Using Powercfg to Change the Name of a Power Scheme

Written by Barry Dysert (last updated November 9, 2020)

As you may know, your computer can run under a variety of different power schemes. A power scheme is a collection of hardware and system settings that manage how your computer uses power. They are typically used the most with laptops, where it's more crucial to trade off between performance and battery preservation. Even a desktop machine can use them, though. There are three schemes that come with Windows by default. They are Balanced, High Performance, and Power Saver, and you can create others if none of these suits you.

There is a command utility in Windows called Powercfg, which provides a great deal of control over your power schemes. (You can use the GUI for much of this functionality, too, but a lot of people prefer using the command line.) Powercfg takes numerous switches to tell it what you want to do regarding your power schemes. To see all of the switches available to Powercfg, invoke it with the "-HELP" (or "-?") switch.

For this tip we want to change the name of a power scheme. First, we'll get a list of the available power schemes (covered under another tip). (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. Powercfg -list.

Now let's say that I want to change the name of the "Power saver" scheme to instead have the name "Barry". You use the -CHANGENAME switch to Powercfg to do this. You follow the switch with the GUID whose name you want to change, and finally supply the new name. Here is an example: (See Figure 2.)

Figure 2. Powercfg -changename.

 This tip (13482) applies to Windows 7, 8, and 10.

Author Bio

Barry Dysert

Barry has been a computer professional for over 35 years, working in different positions such as technical team leader, project manager, and software developer. He is currently a software engineer with an emphasis on developing custom applications under Microsoft Windows. When not working with Windows or writing Tips, Barry is an amateur writer. His first non-fiction book is titled "A Chronological Commentary of Revelation." ...

MORE FROM BARRY

Understanding Notifications in the Windows 10 Action Center

The Action Center is essentially the old Notification Area. This tip helps you understand it.

Discover More

Checking a Disk Drive for Free Space

Keeping track of your resources can help you avoid serious computer problems. Having an adequate amount of disk space is ...

Discover More

Changing Screen Resolution

Screen resolution is a key attribute of your monitor. You usually have choices for resolution, which provides you with a ...

Discover More
More WindowsTips

Quickly Reset Your Graphics Driver

Resetting your graphics driver can help when your computer is facing issues. Execute a quick rest of your computer's ...

Discover More

Using Powercfg to Change the Active Power Scheme

You can easily change which power scheme is active by using the SetActive switch. This tip shows you how.

Discover More

Using Powercfg to List Your Existing Power Schemes

Windows allows you to define different power schemes that control how your computer uses power. This tip shows you how to ...

Discover More
Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 3 + 7?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


Newest Tips