If the System Cooling Policy is missing in the Power Options of your Windows 11/10 computer, then this post will help you. Some users have complained that when they expand the Processor power management section in the Power Options box, they can’t find the System Cooling Policy setting there. Hence, they aren’t able to see or change their current System Cooling Policy setting on a laptop or desktop. The System Cooling Policy feature is not removed from Windows 11/10, it actually remains hidden by default.
The System Cooling Policy is a built-in feature in Windows 11/10 and is a part of Advanced power settings. It helps to change the cooling mode of your computer and you can set or change the System Cooling Policy setting to Active mode or Passive mode. While the Active System Cooling Policy mode increases the fan speed before slowing the processor, the Passive mode on the other hand slows the processor before increasing the fan speed. For laptops, you can set the same or different cooling modes for battery mode and plugged-in mode. Now if you can’t find the System Cooling Policy setting, then there are two workable solutions covered in this post to show in Power Options of Windows 11/10.
System Cooling Policy missing in Power Options of Windows 11/10
If System Cooling Policy is missing in the Power Options of Windows 11/10, then you can add it using the following solutions:
- Using Registry Editor
- Using the Command Prompt window.
You should create a system restore point before using these solutions. Now let’s check both options one by one.
Add the System Cooling Policy setting in Power Options using the Registry Editor
The steps to add the System Cooling Policy setting in Power Options using the Registry Editor method are as follows:
- Click on the Search box of your Windows 11/10 PC
- Type regedit and press Enter key
- Jump to the
94d3a615-a899-4ac5-ae2b-e4d8f634367fRegistry key. Its full path is here:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlPowerPowerSettings54533251-82be-4824-96c1-47b60b740d0094d3a615-a899-4ac5-ae2b-e4d8f634367f
- You will find an Attributes DWORD value in the right section. If it is not present, then right-click on an empty area, select New, and use DWORD (32-bit) Value option. Rename that DWORD value to Attributes
- Double-click the Attributes value to open the edit box
- Add 2 in the Value data field. This value is needed to add System Cooling Policy in the Power Options box. If the Value data is set to 1, then it removes or hides the System Cooling Policy option
- Press the OK button to close the edit box
- Close the Registry Editor.
This will work instantly and the System Cooling Policy option will be shown under the Processor power management section. If it doesn’t, then you should restart your system.
Related: How to control Fan Speed on Windows computers
Show System Cooling Policy setting to Power Options using Command Prompt
The Registry Editor method explained above is manual and a bit lengthy. If you want, you can also add or show the missing System Cooling Policy setting in Power Options using the Command Prompt window. For doing so, run Command Prompt as administrator and execute the following command:
REG ADD HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlPowerPowerSettings54533251-82be-4824-96c1-47b60b740d0094d3a615-a899-4ac5-ae2b-e4d8f634367f /v Attributes /t REG_DWORD /d 2 /f
This command adds 2 in the Value data field of Attributes DWORD value (in the Registry Editor) to add or show System Cooling Policy.
In case you want to hide or remove the System Cooling Policy setting from Power Options for some reason, you can do that using the following command:
powercfg -attributes SUB_PROCESSOR 94d3a615-a899-4ac5-ae2b-e4d8f634367f +ATTRIB_HIDE
This command actually changes the Value data of Attributes DWORD value in the Registry Editor from 2 to 1 to hide the System Cooling Policy.
Which is better Active or Passive System Cooling Policy?
The Active cooling mode increases the fan speed and consumes more power that you might not find helpful when using a laptop. If you are a laptop user, you can set Active cooling on Plugged-in mode and Passive cooling on Battery mode for power saving. If you are a desktop user, you can use the Active mode to maintain cooling.