When you configure power options for the active (current) power plan in Windows Vista, the changes are not reflected on the System Settings page in the Power Options item in Control Panel.

This behavior does not occur if you are currently using the default, or “preferred,” power plan. The preferred power plan is specified in the registry.

My first tip was how to change the behavior of the power button. The default is to Sleep, but I prefer to actually Shut Down. It’s only seven tips later, and I’ve already got a different way to do this, mostly because it’s a few steps quicker. Keep reading →