# Pausing Windows When No Applications Are Open

You can conserve your Mac's CPU resources by setting Windows to pause automatically when no Windows applications are open. That way, less CPU resources are used by Windows services, which allows you to save battery and help the environment.

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**Note**: Starting from version 20.4.0, this option is disabled by default for newly created virtual machines.
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To set Windows to pause when no applications are open:

1. Do one of the following:
   * Click the Parallels Desktop icon in the menu bar and choose **Configure.**
   * If the Parallels Desktop menu bar is visible at the top of the screen, choose **Actions** > **Configure**.
2. Click **Options** and select **Startup and Shutdown**.
3. Select **Pause Windows after** and specify a period of inactivity after which Windows will be automatically paused.