How to access Control Panel Power Options on a Windows 10 desktop
Windows 10, like its predecessors, has different power plans. These power plans allow you to favor either performance or battery life. It is a feature that is generally thought to be more beneficial if you have a laptop running Windows 10. Of course, desktop systems still exist and many use Windows 10. The power plans are just as beneficial on desktops since they control lots of different settings.
On a laptop, you can right-click the battery icon in the system tray and select Power Options. On a desktop though, there’s no battery icon in the system tray. Here’s how you can access the Control Panel Power Options on a Windows 10 desktop.
Power Options on Windows 10 desktop
The Power Options reside in the Control Panel. To open them, open Control Panel and go to System and Security. You will see Power Options listed there. Click it and customize your power plan. If you find yourself accessing Power Options often on a desktop and would like a quicker way to do it, you can pin the setting to the Start Menu.
An alternative method for accessing Power Options on a Windows 10 desktop is to open File Explorer and enter the following path in the location bar. Tap Enter and you’ll land on the Power Options panel.
Control Panel\System and Security\Power Options
Power Options list the power plans and other options such as what the power and sleep button do. If you only need to change basic settings e.g., when the computer or the display goes to sleep, you don’t really need to go to the Control Panel to do the job.
You can instead just open the Settings app and select the System group of settings. You’ll find a Power and Sleep tab here where you can change when the system and the display go to sleep. There’s also an option to access the Control Panel options on this tab as well but it’s not as convenient to access as a tile on the Start menu would be.
Power Plans are for controlling power consumption but if you actually go through the various settings and configurations, you’ll find that power options is also where you can enable or disable wake timers, when the hard disk turns off, and more.
In rare cases, a bug or two on Windows 10 might be fixed by making a change or adjustment to the power options. More importantly, it’s also where you can switch between power plans as, and when needed.
