Battery Status Indicator in Notification Area


kgarrett67

kgarrett67

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I've been curious why we have to stare at a battery status indicator in the notification area on desktop computers when there is no battery. I think I have stumbled upon something just now that may or may not indicate what it's monitoring. I have an APC UPS connected to my computer system, with the supplied cable connected to the computer that monitors the UPS through APC's PowerChute software. This morning, there was a power outage while I was away. When I returned home, I found my computer had shut down due to a low battery state on the UPS. I powered the system on. I found the UPS battery level at 50%, and about an hour later, it had increased to approximately 75%, so that's all good. For no apparent reason, I glanced at the lower right of my computer screen and noticed the battery indicator not showing a full charge as it always had been. I hovered the mouse over the icon and discovered it was at 86%. I've seen no documentation on the usage of the battery indicator on a desktop computer. Now, it seems likely it is obtaining information from the UPS indicating the battery level of the UPS.

Has anyone noticed this who uses a UPS?
 
Windows Build/Version
21H2/22000.856

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kgarrett67 said:
I've been curious why we have to stare at a battery status indicator in the notification area on desktop computers when there is no battery. I think I have stumbled upon something just now that may or may not indicate what it's monitoring. I have an APC UPS connected to my computer system, with the supplied cable connected to the computer that monitors the UPS through APC's PowerChute software. This morning, there was a power outage while I was away. When I returned home, I found my computer had shut down due to a low battery state on the UPS. I powered the system on. I found the UPS battery level at 50%, and about an hour later, it had increased to approximately 75%, so that's all good. For no apparent reason, I glanced at the lower right of my computer screen and noticed the battery indicator not showing a full charge as it always had been. I hovered the mouse over the icon and discovered it was at 86%. I've seen no documentation on the usage of the battery indicator on a desktop computer. Now, it seems likely it is obtaining information from the UPS indicating the battery level of the UPS.

Has anyone noticed this who uses a UPS?
Click to expand...
I have always thought the same thing..lol. they should have a manual disable show button for it somewhere in settings you would think.
 

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@imanlien2020, you are correct. I guess understanding its purpose in a desktop environment would also be meaningful.
 

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I've never seen a battery indicator on a desktop PC, mine certainly doesn't have one
 

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imanlien2020 said:
they should have a manual disable show button for it somewhere in settings you would think
Click to expand...
Alien - You can choose to remove it using the dialog that this brings up
explorer.exe shell:::{05d7b0f4-2121-4eff-bf6b-ed3f69b894d9}\SystemIcons
[The same code also works in Windows 10.]

K - I think your original post is an excellent addition to our communal knowledge of the subject. I'm glad you bothered to tell us.

All the best,
Denis
 

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OS
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BrianInEngland said:
I've never seen a battery indicator on a desktop PC, mine certainly doesn't have one
Click to expand...
I'm not sure what triggers it to appear. Maybe it is because I have a UPS, but I think others have the icon as well.
 

Attachments

  • Windows11BattMon.png
    Windows11BattMon.png
    5.7 KB · Views: 1

My Computers My Computers

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    Windows 11 Pro
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    Ryzen 7 3700x
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Crosshair VI AMD X370
    Memory
    32 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
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    On board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    (2) AOC E2752Vh 27-inch
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    Lenovo ThinkPad 20U1001UUS
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 10510U @1.80GHz
    Memory
    16GB DDR4
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
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Try3 said:
Alien - You can choose to remove it using the dialog that this brings up
explorer.exe shell:::{05d7b0f4-2121-4eff-bf6b-ed3f69b894d9}\SystemIcons
[The same code also works in Windows 10.]

K - I think your original post is an excellent addition to our communal knowledge of the subject. I'm glad you bothered to tell us.

All the best,
Denis
Click to expand...
Denis, would you help me understand how to make it go away? I'm not following you on using the dialog that brings up explorer.exe shell::::

Thanks
 

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    Ryzen 7 3700x
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    SSD M.2 and SATA
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    Intel Core i7 10510U @1.80GHz
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    16GB DDR4
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K,

Might I ask what, in practice, your UPS achieves for you - how long it powers your desktop for? And what is its rated power capacity?

I'd never seriously considered the subject before Monday when my area had two momentary loses of power about an hour apart.
I use a desktop computer as my TV recorder*** so could usefully consider adding a UPS to avoid problems.
*** It sleeps between recordings but I could easily change that to hibernation to enhance resilience.

All the best,
Denis
 

My Computer My Computer

OS
Windows 11 Home x64 Version 25H2 Build 26200.8037
kgarrett67 said:
would you help me understand how to make it go away? I'm not following you on using the dialog that brings up explorer.exe shell::::
Click to expand...
Doesn't yours have a Power entry?
This is mine on a laptop.
Add back or remove missing System icons.png

You ought to be able to set that to Off then click the OK button to avoid the icon appearing. But, given that it is telling you the state of your UPS battery, I don't know if you would benefit from turning it off.

My only desktop is on Windows 10 and I do not have a UPS.

Denis
 

My Computer My Computer

OS
Windows 11 Home x64 Version 25H2 Build 26200.8037
Try3 said:
K,

Might I ask what, in practice, your UPS achieves for you - how long it powers your desktop for? And what is its rated power capacity?

I'd never seriously considered the subject before Monday when my area had two momentary loses of power about an hour apart.
I use a desktop computer as my TV recorder*** so could usefully consider adding a UPS to avoid problems.
*** It sleeps between recordings but I could easily change that to hibernation to enhance resilience.

All the best,
Denis
Click to expand...
Mine is a Back-UPS XS 1300. I purchased it from Costco a long time ago and have replaced the batteries once already. So smaller UPS units aren't designed to keep your computer running long. While the UPS indicator on my UPS shows about 25 - 30 minutes of battery power under a no-load condition, the more you have connected, the shorter that time will be. I have two monitors, a computer, a switch, a wireless router, and a cable modem all plugged in. The main purpose of a UPS is to keep your computer equipment running long enough for you to save your work and then shut down your computer in a safe manner. Larger UPS units may power equipment for a longer time. For instance, a 911 dispatch center may have UPS units that will run for 8 hours.
 

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    Lenovo ThinkPad 20U1001UUS
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    Intel Core i7 10510U @1.80GHz
    Memory
    16GB DDR4
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    1920 x 1080
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Try3 said:
Doesn't yours have a Power entry?
This is mine on a laptop.
View attachment 36693

You ought to be able to set that to Off then click the OK button to avoid the icon appearing. But, given that it is telling you the state of your UPS battery, I don't know if you would benefit from turning it off.

My only desktop is on Windows 10 and I do not have a UPS.

Denis
Click to expand...
Denis, if your desktop is a Windows 10 computer, you will not have this battery status indicator. It is something new on Windows 11 OS. So far, there has not been any way to turn the battery status off on desktop computers.
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Personal Build
    CPU
    Ryzen 7 3700x
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Crosshair VI AMD X370
    Memory
    32 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
    Sound Card
    On board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    (2) AOC E2752Vh 27-inch
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    SSD M.2 and SATA
    Cooling
    Air cooling
    Keyboard
    Logitech K800 Wireless
    Mouse
    Logitech M705 Wireless
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    100 Mbps Download | 10 Mbps Upload
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  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkPad 20U1001UUS
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 10510U @1.80GHz
    Memory
    16GB DDR4
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Browser
    Firefox Beta
Thanks for the info. I'm going to look into the subject so your real-life experience is very helpful.
I'll have to consider my loading requirement - probably desktop itself [assuming it was in sleep / hibernation between recordings], monitor off, WiFi router, phone charger.

I have sort-of-UPSs for my main laptop, powerbanks that supply 19.5V that can each keep it running for an hour or more.
I did not consider this issue when deciding to buy a desktop for the secondary computer & TV recorder job. It replaced an old laptop that had started to fall apart.

All the best,
Denis
 

My Computer My Computer

OS
Windows 11 Home x64 Version 25H2 Build 26200.8037
kgarrett67 said:
Denis, if your desktop is a Windows 10 computer, you will not have this battery status indicator. It is something new on Windows 11 OS. So far, there has not been any way to turn the battery status off on desktop computers.
Click to expand...
Perhaps, but although I have an APC UPS running with PowerChute, I have never seen a battery status indicator on the task bar, and I am running Windows 11. Maybe I have found an unknown way to hide the miscreant status indicator.
 

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Not Myself said:
Perhaps, but although I have an APC UPS running with PowerChute, I have never seen a battery status indicator on the task bar, and I am running Windows 11. Maybe I have found an unknown way to hide the miscreant status indicator.
Click to expand...
I should mention that when I upgraded to Windows 11 Pro, I did a clean install and did not reinstall PowerChute. So the PowerChute software is not installed and running.
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Personal Build
    CPU
    Ryzen 7 3700x
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Crosshair VI AMD X370
    Memory
    32 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
    Sound Card
    On board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    (2) AOC E2752Vh 27-inch
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    SSD M.2 and SATA
    Cooling
    Air cooling
    Keyboard
    Logitech K800 Wireless
    Mouse
    Logitech M705 Wireless
    Internet Speed
    100 Mbps Download | 10 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Firefox Beta
    Antivirus
    Windows Security???
    Other Info
    Microsoft 365 Family
    Macrium Reflect (Paid)
    eM Client
    Adobe Acrobat DC (Subscription)
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkPad 20U1001UUS
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 10510U @1.80GHz
    Memory
    16GB DDR4
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Browser
    Firefox Beta
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