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2-8 Dell Inspiron 3000 Reference and Troubleshooting Guide
Power Management Mode
Customized (the default) allows you to control the power
saving time-outs individually.
Select Disabled if you want to disable all power savings,
regardless of how the time-out options are set.
Select Maximum Performance to configure power saving
time-outs as a group to increase the performance of the
computer. When this setting is selected, the Standby
Time-Out option is set automatically to 4 minutes, and
the
Suspend Time-Out option is disabled. The Smart
CPU Mode option is set automatically to Off.
Select Maximum Power Savings to configure the power
saving time-outs as a group to save the most battery
power. When this setting is selected, the Standby
Time-Out option is set automatically to 1 minute, and the
Suspend Time-Out option is set automatically to 5 min-
utes. The Smart CPU Mode option is set automatically to
On.
Smart CPU Mode
Smart CPU Mode allows the computer to slow down the
microprocessor automatically if it is not being used. Set-
tings for this option are:
•
On — Allows the computer to slow down the micro-
processor when it is inactive
•
Off (the default) — Keeps the microprocessor run-
ning at its normal operating speed regardless of
microprocessor inactivity
To increase battery operating time, set the Smart CPU
Mode option to On.
When the Smart CPU Mode option is enabled and the
microprocessor is inactive, the computer slows the
microprocessor to save power.
NOTES: Some communications software may not work
properly when Smart CPU Mode is enabled. Dell recom-
mends that you set Smart CPU Mode to Off if you are
using communications software.
Interactive application programs should function well
when Smart CPU Mode is enabled. (Examples of interac-
tive programs include spreadsheet, text editor, graphics
design, entertainment, educational, and utility pro-
grams.) However, you may experience performance
degradation when recalculating a large spreadsheet or
during an extensive screen redraw in a graphical pro-
gram. Benchmark utilities may not perform as intended
when doing microprocessor speed tests. If the software
you use suffers significant performance degradation, set
Smart CPU Mode to Off.
Standby Time-Out
Standby mode conserves battery power by stopping some
computer activity, but leaves the computer ready to
resume operations immediately. Use standby mode when
you leave the computer unattended for less than a few
minutes. Press <Fn><s> to enter standby mode when you
are in Windows 95. Resume normal computer activity by
moving the cursor or pressing any key on the built-in
keyboard (the computer takes less than a second to return
to normal operation).
The Standby Time-Out option lets you determine how
long the computer remains idle (no I/O activity) before
activating standby mode to conserve battery power. Set-
tings for this option are Disabled, 1 min., 2 min., 4 min.,
6
min., 8 min., 12 min., and
16 min.
To increase battery operating time, set this option to a
lower number of minutes. Press any key on the built-in
keyboard to resume normal computer operation.
If the time delay you set for standby mode is greater than
the delay set for suspend mode, the computer enters
standby mode first. For instance, if Standby Time-Out is
set for 8 minutes and Suspend Time-Out is set for 5 min-
utes, the computer enters standby mode after 8 minutes
of no I/O activity and then enters save-to-disk or
save-to-RAM suspend mode 5 minutes later.
NOTE: Set this option to Disabled if it causes compatibil-
ity problems with your software.
Suspend Time-Out
Suspend Time-Out lets you determine how long the com-
puter remains idle (no I/O activity) before activating
save-to-RAM or save-to-disk suspend mode. Settings for
this option are Disabled, 5 min., 10 min., 15 min.,
20 min., 30 min., 40 min., and 60 min.
To increase battery operating time, set this option to a
lower number of minutes.
If the time delay you set for suspend mode is greater than
the delay set for standby mode, the computer enters
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