Compared to previous versions of Microsoft Windows, Windows Vista offers significantly expanded power management for portable computers. Features that Toshiba had previously included in the Toshiba Power Saver utility are now an integral part of the Windows Vista operating system.

This document describes the Windows Vista Power Options system of power plans -- including how to edit them and how to uncover some of their very useful advanced features, including how to reduce fan noise, what happens when you close the display lid, and what happens when the battery reaches a critically low level.

Selecting a power plan

To open the Windows Vista Power Options, click the Windows Start button, then click Control Panel, Mobile PC and finally Power Options. A window similar to the one below will appear.

Another way to access Power Options is to right-click the Power icon in the Notification Area of the Task Bar, and then click Power Options.

The three standard Windows Vista power plans are shown in the screen shot above:

Balanced – Good performance balanced with good battery life (moderate power consumption).

Power saver – Battery life prioritized over performance (low power consumption).

High performance – Performance prioritized over battery life (high power consumption).

Click the corresponding 'radio button' to select one of these power plans.

Power plans can also be selected by clicking the Power icon in the Notification Area of the Task Bar.

In the left pane of the window shown above are direct links to commonly useful settings, including for what happens when the computer's display lid is closed. These settings and others are covered in detail in the remaining sections of this document.

Editing a power plan

To edit one of the default power plans listed above, click the Change plan settings link for that plan. The Edit Plan Settings window will appear, looking similar to the window below (for the Balanced power plan). You can change any of the power setting in this window, or simply review them without making changes.

Of the several settings that comprise the power plan, only three are offered in the window above. Many more settings are accessible via the Change advanced power settings link.

Power plan settings occur in pairs, as in the window above, consisting of an On battery setting and a Plugged in setting. This provides great flexibility, allowing you to easily establish exceptions to a given plan. In the Balanced plan shown above, for example, you could maximize the display brightness setting for when running from the computer's battery, as well as for when the computer is plugged in to its AC adapter -- even though the overall character of the plan remains balanced power consumption / performance.

'Advanced' power settings

From the window shown above click Change advanced power settings which will open a window similar to the one shown below.

Click the plus / minus indicators to expand and contract the entries in the list above (two have been expanded already). To change a setting that is grayed out, click Change settings that are currently unavailable.

Most of the advanced settings are described in the following list. As noted above, the settings are listed as pairs, consisting of an On battery setting and a Plugged in setting. Many settings can also be disabled, by selecting “Never” (for example), instead of a time value.

These settings may vary over time, and new ones may appear, as newer versions of Vista are released and pre-installed by Toshiba, and as Service Packs for Vista are installed.

Additional settings —> Require a password on wake up   Determines whether or not you must enter your Windows password when the computer wakes up from Sleep mode.

TOSHIBA Power Saver Settings V8.01.02—> Cooling Method   Specifies a CPU cooling method for either maximum CPU performance, or better battery life with reduced CPU performance. If the sound of the CPU fan seems too loud, a setting that optimizes battery life will also cause the CPU fan to turn on less frequently.

Hard Disk —> Turn off Hard Disk After   Specifies how long -- after the most recent access -- before the hard disk drive is turned off. Setting a lower timeout value will save more power. Once the hard disk has been turned off, there will be a slight delay when it is next accessed, as it 'spins up' to full rotational speed. Software that runs automatically 'in the background' (search indexing, for example) may prevent the drive from being turned off, by accessing it at frequent intervals.

Wireless Adapter Settings —> Power Saving Mode  There are four power saving / performance settings. If your Wi-Fi connection is unstable or slow, try selecting a higher-performance setting.

Sleep —> Sleep after   Specifies the number of minutes of inactivity (no usage of mouse or keyboard) before the computer drops into Sleep mode. A short timeout interval can save lots of power if you frequently stop using the computer, without turning it off.
   Sleep mode preserves the state of open programs and documents by continuing to refresh the computer's memory, while turning off the screen, the hard disk drive, and most of the computer's other components. When the computer is brought out of Sleep mode, the programs and documents re-appear, just as they were when the computer entered Sleep mode. Waking the computer from Sleep mode is much faster than starting the computer, starting the operating system, launching programs, and opening documents. 
   Save open documents frequently to protect them from loss of battery charge during Sleep mode. Sleep mode consumes some power from the battery, though far less than the normal On state. If the computer is in Sleep mode while being powered from the battery, and the battery charge runs low, the computer will turn completely Off, and will lose the open programs and documents in memory. In this case, any changes to documents that were not yet saved to disk would be lost.

Sleep —> Allow hybrid sleep  Instructs Windows to use Hybrid Sleep mode, whenever Sleep mode is activated. Hybrid Sleep mode not only saves the state of open programs and documents in the computer's memory, it also saves their state to the hard disk drive (as with Hibernation mode). Hybrid Sleep offers an additional measure of convenience. If the computer's battery becomes fully discharged while the computer is in Hybrid Sleep mode, the saved state in the computer's memory will be lost, but Windows will be able to retrieve the saved state from the hard disk drive -- though somewhat more slowly.
   Be sure to save your documents and other files frequently as you work on them, to create permanent copies of them on the computer's hard disk drive. Saving the state of documents with Sleep, Hybrid Sleep and Hibernation modes does not create permanent copies of them; it is just a way to save power as you pause in your work, and then quickly pick up where you left off.

Sleep —> Hibernate after  Specifies the number of minutes of inactivity (no usage of mouse or keyboard) before the computer enters Hibernation mode -- in which the state of open programs and documents is saved to the computer's hard disk drive. The computer is shut OFF in Hibernation mode, so that very little power is consumed.
   Be sure to save your documents and other files frequently as you work on them, to create permanent copies of them on the computer's hard disk drive. Saving the state of documents with Hibernation mode does not create permanent copies of them; it is just a way to save power as you pause in your work, and then quickly pick up where you left off.

USB settings —> USB selective suspend setting  Prevents or allows idle USB devices and ports to be shut off to conserve power. Some computers include built-in devices that are connected internally via USB.

Power buttons and lid —> Lid close action  Specifies the computer's response to closing the display lid: enter Sleep mode, enter Hibernation mode, shut down (turn off), or do nothing. This option provides a very convenient way to put the computer to sleep before boarding a plane or leaving the office for a meeting. 

Power buttons and lid —> Power button action  Specifies the computer's response to pressing the power button: enter Sleep mode, enter Hibernation mode, shut down (turn off), or do nothing.

Power buttons and lid —> Sleep button action  Specifies the computer's response to pressing the Sleep button: enter Sleep mode, or enter Hibernation mode. Most Toshiba computers do not have a Sleep button, but there are many other ways to place the computer in Sleep or Hibernation mode, including closing the display lid (see setting above), or selecting Sleep or Hibernation from the Windows Start Menu.

Power buttons and lid —> Start menu power button  Specifies the computer's response to clicking the on/off icon on the Start Menu : enter Sleep mode, enter Hibernation mode, or shut down (turn off).

PCI Express --> Link State Power Management  Specifies no (off), moderate, or maximum power savings for PCI Express devices, at the expense of perfomance.

Processor power management--> Minimum processor state  Specifies the lower limit of CPU performance, as a percentage of the full potential performance of the CPU. Higher values promote higher performance (depending on CPU utilization), at the expense of greater power consumption.

Processor power management —> Maximum processor state  Specifies the upper limit of CPU performance, as a percentage of the full potential performance of the CPU. Higher values promote higher performance (depending on CPU utilization), at the expense of greater power consumption.  

The minimum and maximum processor state values are essentially percentage of the maximum clock rate for the CPU, though other factors may be involved. For further details, see Microsoft's document Processor Power Management in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.

Search and Indexing —> Power Savings Mode  Specifies the prioritization of search-indexing that runs 'in the background' (when the computer is not busy with standard applications such as e-mail and web browsing). Options are: performance, power saver, and balanced. Selecting "performance" allocates the highest priority to these background tasks, speeding up their execution -- at the expense of power consumption.

Display —> Turn off display after  Specifies the number of minutes of inactivity (no usage of mouse or keyboard) before the display is turned off. Since the display and its backlight represent a large percentage of the computer's total power consumption, selecting a relatively low timeout value can allow the computer to run from its battery for much longer than it would otherwise (if the computer is not being used continuously).

Display —> Adaptive display  Turns the Adaptive Display feature on or off. When on, the Turn Off Display After timeout (above) is lengthened if the computer is frequently 'active' shortly after the display is turned off (if you move the mouse or tap a key to turn the display on again immediately after it goes off).

Display —> Display brightness  Specifies the default brightness of the display when running from battery power and from AC power -- as a percentage of the maximum brightness of the display panel. On many Toshiba portable computers, the Fn+F6 and Fn+F7 key combinations may be used to decrease or increase the display brightness, respectively.

Multimedia settings —> When sharing media  Specifies whether the computer will enter either Sleep mode or Away mode when it receives a request to enter Sleep mode. There is one exception to this rule: when the request to enter Sleep mode comes from the Sleep –-> Sleep After timeout (see the description above), the computer will enter Sleep mode, even if Away mode is selected in this setting. Requests for the computer to enter Hibernation mode are not affected by this setting. Away mode causes the computer to appear to be Off (or in Sleep mode) while it is still capable of processing background media tasks such as recording television content or streaming media to other devices. For more information about Away mode, see the Microsoft white paper Away Mode in Windows Vista.

Battery —> Critical battery action  Specifies what should happen when the battery's charge reaches a critically low level. Options include Sleep mode, Hibernate mode, and Shut down, and also Do Nothing (the default, if the computer is plugged in to AC power).

Battery —> Low battery level  Specifies the percentage of battery power considered to be 'low'.

Battery —> Critical battery level   Specifies the percentage of battery power considered to be 'critical'.

Battery —> Low battery notification  Specifies whether or not a pop-up message is displayed when the battery reaches the low battery level setting.

Battery —> Low battery action  Specifies what should happen when the battery's charge reaches a low level. Options include Sleep mode, Hibernate mode, and Shut down, and Do Nothing (the default).

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