A service a day – epowersvc

Recently since I had to disable dnscache service, I realized that I’m not clear on a lot of services that are running in the background of my PC. So, I’m going to try and learn a bit about the services in play. I’ll briefly describe what I find about each service and the source. It’s pretty easy, but it should be a great learning experience.

I’ve got an Acer laptop and it’s running Acer’s epower service. According to http://acer-epower-management.software.informer.com/ 

This is a power manager that allows you to choose an active profile and base working options. For example, using Acer Aspire 5101AWLMi you can choose whether to turn off the wireless network adapter, the Ethernet controller, and the Cardbus slot from the battery during the work. Also, you can adjust the brightness of the monitor and productivity of the processor, the time of blanking of the monitor and turning the computer to the sleeping mode. More tuning options are available through the regular system of power management in the Windows Vista.

And here’s what Acer’s system guide has to say:

Power management
This computer has a built-in power management unit that monitors system activity. System activity refers to any activity involving one or more of the following devices: keyboard, mouse, hard disk, peripherals connected to the computer, and video memory. If no activity is detected for a period of time (called an inactivity timeout), the computer stops some or all of these devices in order to conserve energy. This computer employs a power management scheme that supports the advanced configuration and power interface (ACPI), which allows for maximum power conservation and maximum performance at the same time. Windows handles all power-saving chores for your computer.

Acer PowerSmart key
Note: This feature is only available on certain models.
The Acer PowerSmart key uses the power-saving features of your computer’s graphics sub-system to reduce overall power consumption. When you press the Acer PowerSmart key, the screen brightness is reduced and the graphics chip switched to a lower speed; PCI and WLAN switch to power-saving modes. Press
the Acer PowerSmart key again to return to your previous settings.

Most of these features are part of the Energy Star certification required by the USA’s Environmental Protection Agency. I must say this is an important service to have running and it certainly must complement the energy saving features of Windows 7.