Reference Guide

Windows 10 and 8.1
1. Click or tap Start > All apps.
2. Under Windows System, click or tap Control Panel.
NOTE: For Windows 8.1/Windows RT click or tap Settings in the charms sidebar and click or tap Control panel.
3. If your Control Panel is displayed by Category, click or tap the View by: drop‑down and select Small icons or Large icons.
4. Click or tap Power Options.
5. Click or tap Choose what the power buttons do.
You may choose different option when your computer is running on battery and when it is connected to a power adapter.
6. Click or tap Save changes.
Windows 7
1. Click Start > Control Panel > Power Options.
2. Click Choose what the power buttons do.
3. From the drop-down menu next to When I press the power button, select the preferred response from your computer when you
press the power button. You may select a different option when your computer is running on battery or when it is connected to a
power adapter.
4. Click Save changes.
Dell Power Manager
NOTE: This software is only supported on computers running on Windows 10 operating systems.
Dell Power Manager is a software that enables you to efficiently manage the power settings for Dell notebooks and tablets. The
software offers these key features:
• Battery Information–Display health information for up to six installed batteries, depending on system capabilities, and edit
battery settings or create a custom battery setting.
• Advanced Charge–Control battery charging to prolong battery life.
• Peak Shift–Reduce power consumption by automatically switching the system to battery power during certain times of the day,
even when the system is plugged into a direct power source.
• Thermal Management–Control processor and cooling fan settings to manage performance, system surface temperature, and fan
noise.
• Battery Extender–Conserve battery charge by adjusting CPU power level, screen brightness and keyboard illumination levels,
and by muting audio.
• Alert Settings–Restore to default alert settings.
For more information on Dell Power Manager, see the Dell Power Manager User Guide at
www.dell.com/support.
Improving battery life
The operating time of a battery, which is the time the battery can hold a charge, varies depending on how you use your laptop
computer.
The operating time of your battery significantly reduces if you use:
• Optical drives
• Wireless communication devices, ExpressCards, media cards, or USB devices.
• High-brightness display settings, 3D screen savers, or other power‑intensive programs like complex 3D graphics applications and
games.
You can improve the battery performance by:
• Operating the computer on AC power when possible. Battery life reduces with the number of times the battery is discharged and
recharged.
• Configuring the power management settings using Microsoft Windows Power Options to optimize your computer’s power usage
(see Power management).
• Enabling the sleep/standby and hibernation features of your computer.
NOTE: The life of the battery decreases over time depending on how often the battery is used and the conditions under
which it is used. You can configure the battery‑charging behavior to increase the battery life.
54