Q. How can I tell how energy-efficient my Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 installation is?

A. The POWERCFG utility has been updated in Windows 7 to include a new -energy switch. When you execute the utility with that switch, it will perform a scan of the installation and monitor the system for 60 seconds. It will point out configuration items that will affect the system's energy efficiency.

Run the command, as shown below, when the system is idle. Once it's done, it will create a report in the form of an HTML file [OK?]. This report will outline errors and warnings that are affecting power use and identify hardware and processes that are consuming power.

C:>powercfg -energyEnabling tracing for 60 seconds...Observing system behavior...Analyzing trace data...Analysis complete.Energy efficiency problems were found.7 Errors7 Warnings13 InformationalSee C:Usersjohn.SAVILLTECHenergy-report.html for more details.

Related Reading:

Check out hundreds more useful Q&As like this in John Savill's FAQ for Windows. Also, watch instructional videos made by John at ITTV.net.