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HP Desktop PCs - Managing Power Options (Windows 10)

Working with Windows power plans

Shutting down your computer

Using Sleep mode

Adding or removing Sleep or Hibernate shutdown options

Enabling Away Mode when sharing media files

Changing the power and sleep button settings

Using the Power troubleshooter to fix problems

This document pertains to HP and Compaq desktop computers using Windows 10.

This document provides information about working with Windows power plans. In addition, this document provides methods for shutting down your computer, using various power modes, and troubleshooting power issues.

Working with Windows power plans

A power plan is a collection of hardware and system settings that manage how your computer uses power. You can use power plans to reduce the amount of power your computer uses, maximize performance, or balance the two. The power management options available on your computer might be slightly different than those shown in this document.

Windows provides the following default plans to help you manage your power usage:

Power Plan	Description
Balanced (recommended)	Automatically balances performance with energy consumption.
Power saver	Saves power by reducing system performance.
High performance	Maximizes system performance and responsiveness.

Selecting a power plan

To select a power plan, complete the following steps:

In Windows, search for and open Power Options.
In the Choose or customize a power plan window, select the power plan you want to use.

note:
Some computers might have custom plans that also display in this window.

Figure : Power plan options
Close the Choose or customize a power plan window.

Changing a power plan

You can change specific settings in any of the power plans. To change power plan settings, complete the following steps:

In Windows, search for and open Power Options.
In the Choose or customize a power plan window, click Change plan settings next to the plan you want to change.

Figure : Changing plan settings
On the Change settings for the plan window, choose the display and sleep settings you want to use.
To change more power settings, click Change advanced power settings.

Figure : Changing the display and sleep settings
On the Advanced settings tab, expand the category you want to customize, expand each setting you want to change, then choose the values you want to use.

Figure : Changing the advanced power settings
When done, click OK, then click Save changes.

Creating your own power plan

You can create your own power plan according to the performance you need from your computer. For example, to use your computer for watching movies, you might create a High Performance power plan named Movies, then switch to that plan when desired. Follow the steps below to create your own power plan.

In Windows, search for and open Power Options.
In the left pane, click Create a power plan.

Figure : Create a power plan option
On the Create a power plan window, select a plan that has features you want to use in the power plan you are creating, enter a name for the new plan in the Plan name box, then click Next.

Figure : Creating a power plan
Select the sleep and display settings you want to apply, then click Create. The new plan is displayed in the Choose or customize a power plan window.

Figure : New power plan name is displayed
Close the Choose or customize a power plan window.

Shutting down your computer

This section provides three different procedures for shutting down your computer.

Shutting down your computer

Use this option to shut down your computer under normal operating conditions. A normal shutdown closes any open programs, signs you out of the computer, and then turns the computer off. This shutdown method allows your computer to be quickly started the next time you sign in.

To perform a normal shutdown, do the following:

Right-click the Windows icon in the bottom left corner.
Select Shut down or sign out, then click Shut down.

Figure : Shutting down

Restarting your computer

The restart process shuts down your computer and automatically restarts into a new sign-in session. Use this option after installing software that requires a system restart (for example, some types of drivers, Windows updates, and virus scanning software).

To restart your computer, do the following:

Right-click the Windows icon in the bottom left corner.
Select Shut down or sign out, then click Restart.

Figure : Performing Restart

Restarting to Choose an option screen

A normal restart of the computer takes you to the Windows sign-in screen. If you want to get to Troubleshooting options, including restore, recovery, and reset options, do the following:

note:
The Choose an option screen also has options to go back to Windows 10 or shut down the computer.

Right-click the Windows icon in the bottom left corner.
Select Shut down or sign out, then hold the Shift key and click Restart. Continue holding Shift until the Choose an option screen is displayed.

Using Sleep mode

By default, when you select the Sleep option, Windows enters sleep mode. This saves the current work session in memory and puts the computer in a low-power state. Any opened programs or documents stay open allowing you to quickly resume your work when you return to the computer.

Selecting Sleep from the shutdown options

Right-click the Windows icon in the bottom left corner.
Select Shut down or sign out, then click Sleep.

Figure : Putting the computer into Sleep mode

Adjusting the Sleep time setting

To change sleep mode settings, complete the following steps:

In Windows, search for and open Power Options.
In the Choose or customize a power plan window, click Change plan settings next to the plan you want to change.
To change the sleep settings, click the drop-down arrow next to Put the computer to sleep, and select a new time setting.

Figure : Adjusting sleep time settings
Click Save changes.

Adding or removing Sleep or Hibernate shutdown options

Different shutdown options are available by default. You might decide you want to add or remove certain shutdown options based on your needs. If you want to add or remove Sleep or Hibernate from the shutdown options, use the steps in this section.

To add or remove shutdown options, do the following:

In Windows, search for and open Power Options.
Click Choose what the power buttons do.

Figure : Choose what the power buttons do
Click Change settings that are currently unavailable.

Figure : Change setting availability option
In the Shutdown settings section, make sure the check boxes next to the shutdown options you want to see in the shutdown options are checked.

Figure : Sleep and Hibernate shutdown options
Click Save changes. The options you chose are now displayed in the shutdown options.

To adjust the amount of time before your computer enters Hibernate Mode, do the following:

In Windows, search for and open Power Options.
In the Choose or customize a power plan window, click Change plan settings next to the plan you want to change.
In the Change settings for the plan window, click Change advanced power settings.

Figure : Change advanced power settings
Click the plus sign (+) next to Sleep to expand the list, then click the plus sign (+) next to Hibernate after.
In the Setting (Minutes) drop-down box, set the time for the computer to be idle, in minutes, before the computer goes into Hibernate Mode.

Figure : Setting hibernate time
Click OK, then click Save changes. The computer hibernates after it has been idle for the specified amount of time.

Enabling Away Mode when sharing media files

Away Mode enables your computer to continue performing tasks, such as recording television programs or sharing video and music, even if you walk away from the computer. Specifically, when the computer is in Away Mode, the following occurs:

The computer can still perform tasks such as recording scheduled TV programs or stream video and music files to a remote location.
The display is turned off.
The audio is muted.
The computer is operational but in a reduced-power setting.
The computer fan runs.
The desktop displays almost instantly when you press the Sleep button on the remote control.

To enable Away Mode, complete the following steps:

In Windows, search for and open Power Options.
In the Choose or customize a power plan window, click Change plan settings next to the plan you want to change.
In the Change settings for the plan window, click Change advanced power settings.

Figure : Change advanced power settings
In Advanced settings, click the plus sign (+) next to Multimedia settings to expand the list, then click the plus sign (+) next to When sharing media.
In the Setting drop-down box, select Allow the computer to enter Away Mode.

Figure : Allow the computer to enter Away Mode
Click OK, then click Save changes. Windows automatically goes into Away Mode when sharing media files.

Changing the power and sleep button settings

You can save power by specifying what the computer does when you press the Power and Sleep buttons. You can assign the Power button to do one of the following: Do Nothing, Sleep, Hibernate, Shut down, or Turn off the display.

You can assign the Sleep button to do one of the following: Do nothing, Sleep, Hibernate, or Turn off the display.

To change what the computer does when you press the power and sleep buttons, do the following:

In Windows, search for and open Power Options.
In the left pane, click Choose what the power buttons do.

Figure : Change what the power buttons do
To change settings for the power button, click the drop-down arrow next to When I press the power button, select the setting you want to use, then click Save changes.

Figure : Changing power button settings
To change the sleep settings, click the drop-down arrow next to When I press the sleep button, select the setting you want to use, then click Save changes.

Figure : Changing sleep button settings

Using the Power troubleshooter to fix problems

The Windows Power troubleshooter can be used to find and fix problems with computer power settings.

To run the Power troubleshooter, complete these steps:

In Windows, search for and open Troubleshooting.
In the Troubleshoot computer problems window, under System and Security, select Improve power usage.

Figure : Improve power usage
Click Next in the Power window. The Power troubleshooter starts detecting issues.

Figure : Detecting issues
When the detection process is complete, recommended actions are displayed. Follow the on-screen instructions to fix any detected problems.