Power Settings

G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops,comp.laptops,comp.sys.laptop,comp.sys.hp.hardware (More info?)

A day or so ago, something on my laptop changed: Even though I have it
plugged in (and the taskbar icon shows it is running on AC power), it is
acting as if it is running on the battery.

For example, I have it set to turn off the monitor after 15 minutes when
plugged in or 5 minutes when running on batteries. But, while plugged in,
it is turning off the monitor after 5 minutes. While plugged in, it
shouldn't hibernate until 6 hours, but it's hibernating at 30 minutes.

I have done a few things in the past few days, but I don't know what would
have caused this to happen. The main thing I did was install Windows
updates, but I also installed some software for communicating with my cell
phone.

Any idea what is causing this and how to stop it?

Thanks!

Gail
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Gail Gurman wrote:
>
> A day or so ago, something on my laptop changed: Even though I have it
> plugged in (and the taskbar icon shows it is running on AC power), it is
> acting as if it is running on the battery.
>
> For example, I have it set to turn off the monitor after 15 minutes when
> plugged in or 5 minutes when running on batteries. But, while plugged in,
> it is turning off the monitor after 5 minutes. While plugged in, it
> shouldn't hibernate until 6 hours, but it's hibernating at 30 minutes.
>
> I have done a few things in the past few days, but I don't know what would
> have caused this to happen. The main thing I did was install Windows
> updates, but I also installed some software for communicating with my cell
> phone.
>
> Any idea what is causing this and how to stop it?

Have you checked your Control Panel | Power Options?

Larry
 

Jason

Distinguished
Jul 25, 2003
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Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Gail Gurman wrote:

> A day or so ago, something on my laptop changed: Even though I have it
> plugged in (and the taskbar icon shows it is running on AC power), it
> is acting as if it is running on the battery.
>
> For example, I have it set to turn off the monitor after 15 minutes
> when plugged in or 5 minutes when running on batteries. But, while
> plugged in, it is turning off the monitor after 5 minutes. While
> plugged in, it shouldn't hibernate until 6 hours, but it's hibernating
> at 30 minutes.
>
> I have done a few things in the past few days, but I don't know what
> would have caused this to happen. The main thing I did was install
> Windows updates, but I also installed some software for communicating
> with my cell phone.

Well, what happened to me is I've had certain power settings for 3
years, but they changed (without my intervention) in the BIOS after I did
a recent defrag. They went from disable speedstep to enable speedstep.
So just double-check that your power settings in both Windows and BIOS
didn't change as a result of the updates, etc.


--
Cheers,
jason
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

jason <me@privacy.net> wrote in
news:Xns95036F23F68DDzi42uwZoo@130.133.1.4:

> Gail Gurman wrote:
>
>> A day or so ago, something on my laptop changed: Even though I have
>> it plugged in (and the taskbar icon shows it is running on AC power),
>> it is acting as if it is running on the battery.
>>
>> For example, I have it set to turn off the monitor after 15 minutes
>> when plugged in or 5 minutes when running on batteries. But, while
>> plugged in, it is turning off the monitor after 5 minutes. While
>> plugged in, it shouldn't hibernate until 6 hours, but it's
>> hibernating at 30 minutes.
>>
>> I have done a few things in the past few days, but I don't know what
>> would have caused this to happen. The main thing I did was install
>> Windows updates, but I also installed some software for communicating
>> with my cell phone.
>
> Well, what happened to me is I've had certain power settings for 3
> years, but they changed (without my intervention) in the BIOS after I
> did a recent defrag. They went from disable speedstep to enable
> speedstep. So just double-check that your power settings in both
> Windows and BIOS didn't change as a result of the updates, etc.

I was looking at them while posting.
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Lawrence Glasser <lglasser@spamcop.net> wrote in
news:40C74BAC.D5B285E0@spamcop.net:

> Gail Gurman wrote:
>>
>> A day or so ago, something on my laptop changed: Even though I have
>> it plugged in (and the taskbar icon shows it is running on AC power),
>> it is acting as if it is running on the battery.
>>
>> For example, I have it set to turn off the monitor after 15 minutes
>> when plugged in or 5 minutes when running on batteries. But, while
>> plugged in, it is turning off the monitor after 5 minutes. While
>> plugged in, it shouldn't hibernate until 6 hours, but it's
>> hibernating at 30 minutes.
>>
>> I have done a few things in the past few days, but I don't know what
>> would have caused this to happen. The main thing I did was install
>> Windows updates, but I also installed some software for communicating
>> with my cell phone.
>>
>> Any idea what is causing this and how to stop it?
>
> Have you checked your Control Panel | Power Options?

I didn't memorize the settings.
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

On Wed, 09 Jun 2004 17:36:11 GMT, Gail Gurman <gail@homemail.com>
wrote:

>A day or so ago, something on my laptop changed: Even though I have it
>plugged in (and the taskbar icon shows it is running on AC power), it is
>acting as if it is running on the battery.
>
>For example, I have it set to turn off the monitor after 15 minutes when
>plugged in or 5 minutes when running on batteries. But, while plugged in,
>it is turning off the monitor after 5 minutes. While plugged in, it
>shouldn't hibernate until 6 hours, but it's hibernating at 30 minutes.

Did you try putting the settings back as you want them, and did that
have any positive impact? Once you change the values in those fields,
it impacts the entire laptop profile, and I've seen them "stick" back
to previous entries a lot. That said, XP seems to be better at this
than its precursors.
>
>I have done a few things in the past few days, but I don't know what would
>have caused this to happen. The main thing I did was install Windows
>updates, but I also installed some software for communicating with my cell
>phone.
>
>Any idea what is causing this and how to stop it?

What's causing it would be hard to diagnose really, but if you're
overly concerned, use system restore to roll back to before you
started noticing it. You will have to reinstall the cell phone
software, but all of your program data should be safe. Just to be
sure, I'd backup financial software or anything else you keep that's
time sensitive.
 
G

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Guest
Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Cyrus Afzali <pnsmnyv@lnubb.pbz> wrote in
news:fgvgc099c8ppdp4tln9t2769barhmb6tgo@4ax.com:

> On Wed, 09 Jun 2004 17:36:11 GMT, Gail Gurman <gail@homemail.com>
> wrote:
> What's causing it would be hard to diagnose really, but if you're
> overly concerned, use system restore to roll back to before you
> started noticing it. You will have to reinstall the cell phone
> software, but all of your program data should be safe. Just to be
> sure, I'd backup financial software or anything else you keep that's
> time sensitive.

This was a good suggestion. As it happens, the day I installed the cell
phone software was the day /before/ I installed the Windows updates, so I
restored back to the second day. The result was success! The power
settings are working properly. I even installed the most recent Windows
update and it still works.

I don't know what the problem was before, but it seems to have gone away.

Thanks very much for your advice!

Gail
 

dp

Distinguished
Mar 31, 2004
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Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Anyone have experience with the current very thin Lith-ion external
batteries?

They are about the size of a piece of paper and about a half inch thick
-- presumably easy to place under a laptop on table or lap. Some
choices are...

Electrovaya Powerpad ( http://electrovaya.com/ )
Total-micro Powerstation ( http://www.total-micro.com/productPower.asp# )

My laptop is long-in-the-tooth, but I love it too much to upgrade right
now. Thinking of getting an external battery so could use it with a new
laptop later. Since I need long battery life for work away from home,
I'm willing to pay if these thin numbers are reliable and not too delicate.

Thanks for any info,
Dave
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Gail Gurman <gail@homemail.com> wrote in
news:Xns95049749C1B1Bgailhomemailcom@63.223.5.250:
> I don't know what the problem was before, but it seems to have gone
> away.

I spoke too soon. I just came home from being out for a little over 2 hours
and my laptop had hibernated. It's not supposed to hibernate at all when
plugged in.

I had assumed everything was okay because it seemed like it wasn't turning
off the monitor at 5 minutes, but maybe I didn't wait long enough. Part of
what is annoying about this problem is having to wait to find out if it is
solved.
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Gail Gurman <gail@homemail.com> wrote in
news:Xns9504D807DB706gailhomemailcom@63.223.5.250:

> Gail Gurman <gail@homemail.com> wrote in
> news:Xns95049749C1B1Bgailhomemailcom@63.223.5.250:
>> I don't know what the problem was before, but it seems to have gone
>> away.
>
> I spoke too soon. I just came home from being out for a little over 2
> hours and my laptop had hibernated. It's not supposed to hibernate at
> all when plugged in.
>
> I had assumed everything was okay because it seemed like it wasn't
> turning off the monitor at 5 minutes, but maybe I didn't wait long
> enough. Part of what is annoying about this problem is having to wait
> to find out if it is solved.

I know it's bad manners to follow up your own message, so following up
your own follow-up is downright rude, but I just wanted to update my
situation, for the record.

The reason I was confused about the 5 minute thing was that I had the
problem wrong. It's not with the whole power management setup, but just
with one part of it. All of the "plugged-in" settings work fine except
for the "System Hibernates" part.

Also, the problem seems to have been caused by the Windows update. When I
restored the system to before update, it worked fine; with the update
(which wants to load right after the restore). I'm not sure how to avoid
the problem in the future, other than just not installing the updates.
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

"Gail Gurman" <gail@homemail.com> wrote in message
news:Xns95036C3342352gailhomemailcom@63.223.5.250...
> A day or so ago, something on my laptop changed: Even though I have it
> plugged in (and the taskbar icon shows it is running on AC power), it is
> acting as if it is running on the battery.

Try the most obvious things first:

Look at your power management settings to make sure they really haven't
changed.

If you're using a separate power management utility (not the one built into
Windows) check that it hasn't been disabled by the Windows updates you
installed. You can do this by changing something obvious under the "running
on battery" settings, and seeing if the change affects what the computer
does. This will both confirm that the "running on battery" settings are
being used and that your power management software is still working.

If your power management utility provides different setting profiles for AC
power, like "Always On", "Energy Saver", and "DVD Playback", make sure you
haven't accidentally switched to a different profile.

Icon notwithstanding, double check all your AC power connections to make
sure they are firmly connected and that the wall socket has power. The AC
power being off shouldn't be possible since you have the AC icon on the
taskbar, but perhaps you're getting intermittent power for some reason and
that's confusing the computer.

If those fail, and you're using a separate power management utility (not the
one built into Windows) re-install it to see if that cures the problem.

T. Belden
 
G

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Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Hi Dave,
Im a National Accounts Manager at Total Micro. I read your post and
wanted to respond...The Power Station 100 7hr and now Power Station
200 10+hr battery is a great way to add more per-hour life to your
laptop...Built using the latest in Lithium Ion Prismatic Technology
and utilizing Double Protection Circuitry, these batteries provides 7+
and 10+ hours of power in a flat form factor. Weighing only 48
ounces!!!!!Please send a e-mail to acatestmt@netscape.net I would like
to answer any questions you may have, and also let you know where to
go to purchase Total Micro products...

A.C.
Total Micro Technologies
acatestmt@netscape.net


dp <dp@wiredbay.com> wrote in message news:<caaruf$r3s@dispatch.concentric.net>...
> Anyone have experience with the current very thin Lith-ion external
> batteries?
>
> They are about the size of a piece of paper and about a half inch thick
> -- presumably easy to place under a laptop on table or lap. Some
> choices are...
>
> Electrovaya Powerpad ( http://electrovaya.com/ )
> Total-micro Powerstation ( http://www.total-micro.com/productPower.asp# )
>
> My laptop is long-in-the-tooth, but I love it too much to upgrade right
> now. Thinking of getting an external battery so could use it with a new
> laptop later. Since I need long battery life for work away from home,
> I'm willing to pay if these thin numbers are reliable and not too delicate.
>
> Thanks for any info,
> Dave