DOCUMENT:Q96560 19-NOV-1999 [msdos] TITLE :POWER.EXE and Advanced Power Management (APM) Support PRODUCT :Microsoft Disk Operating System PROD/VER:MS-DOS:6.0,6.2,6.21,6.22 OPER/SYS: KEYWORDS: ====================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The information in this article applies to: - Microsoft MS-DOS operating system versions 6.0, 6.2, 6.21, 6.22 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY ======= You can install the Power program (POWER.EXE) even if your BIOS does not support the Advanced Power Management (APM) specification. After you install POWER.EXE in the CONFIG.SYS file, the POWER command (without any switches) provides status information. On systems without APM support, POWER displays the following: Power Management Status ----------------------- Setting = ADV:REG CPU: idle 90% of the time On systems with APM support, POWER displays the following additional information reported by the BIOS: Power Management Status ----------------------- Setting = ADV:REG CPU: idle 90% of the time AC Status: OFFLINE Battery status: High Battery life (%): 90 MORE INFORMATION ================ POWER.EXE detects whether your system has an APM-compliant BIOS and then adapts accordingly. When POWER.EXE detects that your system is idle, it saves power by issuing a CPU HALT instruction. HALT stops CPU execution until the next hardware interrupt occurs (this is usually the timer interrupt, which occurs 52 times per second). On systems without an APM-compliant BIOS, testing reveals a 5% power savings. If your system has an APM-compliant BIOS, POWER.EXE communicates with the BIOS. Depending on the frequency of the idle signals from POWER, the APM-compliant BIOS can save power by shutting down the display or hard disk, switching the processor to a slower speed, or suspending the system entirely. Additional query words: 6.22 6.00 five percent 6.20 ====================================================================== Keywords : Technology : kbMSDOSSearch kbMSDOS621 kbMSDOS622 kbMSDOS620 kbMSDOS600 Version : MS-DOS:6.0,6.2,6.21,6.22 ============================================================================= THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THE MICROSOFT KNOWLEDGE BASE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. MICROSOFT DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS OR SPECIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES SO THE FOREGOING LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY. Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1999.