DOCUMENT:Q96603  24-NOV-1999  [msdos]
TITLE   :Balancing Power Conservation and Performance with POWER.EXE
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
=======

The Power program (POWER.EXE) monitors keyboard polling and the Application Idle
interrupt to determine if a system is idle; it monitors use of the hard disk,
video functions, and MS-DOS functions to determine if a system is busy.

POWER.EXE may incorrectly determine that your machine is idle if you are using
communication programs, computation-intensive programs, or other programs that
infrequently access the hard disk. When POWER.EXE detects that the system is
idle, it halts or slows down the CPU, which adversely affects application
performance if your machine is not truly idle.

MORE INFORMATION
================

With the ADV[:MIN|REG|MAX] command line switch, you can indicate whether your
higher priority is power savings or application performance. Specifically, the
ADV parameter controls the keyboard polling detection. If application
performance is suffering because of false idle detections, you can use the
ADV:MIN option to trigger fewer false idle detections. However, this option
provides minimal power savings when your machine is idle. The ADV:MAX option
provides maximum power savings but increases the chances of false idle
detections. The default setting is ADV:REG, which balances power conservation
with performance.

Type "power" (without the quotation marks and without any parameters) at the
MS-DOS command prompt to determine the current settings.


Additional query words: 6.22 6.00 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.