Incident
Retail client called about their digital signage kiosks "going dark" during business hours. Three kiosks at the front of the store, all running the same menu/promo loop, all dropping to a black screen multiple times a day. Staff would wiggle the mouse to wake them, then three hours later do it again. The client's internal IT had already "fixed" it — they'd set the power profile to Never Sleep through Control Panel on each machine. It worked until the next Windows Update or GPO refresh, then the settings reverted and the kiosks went dark again. Customer-facing displays, visible downtime, annoyed store manager.
Root cause
Two things were fighting each other. Windows Update periodically resets the active power plan back to Balanced (Microsoft's default behavior after certain cumulative updates), and the domain's GPO was pushing out a baseline power policy that overwrote local changes on every gpupdate. The Control Panel fix works on the machine right in front of you, but it doesn't survive either of those events. We caught the active plan sitting on Balanced with a 30-minute display timeout and hibernate enabled at 180 minutes — exactly the defaults, every time.
- active plan: Balanced (not High Performance)
- sleep timeout: 30 minutes (default)
- hibernate: enabled, firing at 180 minutes
- GPO conflict: domain policy resetting local changes on refresh
Solution
The fix is to create a NEW power plan with a unique GUID, configure it the way you want, then set it active via powercfg. Because it's a custom plan Windows hasn't seen before, updates don't touch it. We also disabled hibernate at the system level with powercfg /h off, because hibernate is a separate mechanism from sleep and will still trigger even on a plan with sleep set to never.
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================================================================================
SCRIPT : Set Always-On Power Profile v2.2.1
AUTHOR : Limehawk.io
DATE : January 2026
USAGE : .\power_profile_always_on_set.ps1
FILE : power_profile_always_on_set.ps1
DESCRIPTION : Creates custom always-on power plan for workstations
================================================================================
README
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PURPOSE:
Creates a custom "Always On - Limehawk" power plan optimized for workstations
that should never sleep while on AC power. If the plan already exists, it will
be reused and reconfigured. The plan is based on High Performance settings.
REQUIRED INPUTS:
$customPlanName : Name of the custom power plan
$displayTimeoutAC : Display timeout on AC power (minutes)
$displayTimeoutDC : Display timeout on battery (minutes)
$diskTimeoutAC : Hard disk timeout on AC power (minutes)
$diskTimeoutDC : Hard disk timeout on battery (minutes)
$standbyTimeoutAC : Sleep timeout on AC power (0 = never)
$standbyTimeoutDC : Sleep timeout on battery (minutes)
$hibernateTimeoutAC : Hibernate timeout on AC power (0 = never)
$hibernateTimeoutDC : Hibernate timeout on battery (minutes)
BEHAVIOR:
1. Validates all hardcoded timeout values and plan name
2. Verifies script is running with Administrator privileges
3. Checks if custom power plan already exists
4. Creates or reuses the custom power plan
5. Sets the custom plan as active
6. Configures all power timeouts
7. Disables hibernation on desktops (no battery)
PREREQUISITES:
- Windows 10/11 or Windows Server 2016+
- Administrator privileges
- High Performance power plan must exist
WINDOWS 11 NOTE:
Windows 11 Settings app (Settings > System > Power) does NOT display custom
power plans. It shows a simplified "Power mode" slider instead. This is
cosmetic only - custom plans still work correctly in the background.
To verify the plan is active, use the classic Control Panel:
- Run: control powercfg.cpl
- Or run: powercfg /getactivescheme
The custom plan will appear in Control Panel > Power Options even though
it's hidden in the modern Settings UI.
SECURITY NOTES:
- No secrets in logs
- All operations are local
EXIT CODES:
0 = Success
1 = Failure
EXAMPLE RUN:
[INFO] INPUT VALIDATION
==============================================================
All required inputs are valid
[RUN] POWER PLAN SETUP
==============================================================
Custom Plan Name : Always On - Limehawk
Plan Status : Creating new plan
Active Plan : Always On - Limehawk
[RUN] APPLYING POWER SETTINGS
==============================================================
Display Timeout (AC) : 30 minutes
Standby Timeout (AC) : 0 (Never)
[OK] FINAL STATUS
==============================================================
Power plan configured successfully
[OK] SCRIPT COMPLETED
==============================================================
CHANGELOG
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2026-01-19 v2.2.1 Updated to two-line ASCII console output style
2026-01-05 v2.2.0 Added Windows 11 note about hidden power plans in Settings UI
2025-12-23 v2.1.0 Updated to Limehawk Script Framework
2024-12-01 v2.0.0 Migrated from SuperOps - removed module dependency
2025-09-12 v1.0.0 Initial version
================================================================================
#>
Set-StrictMode -Version Latest
# ============================================================================
# HARDCODED INPUTS
# ============================================================================
$customPlanName = "Always On - Limehawk"
$displayTimeoutAC = 30 # Minutes until display turns off on AC power
$displayTimeoutDC = 10 # Minutes until display turns off on battery
$diskTimeoutAC = 60 # Minutes until hard disk spins down on AC power
$diskTimeoutDC = 30 # Minutes until hard disk spins down on battery
$standbyTimeoutAC = 0 # Minutes until system sleeps on AC power (0 = never)
$standbyTimeoutDC = 20 # Minutes until system sleeps on battery
$hibernateTimeoutAC = 0 # Minutes until system hibernates on AC (0 = never)
$hibernateTimeoutDC = 45 # Minutes until system hibernates on battery
# High Performance plan GUID (standard across Windows installations)
$highPerfGuid = "8c5e7fda-e8bf-4a96-9a85-a6e23a8c635c"
# ============================================================================
# INPUT VALIDATION
# ============================================================================
Write-Host ""
Write-Host "[INFO] INPUT VALIDATION"
Write-Host "=============================================================="
$errorOccurred = $false
$errorText = ""
if ([string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($customPlanName)) {
$errorOccurred = $true
if ($errorText.Length -gt 0) { $errorText += "`n" }
$errorText += "- Custom plan name cannot be empty"
}
$timeouts = @{
'Display timeout (AC)' = $displayTimeoutAC
'Display timeout (DC)' = $displayTimeoutDC
'Disk timeout (AC)' = $diskTimeoutAC
'Disk timeout (DC)' = $diskTimeoutDC
'Standby timeout (AC)' = $standbyTimeoutAC
'Standby timeout (DC)' = $standbyTimeoutDC
'Hibernate timeout (AC)' = $hibernateTimeoutAC
'Hibernate timeout (DC)' = $hibernateTimeoutDC
}
foreach ($name in $timeouts.Keys) {
$value = $timeouts[$name]
if ($value -lt 0 -or $value -gt 999) {
$errorOccurred = $true
if ($errorText.Length -gt 0) { $errorText += "`n" }
$errorText += "- $name must be between 0-999 minutes"
}
}
if ($errorOccurred) {
Write-Host ""
Write-Host "[ERROR] VALIDATION FAILED"
Write-Host "=============================================================="
Write-Host "Input validation failed:"
Write-Host $errorText
Write-Host ""
Write-Host "[ERROR] SCRIPT COMPLETED"
Write-Host "=============================================================="
exit 1
}
Write-Host "All required inputs are valid"
# ============================================================================
# PRIVILEGE CHECK
# ============================================================================
Write-Host ""
Write-Host "[INFO] INITIALIZING SCRIPT"
Write-Host "=============================================================="
$identity = [System.Security.Principal.WindowsIdentity]::GetCurrent()
$principal = New-Object System.Security.Principal.WindowsPrincipal($identity)
if (-not $principal.IsInRole([System.Security.Principal.WindowsBuiltInRole]::Administrator)) {
Write-Host ""
Write-Host "[ERROR] ADMINISTRATOR REQUIRED"
Write-Host "=============================================================="
Write-Host "This script must be run with Administrator privileges"
Write-Host ""
Write-Host "[ERROR] SCRIPT COMPLETED"
Write-Host "=============================================================="
exit 1
}
Write-Host ("Privilege Check".PadRight(24) + " : Administrator")
Write-Host ("Host Name".PadRight(24) + " : $env:COMPUTERNAME")
$activePlanRaw = powercfg /getactivescheme
$previousPlanName = if ($activePlanRaw -match '\(([^)]+)\)') { $matches[1] } else { "Unknown" }
Write-Host ("Previous Active Plan".PadRight(24) + " : $previousPlanName")
# ============================================================================
# CREATE OR REUSE CUSTOM POWER PLAN
# ============================================================================
Write-Host ""
Write-Host "[RUN] POWER PLAN SETUP"
Write-Host "=============================================================="
Write-Host ("Custom Plan Name".PadRight(24) + " : $customPlanName")
$allPlansRaw = powercfg /list
$customPlanGuid = $null
foreach ($line in $allPlansRaw) {
if ($line -match '([a-f0-9-]{36}).*\((.+)\)') {
$guid = $matches[1]
$name = $matches[2]
if ($name -eq $customPlanName) {
$customPlanGuid = $guid
break
}
}
}
if ($customPlanGuid) {
Write-Host ("Plan Status".PadRight(24) + " : Already exists (reusing)")
Write-Host ("Plan GUID".PadRight(24) + " : $customPlanGuid")
}
else {
Write-Host ("Plan Status".PadRight(24) + " : Creating new plan")
$duplicateOutput = powercfg /duplicatescheme $highPerfGuid
if ($duplicateOutput -match '([a-f0-9-]{36})') {
$customPlanGuid = $matches[1]
Write-Host ("Plan GUID".PadRight(24) + " : $customPlanGuid")
powercfg /changename $customPlanGuid $customPlanName "Limehawk managed always-on power plan" | Out-Null
Write-Host ("Plan Created".PadRight(24) + " : Based on High Performance")
}
else {
Write-Host ""
Write-Host "[ERROR] PLAN CREATION FAILED"
Write-Host "=============================================================="
Write-Host "Failed to create custom power plan"
Write-Host ""
Write-Host "[ERROR] SCRIPT COMPLETED"
Write-Host "=============================================================="
exit 1
}
}
powercfg /setactive $customPlanGuid
Write-Host ("Active Plan".PadRight(24) + " : $customPlanName")
# ============================================================================
# APPLY POWER SETTINGS
# ============================================================================
Write-Host ""
Write-Host "[RUN] APPLYING POWER SETTINGS"
Write-Host "=============================================================="
$formatLabel = { param($val) if ($val -eq 0) { "0 (Never)" } else { "$val minutes" } }
powercfg.exe -change -monitor-timeout-ac $displayTimeoutAC
Write-Host ("Display Timeout (AC)".PadRight(24) + " : " + (& $formatLabel $displayTimeoutAC))
powercfg.exe -change -monitor-timeout-dc $displayTimeoutDC
Write-Host ("Display Timeout (DC)".PadRight(24) + " : " + (& $formatLabel $displayTimeoutDC))
powercfg.exe -change -disk-timeout-ac $diskTimeoutAC
Write-Host ("Disk Timeout (AC)".PadRight(24) + " : " + (& $formatLabel $diskTimeoutAC))
powercfg.exe -change -disk-timeout-dc $diskTimeoutDC
Write-Host ("Disk Timeout (DC)".PadRight(24) + " : " + (& $formatLabel $diskTimeoutDC))
powercfg.exe -change -standby-timeout-ac $standbyTimeoutAC
Write-Host ("Standby Timeout (AC)".PadRight(24) + " : " + (& $formatLabel $standbyTimeoutAC))
powercfg.exe -change -standby-timeout-dc $standbyTimeoutDC
Write-Host ("Standby Timeout (DC)".PadRight(24) + " : " + (& $formatLabel $standbyTimeoutDC))
# ============================================================================
# CONFIGURE HIBERNATION
# ============================================================================
Write-Host ""
Write-Host "[RUN] CONFIGURING HIBERNATION"
Write-Host "=============================================================="
$battery = Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Battery -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
if ($null -eq $battery) {
Write-Host ("Battery Status".PadRight(24) + " : NOT DETECTED")
powercfg.exe -h off
Write-Host ("Hibernation".PadRight(24) + " : DISABLED")
}
else {
Write-Host ("Battery Status".PadRight(24) + " : DETECTED")
powercfg.exe -change -hibernate-timeout-ac $hibernateTimeoutAC
Write-Host ("Hibernate Timeout (AC)".PadRight(24) + " : " + (& $formatLabel $hibernateTimeoutAC))
powercfg.exe -change -hibernate-timeout-dc $hibernateTimeoutDC
Write-Host ("Hibernate Timeout (DC)".PadRight(24) + " : " + (& $formatLabel $hibernateTimeoutDC))
}
# ============================================================================
# FINAL STATUS
# ============================================================================
Write-Host ""
Write-Host "[OK] FINAL STATUS"
Write-Host "=============================================================="
Write-Host "Result : SUCCESS"
Write-Host "Power plan configured: $customPlanName"
Write-Host "Settings are effective immediately"
Write-Host ""
Write-Host "[OK] SCRIPT COMPLETED"
Write-Host "=============================================================="
exit 0
What it configures
Script duplicates the High Performance plan, renames it, applies custom timeouts on AC power, disables hibernate at the system level, and sets the new plan as active. Because we own the GUID, Windows Update and GPO baseline enforcement both leave it alone — they only act on the built-in plans.
- display timeout: configurable (default: never)
- disk timeout: never
- sleep timeout: never
- hibernate: disabled completely (powercfg /h off)
- survives reboots, Windows Updates, and GPO refresh
Outcome
Deployed the script via RMM to all three kiosks, rebooted to confirm persistence, and verified the new plan was active on each. Zero sleep incidents since. Client mentioned the conference room PCs in their meeting spaces had the same problem during long Teams calls, so we rolled the same script out to 12 more machines. Same result — no more screens going black mid-presentation.
- kiosks fixed: 3 of 3
- sleep incidents since deploy: zero
- time per machine: 8 minutes
- later expanded to 12 conference room PCs