Power Management & Plans

Winhance provides a comprehensive power management interface, allowing you to select from system-default plans or apply specialized optimizations.

Power Plan Selection

The Power Plan ComboBox in Winhance is dynamic and intelligent:

Custom Plan Detection: Winhance automatically detects any custom power plans already present on your system and adds them to the selection list.
Default Windows Plans: Standard plans such as Balanced, High Performance, and Power Saver are always available.
Ultimate Performance: Winhance provides a one-click option to enable and activate the hidden Windows "Ultimate Performance" plan, which is designed for high-end systems to minimize micro-latencies.
Winhance Power Plan: This is a custom preset included with Winhance. It is based on the Ultimate Performance plan but further tuned for the best possible responsiveness.
Delete Plans: You can remove unwanted power plans from your system by clicking the Trash Can icon next to the plan name in the dropdown. Note that default Windows schemes can be easily restored if deleted.

ℹ️ Advanced Power Settings

Winhance unlocks hidden "Advanced Power Settings" that are normally invisible in the Windows Control Panel. This includes settings like Processor Boost Mode, Core Parking, and Energy Performance Preference.

Warning: These settings are locked by default for safety. Unlocking and modifying them (especially numeric values) can cause system instability or increased heat generation if set incorrectly. Winhance will show a warning dialog before allowing you to unlock these controls.

💻 Laptop vs Desktop View

Winhance intelligently detects if your device has a battery. On a Desktop, you will see a single set of controls (AC Power). On a Laptop, you will see two sets of controls: one for Plugged In (AC) and one for On Battery (DC), allowing for granular control over power consumption.

⚠️ Setting Persistence

Settings found in the Optimizations and Customizations views are not persistent. Winhance applies these changes once when you click "Apply", but it does not use background tasks to re-apply them if they are changed later by Windows or by you manually.

This is a deliberate design choice to respect user choice. For example, if you set Dark Mode via Winhance but later decide to switch back to Light Mode using the official Windows Settings app, Winhance will not revert your change on the next reboot.

Configuration Export & Power Plans

When you export your Winhance configuration to a .winhance file:

If a custom power plan is active, the config file will attempt to re-apply that plan when imported on another system.
Note: While the plan itself will be selected, some of the advanced power settings (like specific sub-setting values) might not be identical if the target system has different hardware capabilities or if those settings weren't explicitly defined in the custom plan.

Power Plan

Power Plan power-plan-selection

Select the active power plan for your system. Options include default Windows plans (Power Saver, Balanced, High Performance), Ultimate Performance, and the custom Winhance Power Plan.

Type: Selection (dynamic options)

Built-in Plans:

Power saver (GUID: a1841308-3541-4fab-bc81-f71556f20b4a)
Balanced (GUID: 381b4222-f694-41f0-9685-ff5bb260df2e)
High performance (GUID: 8c5e7fda-e8bf-4a96-9a85-a6e23a8c635c)
Ultimate Performance (GUID: e9a42b02-d5df-448d-aa00-03f14749eb61)
Winhance Power Plan (GUID: 57696e68-616e-6365-506f-776572000000)

Display

Turn off the display power-display-timeout

Specifies the period of inactivity before Windows turns off the display.

Options: Never, 1-5 minutes, 10-30 minutes, 1-5 hours

PowerCfg Details

Subgroup GUID	7516b95f-f776-4464-8c53-06167f40cc99 (SUB_VIDEO)
Setting GUID	3c0bc021-c8a8-4e07-a973-6b14cbcb2b7e (VIDEOIDLE)
Recommended AC	0 (Never)
Recommended DC	300 (5 minutes)

Hard Disk

Turn off hard disk after power-harddisk-timeout

Specifies the period of inactivity before Windows turns off the hard disk.

Type: Numeric range (0 = Never)

PowerCfg Details

Subgroup GUID	0012ee47-9041-4b5d-9b77-535fba8b1442 (SUB_DISK)
Setting GUID	6738e2c4-e8a5-4a42-b16a-e040e769756e (DISKIDLE)
Units	Seconds
Recommended AC	0 (Never)
Recommended DC	600 (10 minutes)

Internet Explorer

JavaScript Timer Frequency internet-explorer-javascript-timer

Specifies the frequency of JavaScript timers.

Options: Maximum Performance, Maximum Power Savings

PowerCfg Details

Subgroup GUID	02f815b5-a5cf-4c84-bf20-649d1f75d3d8
Setting GUID	4c793e7d-a264-42e1-87d3-7a0d2f523ccd
Recommended AC	0 (Maximum Performance)
Recommended DC	0 (Maximum Performance)

Desktop Background Settings

Desktop Background Slide Show desktop-slideshow

Allow or prevent Windows from rotating through multiple wallpaper images.

Options: Available, Paused

PowerCfg Details

Subgroup GUID	0d7dbae2-4294-402a-ba8e-26777e8488cd
Setting GUID	309dce9b-bef4-4119-9921-a851fb12f0f4
Recommended AC	1 (Available)
Recommended DC	1 (Paused)

Wireless Adapter Settings

Power Saving Mode wireless-power-mode

Balance wireless network performance with battery life by adjusting adapter power usage.

Options: Maximum Performance, Low Power Saving, Medium Power Saving, Maximum Power Saving

PowerCfg Details

Subgroup GUID	19cbb8fa-5279-450e-9fac-8a3d5fedd0c1
Setting GUID	12bbebe6-58d6-4636-95bb-3217ef867c1a
Recommended AC	0 (Maximum Performance)
Recommended DC	2 (Medium Power Saving)

Sleep

Put the computer to sleep power-sleep-timeout

Specifies the period of inactivity before Windows puts the computer to sleep.

Options: Never, 1-5 minutes, 10-30 minutes, 1-5 hours

PowerCfg Details

Subgroup GUID	238c9fa8-0aad-41ed-83f4-97be242c8f20 (SUB_SLEEP)
Setting GUID	29f6c1db-86da-48c5-9fdb-f2b67b1f44da (STANBYIDLE)
Recommended AC	0 (Never)
Recommended DC	900 (15 minutes)

Allow wake timers power-wake-timers

Allow scheduled tasks and applications to wake your computer from sleep.

Options: Disable, Enable, Important Wake Timers Only

PowerCfg Details

Subgroup GUID	238c9fa8-0aad-41ed-83f4-97be242c8f20 (SUB_SLEEP)
Setting GUID	bd3b718a-0680-4d9d-8ab2-e1d2b4ac806d (RTCWAKE)
Recommended AC	0 (Disable)
Recommended DC	0 (Disable)

Hibernation power-hibernation-enable

Save your session to disk and power down completely, using no battery while preserving your work.

Type: Toggle (command-based)

Command Details

Enable Command	powercfg /hibernate on
Disable Command	powercfg /hibernate off
Recommended	Disabled

Hibernate after power-hibernate-timeout

Specifies the period of inactivity before Windows hibernates the computer.

Note: Requires Hibernation to be enabled.

PowerCfg Details

Subgroup GUID	238c9fa8-0aad-41ed-83f4-97be242c8f20 (SUB_SLEEP)
Setting GUID	9d7815a6-7ee4-497e-8888-515a05f02364 (HIBERNATEIDLE)

Allow hybrid sleep power-hybrid-sleep

Combines sleep and hibernate by saving your session to disk while staying in low-power mode for faster wake.

Note: Requires Hibernation to be enabled.

PowerCfg Details

Subgroup GUID	238c9fa8-0aad-41ed-83f4-97be242c8f20 (SUB_SLEEP)
Setting GUID	94ac6d29-73ce-41a6-809f-6363ba21b47e (HYBRIDSLEEP)

Fast Startup power-fast-startup

Hibernate system state during shutdown for faster boot times (does not affect restart).

Note: Requires Hibernation to be enabled.

Registry Details

Path	`HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Power`
Value	`HiberbootEnabled`
Type	DWORD
Enabled	1
Disabled	0
Default	1 (Absence = Enabled)

Show Hibernate Option start-power-hibernate-option

Display the Hibernate option in the Start Menu power button menu.

Note: Requires Hibernation to be enabled.

Registry Details

Path	`HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FlyoutMenuSettings`
Value	`ShowHibernateOption`
Type	DWORD
Enabled	1
Disabled	0
Default	1 (Absence = Enabled)

USB Settings

USB Hub Selective Suspend Timeout usb-hub-selective-suspend-timeout

Set how long USB hubs wait idle before powering down to save energy.

Type: Numeric range (milliseconds)

PowerCfg Details

Subgroup GUID	2a737441-1930-4402-8d77-b2bebba308a3
Setting GUID	0853a681-27c8-4100-a2fd-82013e970683
Units	Milliseconds
Recommended AC	0
Recommended DC	1000

USB selective suspend setting usb-selective-suspend

Allow Windows to power down individual USB ports when devices are idle to save energy.

Options: Disabled, Enabled

PowerCfg Details

Subgroup GUID	2a737441-1930-4402-8d77-b2bebba308a3
Setting GUID	48e6b7a6-50f5-4782-a5d4-53bb8f07e226
Recommended AC	0 (Disabled)
Recommended DC	1 (Enabled)

USB 3 Link Power Management usb3-link-power-management

Control how aggressively USB 3.0 ports enter low-power states when devices are idle.

Options: Off, Minimum power savings, Moderate power savings, Maximum power savings

PowerCfg Details

Subgroup GUID	2a737441-1930-4402-8d77-b2bebba308a3
Setting GUID	d4e98f31-5ffe-4ce1-be31-1b38b384c009
Recommended AC	0 (Off)
Recommended DC	2 (Moderate power savings)

Intel(R) Graphics Settings

Intel(R) Graphics Power Plan intel-graphics-power-plan

Balance Intel integrated graphics performance with power consumption and battery life.

Options: Maximum Battery Life, Balanced, Maximum Performance

Note: Only visible on systems with Intel integrated graphics.

PowerCfg Details

Subgroup GUID	44f3beca-a7c0-460e-9df2-bb8b99e0cba6
Setting GUID	3619c3f2-afb2-4afc-b0e9-e7fef372de36
Recommended AC	2 (Maximum Performance)
Recommended DC	1 (Balanced)

Power Buttons and Lid

Power button action power-button-action

Choose what happens when you press the physical power button on your computer.

Options: Do nothing, Sleep, Hibernate, Shut down

PowerCfg Details

Subgroup GUID	4f971e89-eebd-4455-a8de-9e59040e7347 (SUB_BUTTONS)
Setting GUID	7648efa3-dd9c-4e3e-b566-50f929386280
Recommended AC	0 (Do nothing)
Recommended DC	0 (Do nothing)

Sleep button action sleep-button-action

Choose what happens when you press the dedicated sleep button on your keyboard or computer.

Options: Do nothing, Sleep, Hibernate, Shut down

PowerCfg Details

Subgroup GUID	4f971e89-eebd-4455-a8de-9e59040e7347 (SUB_BUTTONS)
Setting GUID	96996bc0-ad50-47ec-923b-6f41874dd9eb
Recommended AC	0 (Do nothing)
Recommended DC	0 (Do nothing)

Lid close action lid-close-action Laptops Only

Choose what happens when you close your laptop lid.

Options: Do nothing, Sleep, Hibernate, Shut down

PowerCfg Details

Subgroup GUID	4f971e89-eebd-4455-a8de-9e59040e7347 (SUB_BUTTONS)
Setting GUID	5ca83367-6e45-459f-a27b-476b1d01c936 (LIDACTION)
Recommended AC	1 (Sleep)
Recommended DC	1 (Sleep)

PCI Express

Link State Power Management pci-link-state-power-management

Control power savings for PCIe devices like graphics cards, SSDs, and expansion cards.

Options: Off, Moderate power savings, Maximum power savings

PowerCfg Details

Subgroup GUID	501a4d13-42af-4429-9fd1-a8218c268e20 (SUB_PCIEXPRESS)
Setting GUID	ee12f906-d277-404b-b6da-e5fa1a576df5 (ASPM)
Recommended AC	0 (Off)
Recommended DC	2 (Maximum power savings)

Processor Power Management

Minimum processor state processor-min-state

Set the lowest CPU speed allowed as a percentage of maximum frequency.

Type: Numeric range (0-100%)

PowerCfg Details

Subgroup GUID	54533251-82be-4824-96c1-47b60b740d00 (SUB_PROCESSOR)
Setting GUID	893dee8e-2bef-41e0-89c6-b55d0929964c (PROCTHROTTLEMIN)
Units	%
Recommended AC	100%
Recommended DC	5%

Maximum processor state processor-max-state

Set the highest CPU speed allowed as a percentage of maximum frequency.

Type: Numeric range (0-100%)

PowerCfg Details

Subgroup GUID	54533251-82be-4824-96c1-47b60b740d00 (SUB_PROCESSOR)
Setting GUID	bc5038f7-23e0-4960-96da-33abaf5935ec (PROCTHROTTLEMAX)
Units	%
Recommended AC	100%
Recommended DC	100%

System cooling policy system-cooling-policy Advanced

Choose whether to slow down the processor first (passive) or speed up fans first (active) when hot.

Options: Passive, Active

PowerCfg Details

Subgroup GUID	54533251-82be-4824-96c1-47b60b740d00 (SUB_PROCESSOR)
Setting GUID	94d3a615-a899-4ac5-ae2b-e4d8f634367f
Recommended AC	1 (Active)
Recommended DC	1 (Active)

Processor performance boost mode processor-performance-boost-mode Advanced

Control how aggressively your CPU boosts above base frequency for demanding tasks.

Options: Disabled, Enabled, Aggressive, Efficient Enabled, Efficient Aggressive, Aggressive At Guaranteed

PowerCfg Details

Subgroup GUID	54533251-82be-4824-96c1-47b60b740d00 (SUB_PROCESSOR)
Setting GUID	be337238-0d82-4146-a960-4f3749d470c7 (PERFBOOSTMODE)
Recommended AC	2 (Aggressive)
Recommended DC	1 (Enabled)

CPU Core Parking Minimum Cores processor-core-parking-min-cores Advanced

Set the minimum percentage of CPU cores that must remain active and responsive.

Type: Numeric range (0-100%)

PowerCfg Details

Subgroup GUID	54533251-82be-4824-96c1-47b60b740d00 (SUB_PROCESSOR)
Setting GUID	0cc5b647-c1df-4637-891a-dec35c318583 (CPMINCORES)
Recommended AC	0%
Recommended DC	0%

CPU Core Parking Maximum Cores processor-core-parking-max-cores Advanced

Set the maximum percentage of CPU cores allowed to be active (100% for best performance).

Type: Numeric range (0-100%)

PowerCfg Details

Subgroup GUID	54533251-82be-4824-96c1-47b60b740d00 (SUB_PROCESSOR)
Setting GUID	ea062031-0e34-4ff1-9b6d-eb1059334028 (CPMAXCORES)
Recommended AC	100%
Recommended DC	100%

Processor Energy Performance Preference processor-energy-performance-preference Advanced

Balance power efficiency and performance for modern CPUs with HWP (0 = max performance, 100 = max efficiency).

Type: Numeric range (0-100%)

PowerCfg Details

Subgroup GUID	54533251-82be-4824-96c1-47b60b740d00 (SUB_PROCESSOR)
Setting GUID	36687f9e-e3a5-4dbf-b1dc-15eb381c6863 (PERFEPP)
Units	%
Recommended AC	0% (Max Performance)
Recommended DC	50%

Processor Performance Increase Policy processor-performance-increase-policy Advanced

Control how quickly CPU ramps up speed when workload increases (for legacy non-HWP processors).

Options: Ideal, Single, Rocket

PowerCfg Details

Subgroup GUID	54533251-82be-4824-96c1-47b60b740d00 (SUB_PROCESSOR)
Setting GUID	465e1f50-b610-473a-ab58-00d1077dc418 (PERFINCPOL)
Recommended AC	2 (Rocket)
Recommended DC	0 (Ideal)

Processor Performance Decrease Policy processor-performance-decrease-policy Advanced

Control how quickly CPU reduces speed when workload decreases (for legacy non-HWP processors).

Options: Ideal, Single, Rocket

PowerCfg Details

Subgroup GUID	54533251-82be-4824-96c1-47b60b740d00 (SUB_PROCESSOR)
Setting GUID	40fbefc7-2e9d-4d25-a185-0cfd8574bac6 (PERFDECPOL)
Recommended AC	1 (Single)
Recommended DC	2 (Rocket)

Processor Performance Increase Threshold processor-performance-increase-threshold Advanced

Set CPU usage percentage that triggers speed increase (lower = more responsive, for legacy non-HWP CPUs).

Type: Numeric range (0-100%)

PowerCfg Details

Subgroup GUID	54533251-82be-4824-96c1-47b60b740d00 (SUB_PROCESSOR)
Setting GUID	06cadf0e-64ed-448a-8927-ce7bf90eb35d (PERFINCTHRESHOLD)
Units	%
Recommended AC	10%
Recommended DC	30%

Processor Performance Decrease Threshold processor-performance-decrease-threshold Advanced

Set CPU usage percentage that triggers speed reduction (lower = maintains performance longer, for legacy non-HWP CPUs).

Type: Numeric range (0-100%)

PowerCfg Details

Subgroup GUID	54533251-82be-4824-96c1-47b60b740d00 (SUB_PROCESSOR)
Setting GUID	12a0ab44-fe28-4fa9-b3bd-4b64f44960a6 (PERFDECTHRESHOLD)
Units	%
Recommended AC	8%
Recommended DC	20%

Disable Power Throttling power-throttling

Prevents Windows from throttling your CPU to save power, ensuring maximum performance for all applications.

Registry Details

Path	`HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power\PowerThrottling`
Value	`PowerThrottlingOff`
Type	DWORD
Enabled (Throttling disabled)	1
Disabled (Throttling enabled)	0
Default	0

Multimedia Settings

When Sharing Media multimedia-when-sharing-media

Control whether your PC can sleep while streaming media to other devices on your network.

Options: Allow the computer to sleep, Prevent idling to sleep, Allow the computer to enter Away Mode

PowerCfg Details

Subgroup GUID	9596fb26-9850-41fd-ac3e-f7c3c00afd4b
Setting GUID	03680956-93bc-4294-bba6-4e0f09bb717f
Recommended	1 (Prevent idling to sleep)

Video Playback Quality Bias multimedia-video-playback-quality-bias

Prioritize smooth video playback over battery life when watching videos.

Options: Video playback power-saving bias, Video playback performance bias

PowerCfg Details

Subgroup GUID	9596fb26-9850-41fd-ac3e-f7c3c00afd4b
Setting GUID	10778347-1370-4ee0-8bbd-33bdacaade49
Recommended	1 (Video playback performance bias)

When Playing Video multimedia-when-playing-video

Balance video quality and power consumption during video playback.

Options: Optimize video quality, Balanced, Optimize power savings

PowerCfg Details

Subgroup GUID	9596fb26-9850-41fd-ac3e-f7c3c00afd4b
Setting GUID	34c7b99f-9a6d-4b3c-8dc7-b6693b78cef4
Recommended	0 (Optimize video quality)

Battery

These settings only appear on laptops and devices with batteries.

Critical battery notification critical-battery-notification Laptops Only

Show notification when battery reaches critically low level.

Options: Off, On

Critical battery action critical-battery-action Laptops Only

Choose what happens when battery reaches critically low level.

Options: Do nothing, Sleep, Hibernate, Shut down

Low battery level low-battery-level Laptops Only

Set the battery percentage that triggers low battery warnings and actions.

Type: Numeric range (0-100%)

Critical battery level critical-battery-level Laptops Only

Set the battery percentage that triggers critical battery warnings and emergency actions.

Type: Numeric range (0-100%)

Low battery notification low-battery-notification Laptops Only

Show notification when battery reaches low battery level.

Options: Off, On

PowerCfg Details

Subgroup GUID	e73a048d-bf27-4f12-9731-8b2076e8891f (SUB_BATTERY)
Setting GUID	bcded951-187b-4d05-bccc-f7e51960c258 (BATFLAGSLOW)
Recommended	1 (On)

Low battery action low-battery-action Laptops Only

Choose what happens when battery reaches low battery level.

Options: Do nothing, Sleep, Hibernate, Shut down

PowerCfg Details

Subgroup GUID	e73a048d-bf27-4f12-9731-8b2076e8891f (SUB_BATTERY)
Setting GUID	d8742dcb-3e6a-4b3c-b3fe-374623cdcf06 (BATACTIONLOW)
Recommended	0 (Do nothing)

Reserve battery level reserve-battery-level Laptops Only

Set battery percentage reserved to protect battery health and prevent unexpected shutdowns.

Type: Numeric range (0-100%)

PowerCfg Details

Subgroup GUID	e73a048d-bf27-4f12-9731-8b2076e8891f (SUB_BATTERY)
Setting GUID	f3c5027d-cd16-4930-aa6b-90db844a8f00
Units	%
Recommended	7%

Start Menu Power Options

Show Lock Option start-power-lock-option

Display the Lock option in the Start Menu power button menu.

Note: Requires the Lock Screen to be enabled.

Registry Details

Path	`HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FlyoutMenuSettings`
Value	`ShowLockOption`
Type	DWORD
Enabled	1
Disabled	0
Default	1 (Absence = Enabled)

Show Sleep Option start-power-sleep-option

Display the Sleep option in the Start Menu power button menu.

Registry Details

Path	`HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FlyoutMenuSettings`
Value	`ShowSleepOption`
Type	DWORD
Enabled	1
Disabled	0
Default	1 (Absence = Enabled)

Graphics Settings

AMD Power Slider Overlay amd-power-slider-overlay

Balance AMD laptop performance and battery life with quick power mode selection.

Options: Better Battery, Better Performance, Best Performance

ATI PowerPlay Setting ati-powerplay-setting

Control power management for older AMD Radeon graphics cards.

Options: Maximum Battery Life, Balanced, Maximum Performance

Note: Only visible on systems with legacy AMD/ATI graphics.

GPU Preference (Switchable Graphics) switchable-graphics-gpu-preference

Choose between integrated GPU for battery life or dedicated GPU for performance in hybrid graphics laptops.

Options: Optimize Power Savings, Optimize Performance, Maximize Performance

Note: Only visible on systems with hybrid graphics (Intel + NVIDIA/AMD).