Defaults at High every start

[sherpa25]

Every time I boot, Win 10 starts up, ProLasso always starts at High Performance.  How do I have it start up as Balanced?

[edkiefer]

Every time I boot, Win 10 starts up, ProLasso always starts at High Performance.  How do I have it start up as Balanced?

HI, PL will remember your last setting, which is the same as in windows power plans.

If you set plan to balanced (either right click on the tray or under the main menu>active power plan, then shutdown it will be on balanced when booted.
The only times this would not happen is if you set a process to either performance mode or application power plan and this process runs at boot.

You can check the processes rules column after first boot for "p" (app power plan ) or "g" ( for performance mode).

That should cover them all.

[sherpa25]

I'm not sure which app may be causing it, as I only have games set to High or Bitsum Performance.  I just tried this now... set it back to Balanced, after a few minutes it went back to High (note: not Bitsum HP).  Under Rules, I see around 5-6 apps with an 'X' (winlogon.exe, dwm.exe, processlasso and processgovernor.exe, ctfmon.exe, and runtimebroker.exe, with the first 3 running High Priority Class).

[edkiefer]

Ok, Did you set Idlesaver enabled and by chance have it set to HP?
This won't happen by default it is something changed in PL or another application all together doing it.

Well for a test you could close PL and change to balance and see if it sticks.
Do you have other utilities installed/running?

What are your system spec's, Intel or AMD based?

[Jeremy Collake]

ParkControl's 'Power plan change notifications' can be used to tell us exactly what process is switching the active power plan. That may be of use here. Let us know what this tells you. If it is Process Lasso changing it, then we can find out why. It may be something else.

Example of the notifications it emits after you turn on this feature (in main ParkControl dialog):

[sherpa25]

Thanks.
[/quote]

Ok, Did you set Idlesaver enabled and by chance have it set to HP?
This won't happen by default it is something changed in PL or another application all together doing it.

Well for a test you could close PL and change to balance and see if it sticks.
Do you have other utilities installed/running?

What are your system spec's, Intel or AMD based?

Yes, I have IdleSaver enabled.  Where do I check if it's set to HP?  Sorry, not sure how to check this.  Do you mean if I unticked 'Disable while Performance Mode is engaged'?  I have it ticked/checked.
I actually can change it to Balance and usually it goes back to HP, but the 2nd time I bring it back to Balanced, it then stays there.  I'm "guessing" it's the latest Oculus Home that starts up every boot and is the one that sets it to HP, and brings it back to HP the first time I bring it down to Balanced, but no longer the 2nd time.
My PC: i7-8700k (1080Ti, 16Gb RAM).

ParkControl's 'Power plan change notifications' can be used to tell us exactly what process is switching the active power plan. That may be of use here. Let us know what this tells you. If it is Process Lasso changing it, then we can find out why. It may be something else.

Example of the notifications it emits after you turn on this feature (in main ParkControl dialog):

Ok, just downloaded/installed Park Control.  I don't use CPU parking, but will test if the Power Plan is changed...I will restart my PC now.  I have it set for notifications....does this notification pop-up when a plan is changed, or do I have to open it's icon?

[edkiefer]

 
The default for Idlesaver is balanced I think but if you bring up the menu from options>configure idlesaver you can see the power plan options there.
It could very well be Oculus doing it if its set up that way.
You can look at logs or like Jeremy stated use Park control to see what process is changing it.

[sherpa25]

Thanks.  IdleSaver is set to switch to Power Saver, though I never experienced it switching to Power Saver.  I just restarted my PC, and PL started again in High Performance (so manually brought it back to Balanced again) even if I now have the Oculus service set to manually already and Oculus Home is not running.  What else can I check to see why PL starts in High Performance?

[sherpa25]

Quick update: Few minutes later, plan is back to High Performance again.  Still investigating... only have Chrome and FreeCommander (File explorer alternative) open.  Also, ParkControl didn't popup any notification, even if 'Show power plan change notifications' is ticked.

OT: And what's the difference between 'Bitsum HP', setup in Options->Performance Mode and 'High Performance' under Options->Configure Application power profiles.  Do I need to setup my games under both?

[edkiefer]

Hi, easy way to see Idlesaver working is to have PL GUI open with the graph showing at the top, you will see the power plan switch there.
Instead of trying to check the system tray PL icon or in windows power plan. Park control also shows plan to.

If you don't see any notifications from Park control check PL logs if PL is doing it you will see it listed and what process changed it.
Open Logview and in the filter box just type active and that should bring all PL power plan changes, see what process did HP.

On the power plan BHP it is based off a windows HP plan with little more tweaks for desktop users (meaning tuned more for performance than battery saving).

PS: if it is not showing anything then maybe something else in the system is doing it.
You could close PL and see from Park control when it switches, since park control does have all power plan features, just make sure dynamic boost is off.

Edit: There might be one remote way a power plan could be happening and that is by default Steam games get auto power plan to BHP, through performance mode (in performance mode options there is a "change BHP power plan" which is on by default). Now that works great for games but with Steam having so many applications if anything with VR or any app if it is one that sets a startup in windows (games never do this), this could be a remote cause but you would see a log entry for this if it happened.

[sherpa25]

Hi, yes, I have PL open most of the time, w/c is how I determine that the plan starts with High Power at bootup, and when it switches back again to HP after I put it to Balanced. 

Thanks, that's a good idea...I will view the PL logs should it change to HP again.

Re the diff between BHP and HP, I'm still not sure why they appear to be duplicate.  So does it mean I shouldn't bother entering anything under 'Configure application power profiles', since I have all my games maintained in 'Performance Mode settings'?

For Park Control, I don't get any notification.  Also, there's an option that says 'BItsum Dynamic Boost enabled', which indicates it is enabled.  I clicked on it to try disable it, but its only for the Pro version, for which I don't see a need since I don't park my cpu cores.  Then I don't think I can edit it's settings as it's greyed out.

Re. Steam, I doubt it's causing the change of plans because I only run steam when I run a game, and it's off when I'm using my PC for other things.

[edkiefer]

Hi, yes, I have PL open most of the time, w/c is how I determine that the plan starts with High Power at bootup, and when it switches back again to HP after I put it to Balanced. 

Thanks, that's a good idea...I will view the PL logs should it change to HP again.

Re the diff between BHP and HP, I'm still not sure why they appear to be duplicate.  So does it mean I shouldn't bother entering anything under 'Configure application power profiles', since I have all my games maintained in 'Performance Mode settings'?

For Park Control, I don't get any notification.  Also, there's an option that says 'BItsum Dynamic Boost enabled', which indicates it is enabled.  I clicked on it to try disable it, but its only for the Pro version, for which I don't see a need since I don't park my cpu cores.  Then I don't think I can edit it's settings as it's greyed out.

Re. Steam, I doubt it's causing the change of plans because I only run steam when I run a game, and it's off when I'm using my PC for other things.

Ok, Yes, don't enable configure app power plan and performance mode on any one process.
Use either or but not both (we need to document this in FAQ or somewhere).
Also, try to use power plans changing sparingly and try not to have processes running with different or even same power plan.
What I would do is for example use performance mode for games and use application power plan for other demanding processes like photoshop or whatever non-fullscreen app.
But you can use performance mode to for that, just try not to micromanage too much.
PL will work great right out of box w/o any tweaking.

[sherpa25]

Ok, removed all games under 'Configure app plan', and just left them under 'Performance Mode Settings'. 

Still, I can't determine why it starts at High Perf at bootup, just now.  Also, I can't find where in the log does it show changes in Plan.  I enter 'active' in the filter... though I don't fine 'active' in the info shown, nor any info saying the Plan was changed.  What should I monitor here in the log, specifically?

[edkiefer]

Ok, removed all games under 'Configure app plan', and just left them under 'Performance Mode Settings'. 

Still, I can't determine why it starts at High Perf at bootup, just now.  Also, I can't find where in the log does it show changes in Plan.  I enter 'active' in the filter... though I don't fine 'active' in the info shown, nor any info saying the Plan was changed.  What should I monitor here in the log, specifically?

Ok, If nothing came up in the log, then it most likely wasn't PL doing the change. It would have brought up lines with "active power plan changed" with the process listed.
It can only log what it changes.
Say you can plan it will not show in the log.
Did you disable PL from startup (menu= Options>general settings>Reconfigure the way PL starts. Then for management chose last, 3rd one "do not start at login", then for bottom core engine pick last way at the bottom "Have it launched by the GUI when it is run". That will make both PL processes only run when you start them.

Once we track down what process is changing the plan, the above will rule out PL 100%, then we can focus on other things in windows.

[Jeremy Collake]

Before you fret too much, let me complete the refactoring of the power subsystems in Process Lasso. I don't want to promise exactly when it'll be done, but the goal will be to provide better consistency and fail-safes so that a user can force the system to behave as they want.

To directly answer your question: Any time you are curious how a power plan got to be how it is, you can try checking the Windows Event logs (Event Viewer). These will record any time the power plan is changed by anything. This is where ParkControl gets its data from.

Event Viewer / 'SYSTEM' - Then look for 'Information' Level events of Source 'UserModePowerService'. It isn't the most user friendly data, but you'll see something like attached screen shot.

[edkiefer]

I forgot about event viewer showing them, I was thinking Process Monitor.

There does seem to be an issue with Windows and some systems (laptop mostly I think)
Like this one, that was why I suggested ruling PL out of the equation.

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-power/power-plans-automatically-changing/97595c96-befa-477a-ad9d-e52ccfe215b1?auth=1

PS: I was wrong Park Control does give notifications even if a user alters the power plan, so it should show up whatever process is changing it.

[sherpa25]

Thanks for that tip, @Jeremy Collake.  I saw there what set the plan to HP at startup (service OVRServer_x64.exe for the Rift).  Can I control this service such that it doesn't set the plan to HP, or is this built-in and uncontrollable in the app/service?

Also, is it still necessary to use Park Control, since I don't seem to have a need to park CPU's... could I just uninstall it?  Or is there any other benefit to have the app installed?  Some settings anyway are for Pro version.

[edkiefer]

If you don't need parking core support tweaking then no you don't need it. We recommended it cause it was an easy way to see what changed power plan.

On Rift, see if it has any options for either startup or even power plan, might have some kind of modes to pick.

Edit: did a quick search and found this.

https://www.andrewmunsell.com/blog/oculus-rift-bug-power-plan-configuration/#the-fix

This is an interesting read on the rift and talks about how it affects power management.
Seems if you disconnect headset it should return to balanced.

[sherpa25]

Apparently it's just a service, and has no startup options. 

Thanks for sharing that.  OTOH, I understand that in his case, it was the game app (ie. Valkyrie) setting the plan to HP (and leaves IDLEDISABLE to 1).  In my case, no game has been launched yet, and like I first stated, it starts at High Performance immediately just after Win10 boots up and the OVR_server.exe is loaded.  I'll have to search and read up more on this file.

[ElliotBlackburn]

Thank you for sharing information and experience guys it was helpful.