Powercfg

Article
04/18/2012

Updated: April 17, 2012

Applies To: Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2

Control power settings and configure computers to default to Hibernate or Standby modes.

The Powercfg.exe tool is installed with Windows.

Syntax

powercfg [/l[ist]] [/q[uery] [<Scheme_GUID>] [<Sub_GUID>]] ] [/x <setting> <value>] [/changename <GUID> <name> [<scheme_description>]] [/duplicatescheme <GUID> [<DestinationGUID>]] [/d[elete] <GUID>] [/deletesetting <Sub_GUID> <Setting_GUID>] [/s[etactive] <Scheme_GUID>] [/getactivescheme] [/setacvalueindex <Scheme_GUID> <Sub_GUID> <Setting_GUID> <SettingIndex>] [/setdcvalueindex <Scheme_GUID> <Sub_GUID> <Setting_GUID> <SettingIndex>] [/h[ibernate] [on|off]] [/a[vailablesleepstates]] [/devicequery <query_flags>] [/deviceenablewake <devicename>] [/devicedisablewake <devicename>] [/import <filename> [<GUID>]] [/export <filename> [<GUID>]] [/lastwake] [/aliases] [/setsecuritydescriptor [<GUID>|<Action>] <SDDL>] [/getsecuritydescriptor [<GUID>|<Action>]] [/requests] [/requestsoverride <Caller_type> <Name> <Request>] [/energy [/output <filename>] [/xml] [/duration <seconds>] [/trace [/d <filepath>]] [/waketimers][/?]

Parameters

/list

Lists all power schemes in the current user's environment.

/q[uery] [<Scheme_GUID>] [<Sub_GUID>]

Displays the contents of the specified power scheme.

<SCHEME_GUID>

(Optional) Specifies the GUID of the power scheme to display. Can be obtained by using the powercfg /l command.

<SUB_GUID>

(Optional) Specifies the GUID of the subgroup to display. Requires a <SCHEME_GUID> to be provided.

If neither <SCHEME_GUID> or <SUB_GUID> are provided, the settings of the current user's active power scheme are displayed.

If <SUB_GUID> is not specified, all settings in the specified power scheme are displayed.

<Scheme_GUID>

Specifies the GUID of the power scheme to display.

<Sub_GUID>

Specifies the GUID of the subgroup to display.

/change <setting> <value>

/x <setting> <value>

Modifies a setting value in the current power scheme.

Specifies one of the following settings:

/monitor/timeout/ac <minutes>

/monitor/timeout/dc <minutes>

/disk/timeout/ac <minutes>

/disk/timeout/dc <minutes>

/standby/timeout/ac <minutes>

/standby/timeout/dc <minutes>

/hibernate/timeout/ac <minutes>

/hibernate/timeout/dc <minutes>

<value>

Specifies the value in minutes.

/changename <GUID> <name> [<scheme_description>]

Modifies the name of a power scheme and, optionally, the scheme description.

Value	Description
<GUID>	Specifies the GUID of the power scheme
<name>	Specifies the name of the power scheme.
<scheme_description>	Describes the power scheme.

If the description is omitted, then only the name will be changed.

/duplicatescheme <GUID> [<DestinationGUID>]

Duplicates the specified power scheme. The resulting GUID which represents the new scheme will be displayed.

<GUID>

Specifies a scheme GUID. Obtained by using the powercfg /l command.

Specifies the GUID where the scheme will be copied.

If <DestinationGUID> is omitted, then a new GUID will be created for the duplicated scheme.

/d[elete] <GUID>

Deletes the power scheme with the specified GUID.

<GUID>

Specifies the GUID of the scheme. Obtained by using the powercfg /l command.

/deletesetting <Sub_GUID> <Setting_GUID>

Deletes a power setting.

Value	Description
<Sub_GUID>	Specifies the subgroup GUID.
<Setting_GUID>	Specifies the power setting GUID.

/s[etactive] <Scheme_GUID>

Makes the specified power scheme active on the computer.

<Scheme_GUID>

Specifies the scheme GUID.

/getactivescheme

Retrieves the currently active power scheme.

/setacvalueindex <Scheme_GUID> <Sub_GUID> <Setting_GUID> <SettingIndex>

Sets a value associated with a specified power setting while the computer is powered by AC power.

Value	Description
<Scheme_GUID>	Specifies a power scheme GUID. Obtained by using the powercfg /l command.
<Sub_GUID>	Specifies a subgroup of power setting GUID. Obtained by using the powercfg /q command.
<Setting_GUID>	Specifies an individual power setting GUID. Obtained by using the powercfg /q command.
<SettingIndex>	Specifies which of the list of possible values this power setting will be set to.

/setdcvalueindex <Scheme_GUID> <Sub_GUID> <Setting_GUID> <SettingIndex>

Sets a value associated with a specified power setting while the computer is powered by DC power.

Value	Description
<Scheme_GUID>	Specifies a power scheme GUID. Obtained by using the powercfg /l command.
<Sub_GUID>	Specifies a subgroup of power setting GUID. Obtained by using the powercfg /q command.
<Setting_GUID>	Specifies an individual power setting GUID. Obtained by using the powercfg /q command.
<SettingIndex>	Specifies which of the list of possible values this power setting will be set to.

/h[ibernate] [on|off]

Enables or disables the hibernate feature. Hibernate timeout is not supported on all computers.

/a[vailablesleepstates]

Reports the sleep states available on the computer. Attempts to report reasons why sleep states are unavailable.

/devicequery <query_flags>

Returns a list of devices that meet the specified criteria.

<query_flags>

Specifies one of the following criteria:

Value	Description
wake_from_S1_supported	Returns all devices that support waking the computer from a light sleep state.
wake_from_S2_supported	Returns all devices that support waking the computer from a deeper sleep state.
wake_from_S3_supported	Returns all devices that support waking the computer from the deepest sleep state.
wake_from_any	Returns all devices that support waking the computer from any sleep state.
S1_supported	Lists devices supporting light sleep.
S2_supported	Lists devices supporting deeper sleep.
S3_supported	Lists devices supporting deepest sleep.
S4_supported	Lists devices supporting hibernation.
wake_programmable	Lists devices that are user/configurable to wake the computer from a sleep state.
wake_armed	Lists devices that are currently configured to wake the computer from any sleep state.
all_devices	Returns all devices present in the computer.
all_devices_verbose	Returns a verbose list of devices.

/deviceenablewake <devicename>

Enables the device to wake the computer from a sleep state.

Specifies a device retrieved by using the powercfg /devicequery wake_programmable command.

Example:

/devicedisablewake <devicename>

Disables the device from waking the computer from a sleep state.

Specifies a device retrieved by using the powercfg /devicequery wake_armed command.

/import <filename> [<GUID>]

Imports all power settings from the specified file.

Specifies a fully qualified path to a file generated by using the /export command-line option.

<GUID>

(optional) Represents the settings loaded into a power scheme. If not supplied, Powercfg will generate and use a new GUID

/export <filename> [<GUID>]

Exports a power scheme, represented by the specified GUID, to the specified file.

Specifies a fully qualified path to a destination file.

<GUID>

Specifies a power scheme GUID. Obtained by using the /l command-line option.

/lastwake

Reports information about the event that woke the computer from the last sleep transition.

/aliases

Displays all aliases and their corresponding GUIDs. The user may use these aliases in place of any GUID at the command prompt

/setsecruitydescriptor [<GUID>|<Action>] <SDDL>

Sets a security descriptor associated with a specified power setting, power scheme, or action.

<GUID>

Specifies a power scheme or a power setting GUID.

Specifies one of the following strings: ActionSetActive, ActionCreate, ActionDefault

<SDDL>

Specifies a valid security descriptor string in SDD format. Use powercfg /getsecuritydescriptor to see an example SDDL STRING.

/getsecuritydescriptor [<GUID>|<Action>]

Gets a security descriptor associated with a specified power setting, power scheme, or action.

<GUID>

Specifies a power scheme or a power setting GUID.

Specifies one of the following strings: ActionSetActive, ActionCreate, ActionDefault

/requests

Enumerate application and driver Power Requests. Power requests prevent the computer from automatically powering off the display or entering a low-power sleep mode.

/requestsoverride <Caller_type> <Name> <Request>

Sets a Power Request override for a particular Process, Service, or Driver. If no parameters are specified, this command displays the current list of Power Request Overrides.

Value	Description
<Caller_type>	Specifies one of the following caller types: PROCESS, SERVICE, DRIVER. This is obtained by calling the powercfg /requests command.
<Name>	Specifies the caller name. This is the name returned from calling powercfg /requests command.
<Request>	Specifies one or more of the following Power Request Types: Display, System, Awaymode.

/energy

Analyzes the system for common energy-efficiency and battery life problems. The /energy command should be used when the computer is idle and with no open programs or documents. The /energy command will generate an HTML report file in the current path.

Value	Description
/output <filename>	Specifies the path and filename to store the energy report HTML file.
/xml	Formats the report file as XML.
/trace	Records system behavior and does not perform analysis. Trace files will be generated in the current path unless the /d parameter is specified.
/d <filepath>	Specifies the directory to store trace data. May only be used with the /trace parameter.
/duration <seconds>	Specifies the number of seconds to observe system behavior. Default is 60 seconds

/waketimers

Enumerates the active wake timers. If enabled, the expiration of a wake timer wakes the system from sleep and hibernate states.

Displays Help at the command prompt.

Examples

To set the monitor idle timeout value to five minutes when operating on AC power:

powercfg /change /monitor/timeout/ac 5

To set the power setting's AC value to the fifth entry in the list of possible values for this power setting:

powercfg /setacvalueindex <Scheme_GUID> <Sub_GUID> <Setting_GUID> 5

To set the power setting's DC value to the fifth entry in the list of possible values for this power setting:

powercfg /setdcvalueindex <Scheme_GUID> <Sub_GUID> <Setting_GUID> 5

To enable the Microsoft USB IntelliMouse Explorer device to wake the computer from a sleep state:

powercfg /deviceenablewake "Microsoft USB IntelliMouse Explorer"

To import all power settings from the scheme.pow file:

powercfg /import c:\scheme.pow

To export a power scheme, represented by the GUID 381b4222/f694/41f0/9685/ff5bb260df2e to the scheme.pow file:

powercfg /export c:\scheme.pow 381b4222/f694/41f0/9685/ff5bb260df2e

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Powercfg

Syntax

Parameters

Examples

Additional references

Additional resources