Monitor Will Not Wake Up After Sleep

Dell XPS 435 MT, running Vista 64 bit Home Premium, Radeon HD 3650 graphics card and a Dell monitor.

Over the last month or so, my monitor will not wake up after I manually put the computer to sleep. The CPU light, fan etc. comes on as well as the keyboard lights but the monitor will not come on.

I have to hold the power button in for seven seconds or so and the computer will go back into some sort of a sleep mode. Pressing the power button again, the computer will beep twice then pause and then it repeats the beep sequence. I hold in the power button to again turn it off. A single press of the power button brings the computer back to life and after a while "Resuming Window" shows up on the screen. Even when I shut the computer down, I sometimes have to hold in the power button for several seconds before the computer will boot.

I have tried several things to remedy the situation: System Restore, updating the video card driver, re-seating the video card on the mother board, restoring the Display Devices control panel (it has gone away a couple of times). I also ran the diagnostics on the Dell site and everything came up as working correctly.

I am not sure if I have a hardware or software problem. I was just about to reload the operating system today but knowing how long it would take to re-install software and files, I decided to search the forums a bit more. I have seen several posts on forums regarding this condition but have not found an answer yet. I hope one of you can help me out.

Welcome
Begin by changing your power settings from save energy to High Performance.
If that does not work, talk to me about the beeps
LOng?
Short
Big space between beeps etc.
What is make and model of your computer?

Hi Richard:

I tried changing my Power Settings to the High Performance and it seems to have worked. I thought I had tried that previously, but just to keep the computer from going to sleep quickly. But now, I have put the computer to sleep for up to twenty minutes and the monitor woke right up.

Let me see if this continues to work. I have tried several things that have seemed to work initially, but over time the problem came back. I hope your suggestion is one that will stick.

In regards to my computer, it is a Dell XPS 435MT with a Radeon HD3650 graphics card. When I get the beeps after using the power button to turn off the computer and then bring it back to life, is two short beeps, a long pause, two short beeps, a long pause, etc.

Thank you so much for posting a possible solution (and so quickly!). I will monitor what happens and follow up with you. Again, many thanks!

You are very welcome. I will mark this as solved (if problem returns, I can mark it open).

Poopers! The problem came back again after I left the computer at sleep for about an hour. I guess you are going to have to open the issue up again. I really hoped this might have solved it.

So when I hit the space bar on the computer to wake the computer up, the CPU, fan and keyboard lights came on but the monitor would not. The light on the monitor power button stayed amber (indicating it was not getting a signal).

I held in the power button for about six or seven seconds to 'crash' the computer. The power light on the computer went out and the fan/cpu stopped. I pushed the power button for a few seconds and the beeps started; two quick beeps followed by a long pause, and then two beeps again, another pause and so on and so on. I let it go for a a couple of minutes and the beeps did not stop. The power light on the computer was steady (as opposed to blinking which it does when it sleeps).

I held in the power button for about four seconds and the power light went out. A single press on it after that brought the computer back to life. It takes a while and when the display comes on, it notes that it is Resuming Windows. It takes quite a while for the computer to actually become operational.

I am still wondering whether this is an operating system issue that could be solved by reinstalling the operating system or if it is a hardware problem.

Its usually software.
Go to search and type event viewer
Go to administrative. Look for all the errors at the time of the problem.
I openend the thread, again, so others with answers can join in the fun.

I don't know what "manually" means.

If you click on Start, Shutdown and then Sleep, does the problem occur?

Hi Wither... yes, manually means that I hit the Start, Shutdown and then Sleep. It occurs then but also has occurred if I let the the computer put itself to sleep.

I never knew about the Event Viewer tool. It seems pretty powerful but I am not exactly sure how to read it. I saw several critical events that dealt with the computer loosing power during the transition to Sleep and also an Acrobat reader issue.

Is there a tutorial I can check to see how to interpret the Event Viewer details.

You have been a huge help already. Any advice you have is very welcome.

Thank you,
Michael

Just make a screen shot and upload to us.

This is a screen shot of the Event Viewer with one of the Critical events shown. If this is not what you need, let me know what you want to see and I will get it.

Thank you,
Michael

The sleep mode problem was a problem in SP1 and there was a hot fix for it. However, if you have SP2, it shouldn't be an issue.

Don't want to alarm you but the problem you're having happened to me earlier this year. It turned out that the power supply of my display was crapping out and I ended up buying a new display.

Interesting that the log you provided shows a side by side error. That wouldn't cause this problem, in my opinion. It would be the subject of another thread.

I am running SP2. I have another monitor at work I could try. My current monitor works fine on regular start-ups. It is just after the computer goes to sleep. Thank you for your suggestion.

Do you think re-installing the OS would solve the problem?

I don't suggest reinstalling the OS unless it's absolutely necessary. Since your monitor seems to work fine on a normal startup, I think that would be a last resort.

I would try the other monitor first, if you can.

To continue the above thought, if you do not have a hardware problem, just set the computer not to sleep and just have the monitor turn off.
Vitsta is an old OS, corruption sets in, and that is to be expected.

"Vitsta is an old OS, corruption sets in, and that is to be expected. "

Is that what's happened to me? I'll be 68 tomorrow. :D

I dont know, do you have an expiration date?

If you read this tomorrow... HAPPY BIRTHDAY Wither!

I feel old also (but not corrupted). Richard and Wither, thank you for your many suggestions. I will bring a monitor home on Monday and see if it makes a difference.

Speaking of old and corrupted, I thought about upgrading to Windows 7. I use it at work and like it a lot. It is not nearly as 'needy' as Vista which brings up a dialogue box asking if it should "allow" an instruction to take place on everything from back-ups to viewing Event Viewer.

My worry was that my problem is a hardware one and that upgrading to a new OS might be money down the drain. If it is hardware, I might just by a new computer rather than replacing the mother board and the new one would come with 7.

That said, when I first Googled "monitor will not wake up after sleep" some of the links went to the Windows 7 Forum.

I will let you know what happens with a different monitor. Again, many thanks for helping me through this issue. You have been a blessing to me.

Michael

Michael
This is suppose to show if you have any problems or software that would be a problem for Seven.
Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor - Download - Microsoft Windows
If it says not, then you know. If it says yes, I do not know how thorough the hardware check is for problems.

I didn't say I feel old. In my mind, I'm still a teenager.

When I answer the questions at one of those websites that tries to predict how long a person will live, my expiration date is 2036.

Hi! I certainly have not had much luck with my computer. I brought home another monitor Monday and went to hook it up but it was VGA and I only have a DVI output... and did not have an adapter. I picked one up Tuesday but had engagements Tuesday and Wednesday night so could not try it out until tonight. Hooked the monitor up and started the computer. There was light showing on the screen but nothing else. I pulled the VGA cable and No Signal was displayed.

The sleep mode may be a moot point with what else is going on. I have been shutting down the computer instead of putting it to sleep and now getting it to start is problematic. A single quick push of the power button does not do the trick. I have to hold it in for several seconds and then I will hear a click and the the light on the button flashes amber. Press it quickly again and nothing. Press and hold again and get another click and flash. I have not documented the exact scenario yet but it seems like after two or three long holds of the power button and clicks and flashes, a single press will fire it up and turn the power light on the button to white. I am good to go until the next time.

Any ideas of what might be happening? It is seeming more and more like a hardware issue.

As always, thank you for you guidance.