How to fix missing default Power Plans and CsEnabled option?

When Power Options shows only Balanced, the PC usually uses Modern Standby, and Microsoft allows only Balanced or plans made from it there. The CsEnabled registry value that old guides change is often missing on current Windows. Run powercfg /a first to see which case you have.

Facts checked on 16 October 2026. Steps written for Windows 11 (25H2 and 26H2) and Windows 10 22H2.

What the missing power plans and the missing CsEnabled value mean

Windows has three default power plans: Power saver, Balanced and High performance, each with a fixed GUID. Microsoft's own documentation adds one note that explains most cases: devices that support Modern Standby only allow the Balanced plan, or plans derived from Balanced. On such a PC the other plans are not deleted by mistake. Windows hides them on purpose.

Modern Standby, also shown as Standby (S0 Low Power Idle), keeps the PC lightly awake in sleep, like a phone. It replaces the classic S3 sleep. Many laptops ship with it, and a firmware or Windows update can switch it on for a PC that had S3 before. That is why readers often notice the plans vanish right after an update.

• CsEnabled stands for connected standby enabled, the older name of Modern Standby. A missing CsEnabled value is normal on recent builds and is not damage.
• IgnoreCsComplianceCheck is another value that shows up in forum posts. We could not confirm from Microsoft what it does, so this guide does not use it.
• Power mode in Windows 11 Settings (Best performance, Balanced, Best power efficiency) works on top of the Balanced plan. On Modern Standby PCs it is the supported way to get more speed.

Why the default power plans disappear, from most to least common

Most often the PC uses Modern Standby, so only Balanced is allowed. Less often the plans were deleted on a PC with classic S3 sleep, by a tuning tool, a maker's own power app or a restored system image. Rarely, a missing chipset driver or damaged system files hide them.

How to get the missing power plans back, or get the same result

Fix 1 takes two minutes and decides which fixes apply. Fixes 2 and 3 are for PCs with classic S3 sleep. Fixes 4 to 6 are for Modern Standby PCs. Fixes 7 and 8 are for the rare cases left.

Fix 1. Check whether your PC uses Modern Standby with powercfg /a

2 minutesNo riskEveryone who sees only Balanced, before changing anything.

The sleep type decides everything. With Modern Standby, Windows hides the other plans by design and no restore command brings them back. With S3 sleep, the plans were removed and can be restored.

1. Press Win + S, type cmd, right-click Command Prompt and choose Run as administrator.
2. Type this command and press Enter:

   powercfg /a

3. Read the first block, The following sleep states are available on this system.
4. If it lists Standby (S0 Low Power Idle) Network Connected, you have Modern Standby. Go to Fix 4.
5. If it lists Standby (S3), you have classic sleep. Go to Fix 2.
6. To see which plans Windows knows right now, run:

   powercfg /list

Fix 2. Restore all default power plans with powercfg -restoredefaultschemes

2 minutesLow riskPCs where Fix 1 lists Standby (S3) and Power Options shows only Balanced.

On a PC with S3 sleep all three default plans are allowed, so if they are gone, something removed them. This command puts the default plans and their default settings back in one step.

1. Open Command Prompt as administrator, as in Fix 1.
2. Run the restore command:

   powercfg -restoredefaultschemes

3. Close the window when the prompt returns without an error.
4. Press Win + R, type powercfg.cpl and press Enter.
5. Select Show additional plans if the list is folded, and pick High performance or Power saver.

Fix 3. Add one missing plan back with powercfg -duplicatescheme

3 minutesNo riskPCs with S3 sleep where you want one plan back, such as High performance or Ultimate Performance.

Each default plan has a fixed GUID, and duplicatescheme makes a fresh copy of it without touching other plans. It also adds Ultimate Performance, which Windows does not show on most PCs by default.

1. Open Command Prompt as administrator.
2. Run the line of the plan you want, from the table below.
3. Windows prints the new plan's GUID and name when it worked.
4. Close and reopen Power Options (powercfg.cpl) and select the plan.

The old version of this page listed the Ultimate Performance GUID as a High performance plan. That was wrong: e9a42b02 is Ultimate Performance, and 8c5e7fda is High performance.

Fix 4. Use Power mode instead of a power plan on a Modern Standby PC

1 minuteNo riskPCs where Fix 1 lists Standby (S0 Low Power Idle) and you only want more speed or longer battery life.

On Modern Standby PCs, Power mode is the supported switch between speed and battery on top of the Balanced plan. It keeps sleep working as the maker built it, which the registry change in Fix 6 does not.

1. Windows 11: open Settings > System > Power & battery (on a desktop the page is Power).
2. Under Power mode, choose Best performance for speed or Best power efficiency for battery.
3. On a laptop, set it separately for Plugged in and On battery if the page shows both.
4. Windows 10: select the battery icon on the taskbar and move the slider toward Best performance.

Step by step, with the Windows 10 path: Change the power mode

Fix 5. Create your own high performance plan based on Balanced

5 minutesNo riskModern Standby PCs where Power mode is missing or you need fixed processor and sleep settings.

Microsoft allows plans derived from Balanced on Modern Standby devices. A copy of Balanced with the processor at 100 percent gives most of what High performance did, without turning Modern Standby off.

1. Press Win + R, type powercfg.cpl and select OK.
2. Select Create a power plan in the left pane.
3. Keep Balanced as the base, type a name such as My performance and select Next.
4. Set the screen and sleep times you want and select Create.
5. Select Change plan settings > Change advanced power settings.
6. Open Processor power management and set Minimum processor state to 100% for Plugged in.
7. Select OK. The new plan is now the active one.

Fix 6. Turn off Modern Standby with PlatformAoAcOverride (the CsEnabled replacement)

10 minutes with a restartRead the warningModern Standby PCs where you need the real High performance plan, Power saver or classic S3 sleep.

The plans are hidden because Modern Standby is on. Setting PlatformAoAcOverride to 0 tells Windows to stop using Modern Standby, and after a restart the other plans are allowed again. CsEnabled was the older switch for the same thing.

1. Back up the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power with File > Export in Registry Editor.
2. Open Command Prompt as administrator.
3. Run this command (type it if a copy gives a syntax error):

   reg add HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power /v PlatformAoAcOverride /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

4. Restart Windows. A sign out is not enough.
5. Run powercfg /a again. Standby (S0 Low Power Idle) should be gone.
6. Run powercfg -restoredefaultschemes or the duplicatescheme lines from Fix 3, then open powercfg.cpl.

Undo: turn Modern Standby back on, then restart

reg delete "HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power" /v PlatformAoAcOverride /f

Fix 7. Install the chipset driver and firmware from your PC maker

15 minutesLow riskNew PCs, clean installs, or PCs where the maker's own power modes are missing too.

A Microsoft Q&A moderator suggests the chipset driver when High performance is missing, and notes the plan may come back under another name. The maker's driver also adds the maker's own power plans or modes.

1. Find the exact model on the PC's label or in Settings > System > About.
2. Open the support page of the PC or motherboard maker and choose your model and Windows version.
3. Download and install the chipset driver, then the maker's power or system management software if it is listed.
4. Install a BIOS or UEFI update only if the maker lists one for your model, on mains power.
5. Restart and open powercfg.cpl again.

Driver updates from Device Manager and Windows Update: Update, roll back or reinstall a driver

Fix 8. Repair system files or go back with System Restore

30 minutesLow riskPCs with S3 sleep where Fix 2 gives an error, or plans vanished after a cleanup tool or a crash.

If powercfg -restoredefaultschemes fails, the default plan data or the power service may be damaged. A system file repair or a restore point from before the change puts it back.

1. Run DISM and then SFC from an administrator Command Prompt.
2. Restart and run powercfg -restoredefaultschemes again.
3. If it still fails, open System Restore and pick a point from before the plans disappeared.
4. After the restore, run powercfg /list to check the plans.

System file repair: Run DISM and SFC to repair Windows system files Going back to a restore point: Undo recent changes with System Restore

If the power plans are still missing: what to check and what to send

Most readers who still see only Balanced have Modern Standby and expect the old plans to return with a command. They will not while S0 is on. Check these points before you contact the PC maker or Microsoft Support.

• The full output of powercfg /a, both the available and the not available sleep states.
• The output of powercfg /list, with the GUID of the active plan.
• Whether PlatformAoAcOverride or CsEnabled exist under HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power and their values.
• Your model, Windows version and build, from Settings > System > About.
• What changed just before the plans vanished: a Windows update, a BIOS update, a tuning tool or a new image.

How to keep your power plans after updates

You cannot stop Windows from hiding plans while Modern Standby is on, but you can make a lost plan a one-minute fix instead of a search.

• Export a custom plan to a file: run powercfg /list, then powercfg -export C:\plan.pow <GUID>. Bring it back with powercfg -import C:\plan.pow.
• Keep the duplicatescheme lines from Fix 3 in a text file on the PC.
• Avoid tuning tools that delete or rewrite power plans.
• After a BIOS update, run powercfg /a again to see whether the sleep type changed.
• On Modern Standby PCs, prefer Power mode over registry changes.

Frequently asked questions

What is CsEnabled in the registry?

CsEnabled is a DWORD under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power. The name comes from connected standby, the older name of Modern Standby. A value of 1 meant connected standby was on, and older guides set it to 0 to turn it off and get the hidden power plans back. On current Windows 10 and Windows 11 builds the value is often missing. Current guidance uses PlatformAoAcOverride set to 0 instead, as in Fix 6. We could not confirm from Microsoft when CsEnabled stopped working.

Why is CsEnabled missing in my registry?

A missing CsEnabled value is normal on recent Windows builds and does not mean the registry is damaged. Windows simply does not create it on many PCs anymore. Do not create it by hand and expect the plans to return. Check with powercfg /a whether Modern Standby is on, then use Power mode (Fix 4) or the PlatformAoAcOverride value (Fix 6), which is the switch current guidance uses.

Does CsEnabled exist in Windows 11?

On most Windows 11 PCs you will not find CsEnabled in the Power key, and setting it has no visible effect in the cases readers report. Windows 11 decides between Modern Standby and S3 sleep from the firmware, and PlatformAoAcOverride set to 0 is the override used in current guidance. On a Windows 11 laptop, the supported way to get more speed is Power mode in Settings > System > Power & battery.

Should I set CsEnabled = 0?

Only if the value already exists on your PC, and only after a registry backup. Setting CsEnabled to 0 was the older way to turn off Modern Standby, and on current builds PlatformAoAcOverride set to 0 does that job. Either change can leave a PC without working sleep if the firmware has no S3 support, so keep the undo command from Fix 6 at hand and restart after each change.

What does IgnoreCsComplianceCheck do?

IgnoreCsComplianceCheck is a registry value that appears in forum posts about missing power plans. We could not confirm from Microsoft what it does or whether current Windows reads it, so this guide does not use it. To bring back the plans on a Modern Standby PC, use PlatformAoAcOverride set to 0 as in Fix 6. To keep Modern Standby, use Power mode or a plan made from Balanced instead.

How do I restore the default power plans in Windows 11?

Open Command Prompt as administrator and run powercfg -restoredefaultschemes. This returns the power plans to the Windows defaults, so custom plans may be lost. If only Balanced comes back, your PC uses Modern Standby, which you can check with powercfg /a. Then use Power mode in Settings, make your own plan from Balanced, or turn Modern Standby off with PlatformAoAcOverride and restart.

I did everything and the option still does not appear. What now?

If High performance still does not show after the commands, Modern Standby is almost always still on. Run powercfg /a: if it lists Standby (S0 Low Power Idle), no restore command can add the plan. Check that PlatformAoAcOverride was added without an error and that you restarted fully. If S3 is reported as not supported by the firmware, your PC cannot leave Modern Standby, and Power mode is the supported choice.

Will turning off Modern Standby harm my laptop?

It does not damage the hardware, but it changes how the laptop sleeps. If the firmware supports S3, sleep uses less power but wakes slower and no longer fetches mail in sleep. If the firmware has no S3, the laptop may only be able to hibernate. Remove PlatformAoAcOverride with the undo command in Fix 6 and restart to get the original behaviour back.

Is Ultimate Performance the same as High performance?

No. They are separate plans with separate GUIDs. High performance is 8c5e7fda-e8bf-4a96-9a85-a6e23a8c635c, one of the three Windows default plans in Microsoft's documentation. Ultimate Performance is e9a42b02-d5df-448d-aa00-03f14749eb61 and is hidden on most PCs until you add it with powercfg -duplicatescheme. Both are blocked on Modern Standby PCs. The old version of this page mixed the two up.

Do Dell or Lenovo laptops lose power plans more often?

Many Dell, Lenovo and other recent laptops ship with Modern Standby, so they show only Balanced from the start or after a firmware update. The maker is not the cause; the sleep type is. Run powercfg /a to check it. The maker's own power app or a chipset driver from its support page can add its own performance modes, as in Fix 7.