Using Microsoft’s integrated power manager capabilities with Eaton UPSs

®
All Microsoft Windows operating systems come with minimal basic power management and monitoring
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functionality that works with Eaton UPSs connected to a computer or server through a USB cable. However,
the more recent versions of Windows (see list below) have added functionality to simplify the power
management and make it more feature-rich. This happens through the Microsoft® integrated power manager
software embedded in Windows. To enable the software to detect your UPS and make the best use of its
features, simply follow the steps in this application note.

Versions of Windows with integrated power manager software:

Windows 2000
Windows XP
Windows 2003
Windows 2003 storage servers
Windows 7
Windows 2008
Windows Vista

UPS detection
When the Eaton UPS is connected to the computer or server using the USB cable, the UPS is automatically
displayed in the ‘device manager’ as an “HID UPS Battery.” Click the following sequence to view “Device
Manager.”

Start -> Computer (right click) -> Properties -> Device Manager

You can check that your Eaton UPS is correctly recognized by clicking on “HID UPS Battery”.
The following window is displayed:

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Power management options with older Windows systems (2000, XP, 2003, 2003
storage servers)
Access the Microsoft® generic driver settings through:

Start -> Settings -> Control -> Power Options

The following window appears:

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In the case shown above, the PC is a laptop with system battery (#1). Battery #3 is an Eaton UPS, see below.

You can set your computer to shutdown gracefully during a power outage by configuring the critical battery
thresholds in the Alarms tab. When the battery charge level passes under the selected threshold, the computer
shuts down. You should define this threshold to ensure enough battery capacity remains in order to completely
and properly shutdown your computer.

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In the above screen shot, the Alarm Action under Critical battery alarm is set to force the computer into standby
mode. To change it, click Alarm Action, and the following window opens.

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Power management options with newer version of Windows (7, 2008, Vista):
In the newer versions of Windows, Microsoft provides a battery meter window to allow the user to check
remaining battery life and select/change the power plan for the computer. The battery meter is activated when
the user clicks on the battery icon in the systray. It is shown in the following screen shot.1

Windows allows three choices of power plan selection:

2
Microsoft power plan type Microsoft plan description
This plan balances energy consumption and system
Balanced performance by adapting the computer's processor speed to
your activity.
This plan saves power on your mobile PC by reducing system
Power saver
performance. Its primary purpose is to maximize battery life.
This plan provides the highest level of performance on your
High performance mobile PC by adapting processor speed to your work or activity
and by maximizing system performance.

After defining your power plan, you can then configure the power settings for graceful shutdown and protection
of data in the event of a long-term power failure. We advise you to customize both the shutdown threshold and
the notification threshold. The default values are optimized for laptop batteries, and you have to change these
values to benefit from UPS features.

With these settings, you will be able to:

 Define the shutdown of your computer during a utility failure – which means shut down when the
battery charge level passes under the selected threshold. This threshold will be defined to ensure
enough autonomy duration in order to completely and properly shutdown your computer. (We advise
30 percent.)
 Receive warning when the battery is low. (We advise 50%)

Configuration steps:
 From the battery icon on the systray, perform a right click and select Power Options. The following

1
Microsoft, What’s new in managing power settings, http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-
vista/Whats-new-in-managing-power-settings#section_2
2
Microsoft, What’s new in managing power settings, http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-
vista/Whats-new-in-managing-power-settings#section_2

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window appears:

 Select, the best plan for you, for example the Balanced plan, and click on Change plan settings. This
window appears:

 In the window, click on Change advanced power settings

 From the Advanced settings tab, expand Battery parameters and change the settings as
recommended.

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We recommend the following values for a correct shutdown sequence:

 Critical battery action -> On battery: (choose Hibernate or Shut down)
 Low battery level -> On battery: 50 %
 Critical battery level -> On battery: 30 %
 Low battery notification -> On battery: On
 Low battery action -> On battery: Do nothing

More information
If you have further questions or would like more information, please contact your support team at Eaton:

Tel: 1-800-356-5794
E-mail: InsideSalesEngineerUPS@eaton.com

Acknowledgements and Intellectual Property

Eaton would like to thank Microsoft Corp, for integrating the support of power device class / USB enabled UPSs in Microsoft
windows power management.
TM
All screenshots and information about integrated power management of Windows 7, 2008 and Vista are the sole property
of Microsoft Corp.

Eaton is a registered trademark of Eaton Corporation. All other trademarks, registered trademarks or service marks are
property of their respective owners.

www.eaton.com/powerquality July 5, 2011