What feature can be adjusted to help extend the battery life of a portable computer?

Adjusting power options is a highly effective method for extending the battery life of a portable computer. Power options, often found within the operating system settings, allow users to specify how their device utilizes energy. By selecting a power-saving mode or customizing settings such as sleep or hibernation timers, users can significantly reduce power consumption when the device is not actively in use. These options include lowering the processor performance, dimming the display, disabling background processes, and managing how quickly the computer enters sleep mode, all of which contribute to longer battery life.

While screen brightness, wireless connectivity, and CPU performance can also impact battery life, they are typically adjustments made within power options. Lowering screen brightness can save energy, but without adjusting other power settings, it may not be as effective as utilizing the comprehensive tools provided in the power options. Similarly, managing wireless connectivity — like turning off Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when not needed — can help, yet it falls under broader power management that would be configured through power options. CPU performance settings often relate to the overall power setting, which means power options encompass those adjustments too.