Dell Command | Power Manager User Guide
Notes, cautions, and warnings NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your product. CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data and tells you how to avoid the problem. WARNING: A WARNING indicates a potential for property damage, personal injury, or death. Copyright © 2017 Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. All rights reserved. Dell, EMC, and other trademarks are trademarks of Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries.
Contents 1 Introduction..................................................................................................................... 5 Key Features.......................................................................................................................................................................5 Accessing the Software......................................................................................................................................................
Product Feedback Link Group Policy...........................................................................................................................21 9 Troubleshooting.............................................................................................................22 Viewing the Event Log.....................................................................................................................................................
1 Introduction Dell Command | Power Manager software provides simplified and efficient power management capabilities for Dell notebooks and tablets running Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10 operating systems. 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 Mode – Control battery charging to prolong battery life.
2 Battery Information WARNING: Using an incompatible or non-Dell battery may increase the risk of fire or explosion. Only use authentic Dell batteries in Dell systems. NOTE: If a non-Dell battery is attached to your system, the battery graphic will be orange.
Good — Battery can charge normally; however, you may notice reduced operating time because long-term battery life is decreasing. Fair — Battery can charge normally; however, it is near the end of its usable life. It is recommended that you purchase a new battery soon. Poor — Battery no longer provides sufficient power. It is recommended that you replace this battery. Battery no longer operates, or battery status cannot be determined. It is recommended that you replace the battery.
NOTE: A minimum difference, specified in your systems BIOS, is required between the Start Charging and Stop Charging values. 1. Go to the Battery Setting page, and then click Custom. 2. Under Start Charging, move the slider to the percentage threshold at which the battery begins charging, or enter a number in the text box. For example, entering 60 causes the battery to start charging when it depletes to 60 percent of the total available charge. 3.
3 Advanced Charge Advanced Charge is an optional feature that prolongs the usable life of a system’s batteries by charging them to full capacity only once per day, prior to the Start of day you establish when you enable Advanced Charge. For the remainder of the day, Advanced Charge keeps batteries in a lower charge state that is better for storage, even when the system is plugged into a direct power source.
4 Peak Shift Peak Shift is an optional feature that reduces power consumption by automatically switching the system to battery power during certain times of the day, even if the system is plugged into a direct power source. After Peak Shift begins, the system will run on battery power until the combined charge level of all batteries reaches a minimum threshold. See Enabling Peak Shift for instructions on how to change these settings.
NOTE: The Copy the same settings to multiple days check box is automatically cleared once you leave the page. 7. Select Copy the same settings to multiple days. Then, in the left pane, select the days to which these settings apply. 8. To save your changes, click OK, or to discard them, click CANCEL.
5 Thermal Management NOTE: If your system does not support thermal settings, then the Thermal Management feature is not available. Dell Command | Power Manager allows you to manage your system’s processor and cooling fan settings so that you can manage performance, system surface temperature, and fan noise. Each option represents a different balance of these three elements. Choose the configuration that best suits the way you use your system.
6 Battery Extender Dell Command | Power Manager’s Battery Extender feature allows you to conserve battery charge. NOTE: If your system does not support Reduce CPU Power (Quiet Thermal Setting), then Dell Command | Power Manager’s Battery Extender feature will not be available. NOTE: Battery Extender only reports setting changes you make within the Battery Extender feature.
7 Alerts Management Dell Command | Power Manager allows you to enable or disable the following types of alerts: • Adapter Alerts • Battery Alerts • Docking Station Alerts • Other Alerts • Thermal Alerts Enabling And Disabling Alerts To enable or disable alerts, do the following: 1. Click the Alerts Management tab in the left pane. 2. To expand the alert list, click the expansion icon next to the category. 3. Click the toggle beside the alert On or Off.
8 Administration This chapter provides details about Dell Command | Power Manager administrative features, including installing, uninstalling, and upgrading the software, and enabling and customizing Group Policies. CAUTION: The tasks in this chapter should be performed only by a System Administrator. Installing, Uninstalling, And Upgrading The Software Dell Command | Power Manager is factory-installed on supported systems and and also released as a Dell Update Package (DUP, available at dell.com/support).
• Silent install DCPM_Setup_2_0_0.exe /s /v”/qn” For example: DCPM_Setup64_2_0_0.exe /s /v”/qn" • Silent install with verbose logging DCPM_Setup_2_0_0.exe /s /v"/l*vx /qn” For example: DCPM_Setup64_2_0_0.exe /s /v"/l*vx C:\Users\Administrator\Desktop\installlog.txt /qn” • Uninstall DCPM_Setup_2_0_0.exe /x For example: DCPM_Setup64_2_0_0.
Installing Group Policy Templates Before creating, applying, or changing Group Policy Templates, an administrator must first make the templates available in the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC). 1. Obtain and extract the Dell Command | Power Manager DUP. • You can download the Dell Command | Power Manager DUP for your system from dell.com/support. • Once you have downloaded the package, run it and choose the Extract option to extract the files. 2.
NOTE: You must restart the Group Policy Management Editor to see new OUs. b. c. d. e. Reopen the Group Policy Management Editor. Select Group Policy Management → Domains → Right-click the OU, and select Link an existing GPO. Select the GPO created in a previous step, and then click OK. Immediately Applying Group Policy Template Changes To Client Systems Changes to Group Policy Templates don’t immediately apply to systems, because they must first replicate to the domain controller.
• Minimum start value is 50% • Maximum stop value is 95% • Start and stop values must differ by more than 5% NOTE: Invalid settings will be ignored, and not honored. NOTE: When Custom is selected, both the Start Charging and Stop Charging values must be set. NOTE: When Lock current BIOS setting is selected, the UI displays the current BIOS battery setting as read-only.
To set a range for the threshold limits, enter the Minimum (1 - 100) and Maximum (Minimum - 100) values. If a minimum or maximum limit is not within the client system's minimum or maximum capabilities, the client system's minimum or maximum limit will be used. NOTE: The system will use default values if invalid values are set. NOTE: If selected minimum or maximum limits are not within the client systems minimum or maximum capabilities, the client system’s minimum or maximum limit will be used.
• Adapter Alerts • Battery Alerts • Docking Station Alerts • Other Alerts • Thermal Alerts Setting options available for each specific alert included in the alert policy category are: • Off—This alert must be suppressed if its condition is detected • On—This alert must be displayed if its condition is detected • User Controlled—Allow the system user to select whether this alert is displayed or suppressed (default) NOTE: Adapter alerts apply to both single and dual adapter messages.
9 Troubleshooting Viewing the Event Log Dell Command | Power Manager logs errors and events in the Windows Event log. 1. Click the Windows start button. 2. Click Control Panel → Administrative Tools. 3. Double-click the Event Viewer to open the application in a new window. 4. In the left pane, expand Windows Logs, and then click Application. 5. In the right pane, click Filter Current Log.... The Filter Current Log window displays. 6.
