Vista Battery Saver

NEW POST: Program window in Alt-Tab

GordoPanocho — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 00:03:52 GMT

I noticed this as well. I guess CodePlex will need to tweak the code to stop it ... should they choose to do so. I have to close it everytime I start up. It's a small pain and nothing major ... just something that nags me being that I just got this brand new system and wanted everything just perfect.

CREATED ISSUE: Upon initial launch, VBS appears in Alt-Tab list of applications (re-added)

jslicer — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 03:15:19 GMT

This does not appear to be fixed, as per the other entry.

NEW POST: Program window in Alt-Tab

jo2007 — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 10:43:57 GMT

Hi,

I noticed that Battery Saver shows up in Alt-Tab / Win-Tab on Windows Vista even though it is just sitting in the system tray and has no open window.
Is this a bug?

Jochen

CREATED ISSUE: Google Sidebar conflict

strife_caecus — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 02:45:03 GMT

Currently, I'm using the Google Sidebar as my preferred sidebar in Vista Business. Here are a couple of issues regarding the "Windows Sidebar Activity Settings" (assuming that under "Windows Aero User Interface Activity Settings" it's always set to "Always deactivate on battery"):

FIRST SCENARIO:
Whenever the option "Always deactivate on battery" is selected and I go into battery mode, the system disables the Aero effects (as it should) and the Google Sidebar stays active on the side of the screen. When I switch back to AC power, the Google Sidebar disappears and I get a dialog box with the following message:
"You have enabled a new sidebar, which will replace the Google Sidebar. Do you want to keep this setting?"
The two buttons to click on are "Yes, enable new sidebar" or "No, return to the Google Sidebar"
If I click "Yes..." the Google Sidebar will be replaced with the Windows Sidebar.
If I click "No..." the Google Sidebar will return to its original location.

SECOND SCENARIO:
Whenever the option "Never deactivate on battery" is selected and I go into battery mode, the system disables the Aero effects (as it should) and the Google Sidebar immediately disappears and I get a dialog box with the following message:
"You have enabled a new sidebar, which will replace the Google Sidebar. Do you want to keep this setting?"
The two buttons to click on are "Yes, enable new sidebar" or "No, return to the Google Sidebar"
If I click "Yes..." the Google Sidebar will be replaced with the Windows Sidebar.
If I click "No..." the Google Sidebar will return to its original location.
When I switch back to AC power, the Google Sidebar disappears and I get a dialog box with the same message.

THIRD SCENARIO:
Whenever you just merely select the "Always deactivate on battery" or "Never deactivate on battery" setting inside the VBS window, you will get the same dialog box stated above.

I'm wondering if you could perhaps fix the utility so it's compatible with the Google Sidebar or have an option to disable the checking of the Windows Sidebar's state so it can reduce if not eliminate conflicts with other sidebar software.

NEW POST: Bugs I found and suggestions

chocolatejeff — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 15:15:42 GMT

I noticed when I start my Vista up with the battery, the VBS doesn't change the aero interface or the power saving mode, I need to plug in my power and pull it out in order for it to work. This is quite inconvinient as I may be travelling and forgotten to carry my power cord along and Have to do all the modifications manually.

I also noticed that there is no option to turn off blue tooth as in one of the discussion, I think this is a very good idea. I have blue tooth in my notebook but there is no manual switch to turn it off and I don't know how to turn it off via Vista so I just leave it on and it sucks my battery life like a vacumm.

Thats all from me, looking forward to the next release or beta.. :P

NEW POST: A couple new issues created

McGurk — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 18:38:48 GMT

I love VBS and use it on my XPS notebook. Helps keep the battery going for a long time when I'm off power.

I've created a couple new issues, one which should be easy to fix, one which may not.

The easy one is to put VBS on a time delay. I've found in use that fluctuations of power can cause VBS to begin doing its work over and over and over again. I suggest that VBS waits a connfigurable ammount of time prior to changing the power settings. In pseudocode:

On power state changed
state = current power state
Sleep X seconds (where X is configurable)
If current power state = state, change power settings

Of course, you'll be getting many power state changed events firing (probably on different threads, too), so you'll have to implement some sort of intermediary object that takes power state changes and determines when to change power settings.

The second issue involves what happens when programs that have system tray icons are shut down forcibly. This usually results in the program's icon being left in the tray. Doing this multiple times can result in many ghost icons remaining in the tray, which can be annoying to deal with.
It appears that VBS kills the sidebar process, as the sidebar icon is left in the tray. A couple power state changes and you end up with several ghost icons. Which is the real one? You have to run your mouse over each one to find out. And if they're hidden, you have to hit the "show hidden icons" button for each ghost. Its a pain in the ass.

I would suggest that there may be a better way to shut down the sidebar, allowing it to clean up its resources properly before shutting down. Allowing for this would prevent this issue from cropping up.

Anyhow, I love the VBS. Thanks for your hard work!

CREATED ISSUE: Improve sidebar shutdown

McGurk — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 18:24:59 GMT

Currently, when VBS shuts down the sidebar, it appears as if the process is killed outright, thus causing a ghost icon to remain in the system tray. Many power state changes can leave LOTS of these ghosts.

Please investigate the sidebar to see if you can shut it down in a more friendly manner so that it can perform a proper cleanup.

CREATED ISSUE: Time delay before changing power schemes

McGurk — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 18:21:49 GMT

Currently, as soon as the power status changes, VBS does its work. This is normally okay, but it causes some problems.

For instance, you must make sure that your laptop is plugged in prior to turning it on, otherwise VBS changes your settings (lengthening the time it takes to boot to the desktop) uselessly.

Even worse, a loose plug can cause VBS to turn settings off and on several times within a short period of time. I had this issue at a hotel where the plug was behind the bed. I ended up with twenty sidebar icons in the system tray.

Suggestion: When the power status changes, wait X seconds before changing settings. This will allow for minor power fluctuations and keep us fromm having to race the VBS to get our power plugged in. This delay should be configurable. I'd prefer a default of 20 seconds.

NEW POST: Deactivate when battery level is less than...

ponja — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 20:14:48 GMT

I have found a bug. When windows aero or sidebar have the "Deactivate when battery level is less than XX%" turned on, if I plug in my notebook and the battery level is less than XX, windows aero and the sidebar stay turned off until the battery level reaches XX, even though the notebook is plugged in.

NEW POST: bluetooth

ponja — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 19:04:59 GMT

Bluetooth is such a battery drainer. I always use it and have it turned on when working at home, but I don't really need it when on the go. Though, I usually forget about turning it off, so my battery drains faster. I suggest adding a function that automatically turns bluetooth off when on battery power without disabling it , just like it turns off windows aero or the sidebar.

COMMENTED FEATURE: Color scheme switch for Home Basic users

Multitech — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 05:26:47 GMT

Home Basic doesn't have Aero, but it can still switch to the Basic color scheme (Vista already offers to do this when it detects performance is bad) on battery.
Comments: ** Comment from web user: Multitech **

I have home basic and have tried RC1. The install works but when the program runs it has a popup box that states you need Home Premium or better.

Cam

NEW POST: Why the home premium requirement?

Multitech — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 05:25:32 GMT

I'm glad that this is being addressed. I've tested the RC1 and it still states that you need Home Premium and stops executing. The install works but not the running of the program.

Cam

NEW POST: Something wrong in SetBrightness() method

winkling — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 16:54:59 GMT

In the static bool SetBrightness(int Percent) method, called "WmiSetBrightness" this way:
BrightnessMethodObject.InvokeMethod("WmiSetBrightness", new object[] { (Int64)0, (byte)ClosestBrightness });
But from:
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa394549.aspx
it reads:
uint32 WmiSetBrightness(
uint8 Brightness,
uint64 Timeout
);

The following line should be:
BrightnessMethodObject.InvokeMethod("WmiSetBrightness", new object[] { (byte)ClosestBrightness, (Int64)0 });

CREATED ISSUE: Does not change power plan when no battery detected.

fchabot — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 13:06:01 GMT

Scenario:

1.Hibernate the computer while running on battery. (Aero and Sidebar are disabled on battery, power plan is set to power saver)
2.Remove the battery and plug the AC adapter.
3.Start the computer, which is now obviously plugged in, however VBS does not swith the power plan, nor Aero, nor sidebar.

I'd guess that that's the "no battery detected" that's the issue?

Thanks, great tool!

François

NEW POST: Locale not detected

studioteos — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 13:51:15 GMT

I have installed the application in a Vista PC with italian language but the program appear likewise in english.
Anybody can help me!

CREATED ISSUE: Custom Plan Issue

wangers16 — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 00:51:25 GMT

the vista battery saver currently doesa not apply your custom power plan settings when you select them and click apply

CREATED ISSUE: Screen flashes on Vista Ultimate on Acer Aspire 5670

jaredn79 — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 18:47:07 GMT

I have this installed on my Acer laptop, Aspire 5670 w/ Vista Ultimate
My screen starts flashing and I must terminate the program to use my PC again. Im going to have to uninstall but I would really like to keep this program and save my battery! Any help is appreciated. THANKS!

Jared

NEW POST: Why not just Power Saver mode?

asills — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 16:02:13 GMT

Putting your laptop in Power Saver mode is way more effective than using a tool like this. Was the Power Saver mode somehow not good enough? If you're on battery and not in Power Saver mode, shutting off Aero won't help that much (keeping the external LCD off would certainly help) compared to bumping the CPU down a notch or two.

COMMENTED ISSUE: invalid Resx file - battery.png missing

jmichae3 — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 06:37:01 GMT

I could not compile the project with Vistal Studio Express 2008 beta 2. once I converted the project, it said that battery.png was missing. the line was:
<data name="battery" type="System.Resources.ResXFileRef, System.Windows.Forms">
<value>..\resources\battery.png;System.Drawing.Bitmap, System.Drawing, Version=2.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a</value>
</data>

the error was:
Error 1 Invalid Resx file. Could not find file 'C:\prj\c#\vista-battery-save\VistaBatterySaver\VistaBatterySaver\resources\battery.png'. Line 168, position 5. C:\prj\c#\vista-battery-save\VistaBatterySaver\VistaBatterySaver\Properties\Resources.resx 168 5 VistaBatterySaver

the code therefore will not compile. I am using the last august 28, 2007 release.
Comments: ** Comment from web user: jmichae3 **

Diaporama.png is missing, and so is sidebar.png

CREATED ISSUE: invalid Resx file - battery.png missing

jmichae3 — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 06:12:37 GMT