Windows Administrators can change the power configuration policy from the command line using the powercfg.exe ultility present on all Windows XP/2003 systems.
To list the current policies
POWERCFG /list
To change the active policy
POWERCFG /SETACTIVE "policy_name" (replace policy_name with a real policy name)
The following example sets the “Home/Office Desk” profile to the given values.
POWERCFG /CHANGE "Home/Office Desk" /monitor-timeout-ac 15
POWERCFG /CHANGE "Home/Office Desk" /monitor-timeout-dc 10
POWERCFG /CHANGE "Home/Office Desk" /disk-timeout-ac 20
POWERCFG /CHANGE "Home/Office Desk" /disk-timeout-dc 15
POWERCFG /CHANGE "Home/Office Desk" /standby-timeout-ac 25
POWERCFG /CHANGE "Home/Office Desk" /standby-timeout-dc 20
POWERCFG /CHANGE "Home/Office Desk" /hibernate-timeout-ac 0
POWERCFG /CHANGE "Home/Office Desk" /hibernate-timeout-dc 0
POWERCFG /CHANGE "Home/Office Desk" /processor-throttle-ac ADAPTIVE
POWERCFG /CHANGE "Home/Office Desk" /processor-throttle-dc ADAPTIVE
You can also change profiles being used.
POWERCFG /SETACTIVE "Always On"
To create a new profile
POWERCFG /CREATE "New Policy"
POWERCFG /CHANGE "New Policy" /monitor-timeout-ac 15
POWERCFG /CHANGE "New Policy" /monitor-timeout-dc 10
...
...
POWERCFG /CHANGE "New Policy" /processor-throttle-ac ADAPTIVE
POWERCFG /CHANGE "New Policy" /processor-throttle-dc ADAPTIVE
POWERCFG /SETACTIVE "New Policy"
Links
How to use Powercfg.exe in Windows Server 2003
Powercfg Command-Line Options
Using Powerconfig.exe in a logon script to configure power management settings
How is this done in Vista?
powercfg /setactive “always on” does not work
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Vista References power schemes as GUID’s
When first installed, the default Power Scheme is the “Balanced” scheme with a GUID of 381b4222-f694-41f0-9685-ff5bb260df2e.
The command to set is active would be:
POWERCFG -SETACTIVE 381b4222-f694-41f0-9685-ff5bb260df2e