Trick Windows Into Assuming It Is On AC Power

Some operations in Windows, such as applying service packs, software updates or BIOS upgrades, require that the machine is operating on AC power. In the case of a notebook or portable computer that is running on battery, the operation refuses to continue.

However there are emergency circumstances that require the operation to proceed despite the unavailability of AC power.

Thus to “trick” Windows into assuming it is on AC power rather than battery, simply disable the Batteries / Microsoft ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery device in Device Manager.

The battery icon will disappear from the system tray. It is not necessary to reboot.

Hence, any application which queries the operating system for the battery status will be informed the machine is on AC power.

Once the operation has completed, the battery devices should be re-enabled.

While the battery devices are disabled, Windows cannot determine the battery status and will not provide warnings or information about the battery level. Therefore running a critical process while the machine is on batteries should only be only be done in emergency circumstances.