Updated: 08/31/2020 by Computer Hope The laptop's power settings affect the performance of the battery. For this reason, Windows includes many options to help save battery power. Changing the way your laptop reacts when closing the lid, where the screen is housed, is one of them. Follow the steps below for how to change what your laptop does when the lid is closed.Change the lid closing settings on a laptop
- On the left side of the screen, click Choose what closing the lid does.
- For the When I close the lid setting, there are two categories: On battery and Plugged in. Select an option in the drop-down menu for each category. See the next section below for details about each option.
- Once you've made your selections, click Save Changes.
Tip
Try different settings for On battery and Plugged in, as changing what happens when the laptop lid closes and isn't plugged in dramatically effects the battery life.
Details about "When I close the lid" options
Do Nothing
The laptop remains on as if the laptop lid is open.
Sleep
Disables hardware features that consume power and goes into a low-power state. Once the lid is opened, normal laptop function is resumed.
Hibernate
Maintains both laptop and program settings if the laptop lid is closed, or the laptop suddenly loses power. After your laptop lid is opened, hibernate restores it to the state it was in before the lid was closed. Hibernate is similar to sleep, but uses less battery and takes longer to resume activity.
Shut down
Closes all software programs and shuts the laptop down, turning off the power.
There are several different power options that will accommodate your laptop usage, and needs, when you close the lid. Shutting down will power your laptop down completely and save all your data safely before the laptop shuts down. Sleeping will use a minimal amount of power but keep your PC in a state that’s ready to go as soon as you open the lid. Sleeping also saves your work and will shut down completely once it senses the battery is running too low. Hibernation is like sleep, only it’s designed to draw even less power and is the better option to consider if you’re not planning on returning to your laptop for some time.
It’s a straightforward process to modify your laptop settings, to get the option that works best to meet your needs.
- Click the Windows 10 Start Button to reveal the Cortana search box. For some, this will be visible by default.
- Type Power and Sleep Settings.
- Under the Best Match option you’ll see Power & Sleep Settings appear. Click this option to go directly to the needed menu.
- Under the Related settings section, click on Additional power settings.
- On the left-hand side of the Power Options screen, you’ll see an option that says Choose what closing the lid does. Click it.
- From there, select the behavior you’d like your PC to use when closing the lid. In the drop down menu, select the action you’d prefer: Do Nothing, Sleep, Hibernate, and Shut down.
- Click Save changes to finalize your selection and apply the changes.
Credit: Laptop Mag
Using a laptop with an external monitor and some peripheral accessories is a great way to create an effective workstation, especially if you've got one of the best computer monitors. Something that can be annoying about this setup, however, is the fact that closing the lid of your laptop to save on space will also put the device to sleep. This will cut off the display signal to the monitor. Thankfully, you can easily solve this problem by changing a few settings in Windows 10. By doing this, you'll be able to make it so that your laptop doesn't go to sleep when you close its lid.
In this Windows 10 guide, we'll show you how to keep your laptop on when closed so that you can use an external monitor.
How to close your laptop lid and still use a monitor
Here's how to use a monitor with your laptop closed:
- On your laptop's desktop, right-click the battery icon.
- Select Power Options.
On the left side of the Power Options page, select Choose what closing the lid does.
Source: Windows Central- In the "When I close the lid" options row, select Do nothing from the dropdown menu under the "On battery" column.
- Also select Do nothing from the dropdown menu under the "Plugged in" column.
- At the bottom of the page, select Save changes.
You can now close your laptop lid while still using your external monitor, regardless of whether or not your laptop is plugged in to a charger. Note that we recommend plugging your laptop in while using an external monitor so that you don't have to worry about the battery draining while you use your workstation.
More Windows resources
If you have an external monitor but you're having issues getting your laptop to connect to it, check out our guide on how to fix second monitor not detected on Windows 10. Also, for more helpful articles, coverage, and answers to common questions about Windows 10 and Windows 11, visit the following resources:
Brendan Lowry is a Windows Central writer and Oakland University graduate with a burning passion for video games, of which he's been an avid fan since childhood. You'll find him doing reviews, editorials, and general coverage on everything Xbox and PC. Follow him on Twitter.