Cannot lower Critical Battery Level in Power Options

segap21

New Member
Messages
11
I have just purchased a new HP Spectre x360 Convertible 13 laptop last week with Windows 8.1 installed as the operating system. It is the first time I have owned anything with Windows 8.1.

Anyway, I am wanting to adjust the Critical Battery Level in Power Options to something lower than the default 7% that HP has set. When I try to change the number, it will not save and it just magically jumps back to 7%. This means that my laptop will hibernate when the battery level reaches 7% and I cannot turn it back on unless I plug it into AC power. 7% equates to roughly 40 minutes of battery time and I find this setting way too conservative.

I have done some research on this issue and have found the following:


  • Some suggest that PC manufacturers will somehow lock this setting to an arbitrary minimum and the user cannot change it to anything below this minimum (it appears HP have set it at 7% in my instance).
  • This link suggests using power.cfg and the command line to make the changes How To Lower the Critical Battery Level to 1% in Windows 7

Steps I have taken to try and resolve this:


  • I have tried the powercfg.exe method described in the aforementioned link to change the critical battery level to 1% and initially it appears to work. When I open up the Power Options screen, it indeed says 1%. However, when I actually test it out by using the laptop, it will still automatically hibernate at 7% battery level - it simply ignores the 1% setting.


  • I have also tried using powercfg.exe to change the Critical Battery Action to "Do Nothing" and likewise this setting is ignored and the laptop hibernates anyway.


  • I have phoned HP support and the only useful information that I got from them so far, is that the PC manufacturer has set it to 7% and it cannot be changed. They said they will escalate this matter to the research team and give me a call next week.


  • I phoned Microsoft support and the consultant seemed to be confident that he could fix the issue but would not divulge the answer because he said that doing so would void the HP warranty and he didn't want to be to one to do that. He suggested that I call HP and request a conference call with Microsoft and they could then fix it. He seemed to be of the belief that if HP has set the 7% minimum that they should be the one to remove the limit.


  • I am now trying something out to troubleshoot this issue - I have disabled the Power service using msconfig and waiting to see if the laptop will continue operating below 7% battery level without hibernating. (My laptop has been on for hours now and it is now at 13%, so not too much longer now).

If nothing works, I wonder if completely formatting the laptop (including removing the HP recovery partition) and then reinstalling a different Windows 8.1 (or Windows 7) will let me have full customization of the Critical Battery Level?

I would really appreciate your thoughts on how to fix this. It really fustrates me that HP thinks they know better and that the user needs to have 7% battery reserved - it is such a waste not to be able to utilize a battery to its full potential.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Spectre x360 Convertible 13
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-5500U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 5500
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    256GB Samsung SSD MZNTE256HMHP-000H1
    Internet Speed
    ADSL2+
    Browser
    Mozilla Firefox
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky Internet Security 2014
That is because it is coded into Windows to not allow anything lower. Also if you drain the battery all of the way, it ends up causing the battery to have a shorter life span, and less available time on battery. They make add on batteries, that act like a lap pad.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux Mint 17.2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satellite C850D-st3nx1
    CPU
    AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon (tm) HD Graphics 1.40 GHZ
    Memory
    12GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon™ HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    Crucial M500 240GB SSD
    Mouse
    Logitech M525
    Internet Speed
    45/6 - ATT U-Verse
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    None needed. It is Linux.
    Other Info
    Arris NVG589 Gateway; Router - Cisco RV320; Switch - Netgear GS108 8-Port Switch & Trendnet TEG-S50g 5-Port Switch; Access Points - Engenius ECB350, Trendnet TEW-638APB; NAS - Lenovo ix2-4; Printer - Brother HL-2280DW; Air Print Server - Lantronix XPrintServer

    A/V UPS - Tripp-Lite Smart 1500LCD 1500 Va/900 W.
Here's an update: so I ran the laptop after disabling the Power service using msconfig - I got a low battery notification at 10%, then another notification at the Reserve Battery level of 5%. I ran it until 1% and it didn't hibernate. Plugged the laptop back to AC power before it reached 0%.

I then decided to restart the Power service. Let the laptop recharge the battery for a bit, until 3%. Switched off AC power and then the laptop immediately hibernated, even though my Power Options are set to Do Nothing at the Critical Battery level. So it seems to be related to the Power service somehow but I don't know how to tweak it so I can have the settings I want.

That is because it is coded into Windows to not allow anything lower.
I checked someone else's Dell laptop and they have a similar issue but the Critical Battery level limit is capped at 3%. So clearly there has to be a way to change this if different manufacturers are able to set this to different levels.

I understand that you shouldn't run the laptop until it goes to 0%, but I think HP have got it wrong by capping it at 7% - this is way too high. I just want to be able to lower it to something more reasonable like 3%.

Keen to hear more suggestions, or even just if you could try this out if you own a laptop and give your feedback as to whether this is happening to you as well.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Spectre x360 Convertible 13
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-5500U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 5500
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    256GB Samsung SSD MZNTE256HMHP-000H1
    Internet Speed
    ADSL2+
    Browser
    Mozilla Firefox
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky Internet Security 2014
Again you never want the battery to drain to 0%. You will quickly make it a door stop if you keep fully draining it. LiON batteries are not intended to be completely drained of all charged power.

I am not going to try it on my own laptop, because I do not like to waste money, by killing my battery for it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux Mint 17.2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satellite C850D-st3nx1
    CPU
    AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon (tm) HD Graphics 1.40 GHZ
    Memory
    12GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon™ HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    Crucial M500 240GB SSD
    Mouse
    Logitech M525
    Internet Speed
    45/6 - ATT U-Verse
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    None needed. It is Linux.
    Other Info
    Arris NVG589 Gateway; Router - Cisco RV320; Switch - Netgear GS108 8-Port Switch & Trendnet TEG-S50g 5-Port Switch; Access Points - Engenius ECB350, Trendnet TEW-638APB; NAS - Lenovo ix2-4; Printer - Brother HL-2280DW; Air Print Server - Lantronix XPrintServer

    A/V UPS - Tripp-Lite Smart 1500LCD 1500 Va/900 W.
It's not a windows limitation - I can set mine to 1% with no problem (my default was 5% not 7%). You might want to consider though that HP set it to 7% for some reason specific to their batteries. Anyway you can have a look here and see if that helps.

How To Lower the Critical Battery Level to 1% in Windows 7
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro Prieview x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    MacBook Pro Core2Duo
    CPU
    T7600
    Memory
    3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon X1600
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Internal
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 800
    Hard Drives
    40GB
    Keyboard
    Apple
    Mouse
    Apple
    Internet Speed
    Varies
    Browser
    Various
    Antivirus
    Defender
I am not going to try it on my own laptop, because I do not like to waste money, by killing my battery for it.

What I mean is having a look at your Power Options and see if you can even change it down to something as low as 1%, just to see if your Windows has a limit as well or not. I don't think doing this will kill your battery at all and hence waste any money by doing it.

It's not a windows limitation - I can set mine to 1% with no problem (my default was 5% not 7%). You might want to consider though that HP set it to 7% for some reason specific to their batteries. Anyway you can have a look here and see if that helps.

How To Lower the Critical Battery Level to 1% in Windows 7

Thanks for the feedback. That means that it should be possible to unlock this setting. The link you provided is the exact same one I put up in my original post so I have already done what was suggested in the link.

Any more thoughts on how to unlock this setting?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Spectre x360 Convertible 13
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-5500U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 5500
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    256GB Samsung SSD MZNTE256HMHP-000H1
    Internet Speed
    ADSL2+
    Browser
    Mozilla Firefox
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky Internet Security 2014
Again you do not want to set Critical so low that you are damaging the LiON salts inside the battery, so that they can never hold a full charge.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux Mint 17.2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satellite C850D-st3nx1
    CPU
    AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon (tm) HD Graphics 1.40 GHZ
    Memory
    12GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon™ HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    Crucial M500 240GB SSD
    Mouse
    Logitech M525
    Internet Speed
    45/6 - ATT U-Verse
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    None needed. It is Linux.
    Other Info
    Arris NVG589 Gateway; Router - Cisco RV320; Switch - Netgear GS108 8-Port Switch & Trendnet TEG-S50g 5-Port Switch; Access Points - Engenius ECB350, Trendnet TEW-638APB; NAS - Lenovo ix2-4; Printer - Brother HL-2280DW; Air Print Server - Lantronix XPrintServer

    A/V UPS - Tripp-Lite Smart 1500LCD 1500 Va/900 W.
If you look at my system spec's in my profile, you will notice that I run Xubuntu on my laptop. I get around 7 to 21 hours, depending on what I am doing.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux Mint 17.2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satellite C850D-st3nx1
    CPU
    AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon (tm) HD Graphics 1.40 GHZ
    Memory
    12GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon™ HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    Crucial M500 240GB SSD
    Mouse
    Logitech M525
    Internet Speed
    45/6 - ATT U-Verse
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    None needed. It is Linux.
    Other Info
    Arris NVG589 Gateway; Router - Cisco RV320; Switch - Netgear GS108 8-Port Switch & Trendnet TEG-S50g 5-Port Switch; Access Points - Engenius ECB350, Trendnet TEW-638APB; NAS - Lenovo ix2-4; Printer - Brother HL-2280DW; Air Print Server - Lantronix XPrintServer

    A/V UPS - Tripp-Lite Smart 1500LCD 1500 Va/900 W.
That's rather confusing. I mean no disrespect but I thought this was a Windows forum to discuss general support issues relating to Windows. As I mentioned before, I just want to set the critical battery level to something more reasonable than 7%. I think that should be achievable since adamf can do exactly that.

Hoping that someone can shed some more light on this.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Spectre x360 Convertible 13
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-5500U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 5500
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    256GB Samsung SSD MZNTE256HMHP-000H1
    Internet Speed
    ADSL2+
    Browser
    Mozilla Firefox
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky Internet Security 2014
Thanks for the feedback. That means that it should be possible to unlock this setting. The link you provided is the exact same one I put up in my original post so I have already done what was suggested in the link.

Any more thoughts on how to unlock this setting?
Sorry for that - I should read more carefully. As I said I can change to 1% - actually I can change it to zero but it changes it straight back to 1 if I do that.

Looking here https://social.technet.microsoft.co...a9a/how-to-change-critical-battery-level-to-1 it can be seen that the registry is updated in this path
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power\User\PowerSchemes

After a bit of trial and error (changing the settings and see what changes in regedit) I can see for balanced power plan it is values in this sub-key path:
\381b4222-f694-41f0-9685-ff5bb260df2e\e73a048d-bf27-4f12-9731-8b2076e8891f\9a66d8d7-4ff7-4ef9-b5a2-5a326ca2a469. Your key may be different as I'm on Windows 10 - just change the percentage to values you are allowed in power options and see what is updated.

After taking ownership of the registry key 9a66d8d7-4ff7-4ef9-b5a2-5a326ca2a469 as described here http://www.eightforums.com/tutorial...le-folder-drive-registry-key-windows-8-a.html I can set it to zero and it sticks.

The percentage values are held in ACSettingIndex (for plugged in) and DCSettingIndex (for battery).

Most likely the ACSettingIndex is not relevant as a critical battery level when you are plugged in makes no sense; but you can set it if you want (as you can in power options for some unknown reason).

Regedit.PNG

Power Options.PNG

The link above had another option - from an elevated command prompt run powercfg -setdcvalueindex SCHEME_CURRENT SUB_BATTERY BATLEVELCRIT 1 but this command did nothing for me (perhaps it only works on Windows 7).
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro Prieview x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    MacBook Pro Core2Duo
    CPU
    T7600
    Memory
    3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon X1600
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Internal
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 800
    Hard Drives
    40GB
    Keyboard
    Apple
    Mouse
    Apple
    Internet Speed
    Varies
    Browser
    Various
    Antivirus
    Defender
Thanks for the suggestions adamf. The key numbers correspond exactly with the ones in Windows 8.1 on my machine. It appears that changing the registry entries is the same as using powercfg from the command prompt.

I edited the appropriate registry keys and it seems that the change is purely cosmetic - I can verify that when I edit the registry key to 3%, the setting in Power Options says 3% also. The strange thing is that if I use Power Options to try to change it to anything from 0% to 6%, it now jumps back automatically to 3% (because that is what the registry key is set to). However, even more strange is that I can use Power Options to change it to anything from 7% and above (and the registry value updates with it).

I say that the change is purely cosmetic because I tested it out by running the laptop after changing the registry entry to 3%. I couldn't even get the laptop to run down that low because the blasted thing still insisted on shutting down at 7%, despite the registry saying otherwise!!!

I have to mention that I did take ownership of the registry key as suggested. I tried numerous combinations of owners/permission levels (System/Administrators/User) and it's still the same story.

It appears HP has somehow locked down this 7% limit somewhere. I have faith that if HP can lock it down, there must be a way to unlock it.

I haven't given up on HP support yet. I just need to wait until Tuesday now for a response from them (something to do with what happened to some guy more than 2 millennia ago....but I digress :p

Thinking I might need to take drastic action by formatting the entire thing and installing a different copy of Windows.

Happy Easter folks
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Spectre x360 Convertible 13
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-5500U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 5500
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    256GB Samsung SSD MZNTE256HMHP-000H1
    Internet Speed
    ADSL2+
    Browser
    Mozilla Firefox
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky Internet Security 2014
That's rather confusing. I mean no disrespect but I thought this was a Windows forum to discuss general support issues relating to Windows. As I mentioned before, I just want to set the critical battery level to something more reasonable than 7%. I think that should be achievable since adamf can do exactly that.

Hoping that someone can shed some more light on this.
Just because a person does not use Windows on their computer, does not mean they do not know a thing or two. I just opted to not run Windows 8, just like a few thousand plus others.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux Mint 17.2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satellite C850D-st3nx1
    CPU
    AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon (tm) HD Graphics 1.40 GHZ
    Memory
    12GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon™ HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    Crucial M500 240GB SSD
    Mouse
    Logitech M525
    Internet Speed
    45/6 - ATT U-Verse
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    None needed. It is Linux.
    Other Info
    Arris NVG589 Gateway; Router - Cisco RV320; Switch - Netgear GS108 8-Port Switch & Trendnet TEG-S50g 5-Port Switch; Access Points - Engenius ECB350, Trendnet TEW-638APB; NAS - Lenovo ix2-4; Printer - Brother HL-2280DW; Air Print Server - Lantronix XPrintServer

    A/V UPS - Tripp-Lite Smart 1500LCD 1500 Va/900 W.
Just because a person does not use Windows on their computer, does not mean they do not know a thing or two. I just opted to not run Windows 8, just like a few thousand plus others.

Exactly, and this is beside the point.

What is more relevant is do you know how to fix the issue at hand?

All you have suggested to me so far is that it is unwise to run the battery completely flat (which I acknowledged already) and that the setting is coded into Windows to not allow anything lower (which turns out not to be entirely correct).

I'm open to any further suggestions on how to fix this so I can choose my own Critical Battery Level in Windows, and not be dictated by what HP thinks.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Spectre x360 Convertible 13
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-5500U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 5500
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    256GB Samsung SSD MZNTE256HMHP-000H1
    Internet Speed
    ADSL2+
    Browser
    Mozilla Firefox
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky Internet Security 2014
As has already been stated over and over, you cannot. It is coded into the AHCI driver to not allow you to completely drain the battery, so it becomes a door stop after a couple of times running it all of the way down.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux Mint 17.2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satellite C850D-st3nx1
    CPU
    AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon (tm) HD Graphics 1.40 GHZ
    Memory
    12GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon™ HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    Crucial M500 240GB SSD
    Mouse
    Logitech M525
    Internet Speed
    45/6 - ATT U-Verse
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    None needed. It is Linux.
    Other Info
    Arris NVG589 Gateway; Router - Cisco RV320; Switch - Netgear GS108 8-Port Switch & Trendnet TEG-S50g 5-Port Switch; Access Points - Engenius ECB350, Trendnet TEW-638APB; NAS - Lenovo ix2-4; Printer - Brother HL-2280DW; Air Print Server - Lantronix XPrintServer

    A/V UPS - Tripp-Lite Smart 1500LCD 1500 Va/900 W.
Thinking I might need to take drastic action by formatting the entire thing and installing a different copy of Windows
You could try that but I don't know if it would work. My problem is I run Windows on a MacBook Pro which is one of the models that your original link said worked so it is difficult for me to test (well impossible really).

Rather randomly I was reading a few weeks ago about hacking the firmware on MacBook batteries (resetting maximum and minimum voltage levels, changing cycle counts and so on) to see if you could make the battery catch on fire by flashing the firmware. The answer was theoretically yes but in practice it was too complicated.

Certainly the chip in the battery does a lot of work and can override whatever you may choose to do to it from outside so I don't know if replacing your OS would help. It would not work on a MacBook battery - on a HP battery I'm beyond clueless.

You could try changing - do a backup and then just install Windows 10 or something and see if it helps. It's free so why not if you have the time.

Maybe someone else (a helpful person ideally) will see if they can change their critical discharge limit or not - seems you've had enough opinions about whether you should :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro Prieview x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    MacBook Pro Core2Duo
    CPU
    T7600
    Memory
    3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon X1600
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Internal
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 800
    Hard Drives
    40GB
    Keyboard
    Apple
    Mouse
    Apple
    Internet Speed
    Varies
    Browser
    Various
    Antivirus
    Defender
As has already been stated over and over, you cannot. It is coded into the AHCI driver to not allow you to completely drain the battery, so it becomes a door stop after a couple of times running it all of the way down.
Helpful comment ;)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro Prieview x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    MacBook Pro Core2Duo
    CPU
    T7600
    Memory
    3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon X1600
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Internal
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 800
    Hard Drives
    40GB
    Keyboard
    Apple
    Mouse
    Apple
    Internet Speed
    Varies
    Browser
    Various
    Antivirus
    Defender
Even in Mac OS & Linux. You can only go to 1%. It is done so a person does not burn out the LiON salts in the battery.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux Mint 17.2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satellite C850D-st3nx1
    CPU
    AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon (tm) HD Graphics 1.40 GHZ
    Memory
    12GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon™ HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    Crucial M500 240GB SSD
    Mouse
    Logitech M525
    Internet Speed
    45/6 - ATT U-Verse
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    None needed. It is Linux.
    Other Info
    Arris NVG589 Gateway; Router - Cisco RV320; Switch - Netgear GS108 8-Port Switch & Trendnet TEG-S50g 5-Port Switch; Access Points - Engenius ECB350, Trendnet TEW-638APB; NAS - Lenovo ix2-4; Printer - Brother HL-2280DW; Air Print Server - Lantronix XPrintServer

    A/V UPS - Tripp-Lite Smart 1500LCD 1500 Va/900 W.
It is coded into the AHCI driver to not allow you to completely drain the battery, so it becomes a door stop after a couple of times running it all of the way down.

I do not follow how AHCI drivers affect the battery settings. I thought AHCI drivers were to do with how data is exchanged between system memory and attached storage devices?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Spectre x360 Convertible 13
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-5500U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 5500
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    256GB Samsung SSD MZNTE256HMHP-000H1
    Internet Speed
    ADSL2+
    Browser
    Mozilla Firefox
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky Internet Security 2014
You could try changing - do a backup and then just install Windows 10 or something and see if it helps. It's free so why not if you have the time.

Yeah, looks like I will give this a go if I can't find an alternative solution soon.

In the meantime, calling all Windows 8.1 users who just happen to be reading this post but may not have a solution - could you please have a look at your Power Options and see if you can change the Critical Battery Level downwards. You do not have to test it further by running your laptop till it dies; if you could just see if the setting will stick and report back it will be much appreciated.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Spectre x360 Convertible 13
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-5500U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 5500
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    256GB Samsung SSD MZNTE256HMHP-000H1
    Internet Speed
    ADSL2+
    Browser
    Mozilla Firefox
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky Internet Security 2014
I do not follow how AHCI drivers affect the battery settings. I thought AHCI drivers were to do with how data is exchanged between system memory and attached storage devices?
Life is hard with all these acronymes :) How about you try ACPI? Windows Dev Centre Hardware
Microsoft said:
Design capacity of LowIndicates the critical battery level at which Windows must immediately shut down or hibernate before the system powers off.Must be set to a value between 0 and 5 percent of the battery design capacity

Now if you are saying HP batteries are not conforming to Microsoft specifications there isn't really much more to do than take it up with them as
Microsoft said:
Windows platforms are expected to expose their battery devices and AC adapters in firmware through ACPI by using standardized control method interfaces, as described in the ACPI 5.0 specification.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro Prieview x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    MacBook Pro Core2Duo
    CPU
    T7600
    Memory
    3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon X1600
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Internal
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 800
    Hard Drives
    40GB
    Keyboard
    Apple
    Mouse
    Apple
    Internet Speed
    Varies
    Browser
    Various
    Antivirus
    Defender
Back
Top