts can be dragged and dropped on to the Taskbar. In XP and Vista, they can be added to the Quick Launch toolbar in the same way.