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Windows 7 is better than Vista in so many ways, but it's actually a lot worse in some others. Take, for example, choosing power plans from the system tray.
In Windows Vista, you could click on the battery meter and choose between the 3 plans: High Performance, Balanced, and Power Saver.
Now, for some idiotic reason, Microsft decided to limit our choices to only TWO plans from the system tray: your current plan + Balanced (if balanced is selected I believe it defaults to Power Saver for the 2nd one). To change it to the 3rd one I have to actually click on "More Power Options" and then select the plan.
Microsoft is requiring you to take extra steps for doing something that was easier before. I thought Windows 7's mantra was "do things faster" (i.e. Jumplists, Aero Peek, Accelerators, etc.) Who was the moron who made this decision, and how can I get my Vista-style Power tray back?
Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.
Um maybe if you read my original post (or if use Windows 7 itself), Balanced is ALWAYS shown, even if it wasn't your 'old' plan. So you can't flip-flop between Power Saver and High Performance, which is what I want.
What if I deleted the Balanced power plan? Is there a way to delete the default plans?
Yes, there is a way.
FlyoutAutoPowerScheme: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc749282(WS.10).aspx
Rating posts helps other usersMark L. Ferguson MS-MVP
Please include a fix for this in a future hotfix or service pack. And please keep me updated if there's a solution.
info: > "No new features in Service Packs"
solution: > You will have to accept one of the three or four workarounds, the power feature is by design, and expected behavior for Win 7.
Rating posts helps other usersMark L. Ferguson MS-MVP
what they ought to do is mimic jumplists... drag and drop the power plans you use. only no right click.
or even have a setting hidden in the control panel options that could be changed that most users would never even stumble across but advanced users could easily change.
The 1st real disadvantage of Windows 7 :(
Is there any EASY way that this can be changed, by just adding a small thing to the registry? W/o having to download the AIK and figure it out as if it's rocket science, In plain English: is it possible to just a a file to the registry to change this? AND IF SO WHAT IS IT!
What are the other workarounds?
There is a simple way - Total Power Control , download it and you will have all three power plans in system tray. You can have not only Power Saver, Balanced and High Performance, but ANY power plans, including custom user made ones. Besides you get some more useful stuff as a bonus... such as immediate shutdown, restart, manaully or on timer, or when CPU becomes idle, or from internet, or using keyboard hotkeys... there is a lot of usefull stuff there.
PS: Tried "Power Plan Assistant" before - it's stupid - always asks to download a new distributive from internet every 7 days and reinstall until you pay for it, it's not freeware, it's mockeryware.
Please include a fix for this in a future hotfix or service pack. And please keep me updated if there's a solution.
info: > "No new features in Service Packs"
solution: > You will have to accept one of the three or four workarounds, the power feature is by design, and expected behavior for Win 7.
Rating posts helps other usersMark L. Ferguson MS-MVP
You're wrong:
I'm pretty sure they could fix this miniscule annoyance in a service pack when they have clearly done much bigger overhauls in supposedly "feature-less" service pack upgrades in the past.
I found a way. I created a new toolbar out of a folder. This folder contains powercfg.exe scripts as told by Mark L. Ferguson. If you shrink the toolbar and lock the taskbar it would look as in the image. I also choose to change the icons to make it look good. Clicking the >> pops up more power options.
If you want to automate stuff, you could write a C programme that parses the output of powercfg /l and creates .cmd files for each power option. and does the powercfg.exe /s {GUID} Place this C programme in the startup folder and or the Run key of the registry to have your new power options updated on every run.
