Reference number: CH000735

How do I disable the power, sleep, and/or wake buttons in Windows?

Question:

How do I disable the power, sleep, and/or wake buttons in Windows?

Answer:

Disable the computer's ACPI feature

If you wish to disable all three of these buttons, you can disable the computer's ACPI feature in BIOS / CMOS. Additional information about how to enter the BIOS / CMOS setup can be found on document CH000192. 

Once in BIOS / CMOS setup, you can disable ACPI in the power category. The location of this option is almost always different between all BIOS manufacturers and versions of BIOS.

Change the power option within Windows

Microsoft Windows XP users

By default, Microsoft Windows XP will prompt you what to do when the power button is pressed on the keyboard. If you wish to change this setting, follow the below steps.

1. Click Start / Settings / Open the Control panel
2. Within the Control Panel click Power Options
3. In the Power Options Properties window, click the Advanced tab.
4. Under Power buttons, click the down arrow under "When I press the power button on my computer" and/or "When I press the sleep button on my computer" and select the action you wish to perform when pressing the key.

Microsoft Windows 2000 users

Unfortunately, Windows 2000 does not have all the features Windows XP does. However, you can change the power button or other buttons to perform a different function. For example, changing the power button to suspend instead of power. To do this, follow the below steps.

1. Click Start / Settings / Open the Control panel
2. Within the Control Panel, click Power Options
3. In the Power Options Properties window, click the Advanced tab.
4. Under Power buttons, click the down arrow under "When I press the power button on my computer" and/or "When I press the sleep button on my computer" and select the action you wish to perform when pressing the key.