Allow sleep in Better Performance Energy Saver mode

May 18, '06 07:07:00AM

Contributed by: zpjet

I was looking for a way to change the default settings for Energy Saver menu extra. I have a PowerBook, and from time to time, I want to switch to Better Performance, which makes H264 encoding faster, thanks to highest processor performance. (I have noticed an increase from 17fps while on Automatic to more than 25fps on Highest.) However, I also like the computer to sleep after encoding. This is a problem, because the default setting in Better Performance mode (when plugged in) is Never Sleep (as probably a server or desktop user would like).

So I backed up and sudo edited the following system file:

/System -> Library -> SystemConfiguration -> PowerManagement.bundle -> Contents -> Resources -> com.apple.SystemPowerProfileDefaults.plist

In the SystemProfileDefaults -> 3 -> AC Power section, I changed the value of System Sleep Timer a desired value in minutes. I then did the same thing for section 4 of SystemProfileDefaults.

I was a bit too lazy to figure out what those 3 and 4 means, but this trick worked for me. Maybe somebody can explain the various numbers...

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