User Guide to Power Management
in PCs and Monitors
Abstract
Power management of personal computers (PCs)
and monitors has the potential to save significant amounts of
electricity as well as deliver other economic and environmental
benefits. The
Environmental Protection Agency's
Energy Star program
has transformed the PC market so that equipment capable of power
management is now widely available. However, previous studies
have found that many
Energy Star compliant computer systems
are not accomplishing energy savings. The principal reasons for this
are systems not being enabled for power management or a circumstance
that prevents power management from operating. This guide is
intended to provide information to computer support workers to
increase the portion of systems that successfully power manage.
The guide introduces power management concepts
and the variety of benefits that power management can bring.
It then explains how the parts of a computer system work together
to enter and leave power management states. Several common computer
system types are addressed, as well as the complications that
networks bring to power management. Detailed instructions for
checking and configuring several system types are provided, along
with "trouble shooting" advice. The guide concludes
with a discussion of how to purchase Energy Star compliant systems
and future directions for power management of PCs and related
equipment.
This report can be read by clicking on the
Table of Contents
below or by downloading the Adobe Acrobat version.
Click here to download the Adobe Acrobat version
of the "User Guide to Power Management in PCs and Monitors"
Table of Contents
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1. Introduction to Power Management
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1.1 Reasons for this guide
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1.2 How to use this guide
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1.3 National benefits of power management
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2. What is Power Management?
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2.1 What is Power Management?
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2.2 How the User Benefits from Power-Managed Computers
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3 How Does Power Management Work?
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3.1 Introduction
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3.2 Power Management Modes and System
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3.3 PC Power Management
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3.4 PC Power Management with Networks
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3.5 Monitor Power Management
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3.6 Power Management in Workstations
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3.7 Aftermarket Devices
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3.8 Potential Barriers To Power Management
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4 What can I do with my existing stock of PCs?
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4.1 Turn off computers at night and on weekends
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4.2 Determining Power Management Capability
and Enabling Power Management
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4.3 Overview
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4.4 Trouble Shooting
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5 How do I buy new ENERGY STAR computers?
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6 Future Directions
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7 Summary
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8 References
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Appendices
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Appendix A. Glossary
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Appendix B. Resources
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Appendix C. BIOS Setup Systems
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Appendix D. Enabling Power Management for Specific
Systems
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D.1 Introduction
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D.2 Enabling Monitor Power Management
in x86-based machines
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D.3 Enabling PC Power Management in x86-based machines
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D.4 Enabling Monitor and PC Power Management in BIOS
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D.5 Enabling Power Management in Apple Systems
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D.6 Enabling Power Management in Sun Systems
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D.7 Install Aftermarket Devices
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Appendix E. Assumptions
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Appendix F. One-page Summary
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Appendix G. Audit Procedures
For further information about Building Energy Measurement and Performance Analysis
publications, please contact
Alan Meier,
at +1 (510) 486-4740
Continue to the Cover Page, Acknowledgements, and Disclaimer.
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This web page last modified by Brian Pon on April 27, 2000.
Questions? E-mail Alan Meier.