Windows 2000 Power Configuration and Management

With the development of computers and the improvement of operating systems, power management has become more and more important. To this end, Windows 2000 enhances its own power management functions, especially with the "Advanced Configuration and Power Interface" (ACPI) power management technology, making it easier and more efficient for users to manage system power.

4.2.1 Power Management Enhancements

Windows 2000 is based on the Advanced Management and Power Interface (ACPI) power management technology, which greatly enhances user management of system power. With ACPI, you can set it to sleep or suspend when you're not using it, and get up quickly when you need it, saving power. ACPI enhances the power management capabilities of computers. For example, you can send commands over the network to wake a computer from a low-energy state to run a virus detection program or do other work.

ACPI support provides direct control of power management and plug-and-play functionality for Windows 2000, not just the BIOS. At boot time, ACPI can take over legacy BIOS—for example, APM BIOS and PNP BIOS. ACPI can manage all major related areas:

? System Power Management: Sets the mechanism for getting the computer to start and end the system's sleep state, while providing a general mechanism to allow any device to wake up the computer;

? Device Power Management: Allows the operating system to place the device in a low-power state based on application usage. Device power management describes the power source to which the motherboard device, its power state device is connected, and the controls that place the device into different power states;

? Processor power management: When the processor is idle but has not yet gone to sleep, it can use a descriptive command to put the processor into a low-power state;

? System Events: Provides general event mechanisms for system events, such as system events such as overheating events, power management events, docking, device insertion and ejection;

? Battery Management: The battery management strategy is to switch from APM BIOS to ACPI BIOS. The operating system determines the limits of battery low and battery warning. It also calculates the remaining capacity and life of the battery. An ACPI-compatible battery device requires a "smart battery" subsystem interface that is directly controlled by the operating system via an embedded controller interface or a "CMBatt" interface.

With the support of ACPI technology, the application can remind the operating system that it is performing a large operation or is playing a movie, and the PC cannot be switched to a low power state. The operating system can also alert the application that it is using battery power, and should try to avoid extremely power-hungry background operations like compressing email.

The device interface allows the system to respond to device initialization events. For example, a mobile PC connects to a modem via a wireless telephone. Even if the computer is set up to receive faxes on the train, only the modem is turned on and the power consumption is low. When the phone is connected, the modem starts the computer so that you can answer the phone or download the fax. The computer then shuts down again, using only the minimum amount of required power.

4.2.2 Configuring a Power Management Scenario

The Power Options icon in the Control Panel allows the user to configure a power scheme that suits them. Properly configuring the power management scheme of the system not only helps to save power, but also helps to extend the life of the computer. To configure a power management scheme, follow the steps below:

1. Open the Start menu and select the Settings - Control Panel command to open the Control Panel window.

2. In the Control Panel window, double-click the Power Options icon to open the Power Options Properties dialog box, as shown in Figure 4-9.

3. In the Power Schemes tab, select a scheme from the Power Schemes drop-down list box, depending on your situation. For example, if you are using a desktop, you can choose the "Home/Office" option; if you are using a portable, you can choose the "Portable/Pocket" option. Here, select the "always on" option.

4. Select the option to turn off the monitor from the "Close Monitor" drop-down list box. For example, select the "After 20 minutes" option and the monitor will be automatically turned off after 20 minutes of inactivity.