Power Options and Sleep Mode Problems

How to Troubleshoot a Vista or Windows 7 Sleep Mode Problem​

   Information

This will show you some steps to help you troubleshoot and find out what is causing your sleep mode problem. These are the usual reasons for sleep mode problems. For more information, see: Windows Help and How-to: Turn Off a Computer FAQs

   Note

• When your computer is in hibernation, the only way to wake it is to tap the case power button.
• If this sleep mode problem just started recently, then you might consider doing a System Restore before or after trying the steps below if they do not help.

Common Problems:

• Computer will wake up for no reason.
• Sleep mode does not work any more.
• Hibernate option is not available in Power Options, then you accidentally deleted the Hibernation file Cleaner in Disk Cleanup.
• Screen saver not working.

   Tip

BEFORE STARTING:Make sure you have the latest device drivers and BIOS installed for your motherboard.NOTE: A out-of-date video driver or other drivers are sometimes the source of sleep mode problems. It is best to keep these up to date to resolve issues found with them.

STEP 1

Check Your Mouse and Keyboard

NOTE: A wireless mouse and keyboard can cause your computer to wake up for no apparent reason, and to not wake up from sleep mode when you press a key or move the mouse. This may also cause your screen saver to not work to. If the computer is using an optical mouse, changes in light can cause the computer to wake.

For a USB Mouse or Keyboard:​

1. Check the BIOS settings to make sure that you have a Legacy USB option enabled.​

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For a Wireless Mouse or Keyboard:​

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1. Unplug the receiver on the back of the computer and test.​

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2. If sleep or hibernation works now, then try:​

A) Download new drivers for you wireless mouse and test again with the receiver plugged in.​

NOTE: Always get your drivers from the source, never from Windows Updates. They do not work properly sometimes.​

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B) Disable the wireless mouse and/or keyboard wake up option in Step Five below. If you have to disable both of them, then you can wake the computer up by pressing the power button on the case.​

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C) Time to get a new mouse and/or keyboard that is compatible with Vista.​

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For a Optical Mouse:​

1. Try not to have direct bright light shining on the sensor or moving around it.​

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STEP 2

Check Advanced Power Plan Settings

NOTE: Power settings control the computer’s ability to go into and come out of sleep/standby mode.

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1. Open the Control Panel. (Classic View)​

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2. Click on the Power Options icon.​

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3. Click on the Change plan settings link under your power plan. (See screenshot below)​

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4. Click on Change advanced power settings. (See screenshot below)​

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5. Click on Change settings that are currently unavailable. (See screenshots below step 10)​

NOTE: This will allow any Power Options that are grayed out to now work and not be grayed out.​

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6. Recommended Settings for Sleep​

NOTE: Sleep saves any open documents and programs to memory only, and then puts the computer into a low-power state.​

WARNING: If you lose power to the computer, you will also lose what is in memory.​

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Main Setting	Sub Setting	Recommendation
Hard disk		Set to at least 1 minute before the computer (Sleep after setting below) is set to sleep.
Sleep	Sleep after	This is for the computer. Set to at least 1 minute after Hard disk and Display is set to turn off.
Sleep	Allow hybrid sleep	Set to Off.
Sleep	Hibernate after	Set to Never.
USB settings	USB selective suspend setting	Set to Disabled.
Power buttons and lid	Start menu power button	Set to Sleep.
PCI Express	Link State Power Management	Set to Off.
Display	Turn off display after	Set to at least 1 minute before the computer (Sleep after setting above) is set to sleep. Usually set this as the same as the Hard drive is set to turn off.
Multimedia settings	When sharing media	Set to Allow the computer to sleep.

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7. Recommended Settings for Hybrid Sleep​

NOTE: Hybrid sleep saves your open documents and programs to memory and to the hard drive, and then puts the computer into a low-power state. After the Hibernate after time you set, it will then put the computer into hibernation. ​

WARNING: Use the same Recommended Settings for Sleep in step 6 above, except for these changes:​

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Main Setting	Sub Setting	Recommendation
Sleep	Allow hybrid sleep	Set to On.
Sleep	Hibernate after	Set to at least 1 minute after the computer (Sleep after setting above) is set to sleep.

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8. Recommended Settings for Hibernation​

NOTE: Hibernation is a power-saving state that saves your open documents and programs to the hard drive and then turns off your computer. If Hibernate after is not listed, then make sure that you have the Hibernation File enabled or restored to. It is by default unless it was cleaned in Disk Cleanup.​

WARNING: Use the same Recommended Settings for Sleep in step 6 above, except for these changes:​

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Main Setting	Sub Setting	Recommendation
Sleep	Sleep after	Set it to Never.
Sleep	Allow hybrid sleep	Set it to Never.
Sleep	Hibernate after	Set it to at least 1 minute after Hard disk and Display is set to turn off.
Power buttons and lid	Start menu power button	Set it to Hibernate.

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9. Click on OK to apply​

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10. Just exit out the other windows.​

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11. Test sleep mode. If it is still not working correctly, then continue to the next step.​

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STEP 3

Check Sleep State Settings in BIOS

NOTE: Make sure you have the latest Video drivers and BIOS for your motherboard. Read your motherboard manual to see if you have any jumpers or settings that sets different sleep voltages for USB.

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1. Open the Start Menu.​

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2. In white line (Start Search) area, type cmd and press Enter.​

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3. In command prompt, type powercfg -a and press Enter. (See screenshot below)​

NOTE: This will give you a report of the available sleep states for your computer and will attempt to report reasons why sleep states are unavailable. You will want to see if the ACPI S1 and/or S3 is listed. ​

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4. Restart the computer into the BIOS settings, and go into the Power Management section in the BIOS.​

NOTE: Usually you will press the F2 or Delete key as soon as your computer starts booting to enter the BIOS. ​

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5. Make sure ACPI mode: S3 or S1 is enabled.​

WARNING: S1 (Sleep) and S3 (Hybrid deeper sleep). If you are running an incompatible video card, some or all of these states below may be unavailable. If one of the settings causes your computer to not wake back up afterwards, then reset the CMOS on the motherboard and restart the computer, or unplug the computer for a moment and plug it back in, and reset the BIOS back to the factory default settings.​

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6. Make sure Wake on Ring and Wake on Lan are disabled.​

NOTE: This will help keep the computer from waking up on its own.​

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7. Save the BIOS setting changes and exit to restart the computer.​

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8. Test sleep mode. If this does not help, then move on to the next step.​

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STEP 4

To See what had Waken Up Windows Last

NOTE: This will give you a list of items that woke up the computer last that may help narrow down what is waking up the computer.

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1. Open the Start Menu.​

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2. In white line (Start Search) area, type cmd and press Enter.​

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3. In command prompt, type powercfg lastwake and press Enter. (See screenshot below)​

NOTE: Notice that I had USB\ROOT\HUB listed. For me, this would be the USB wireless mouse. Your list results will vary of course.​

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STEP 5

To List, Enable, or Disable Device Names Currently Configured to Wake Up the System From any Sleep State

NOTE: This will show you a list of devices that are able to wake up your computer to help you narrow down a device that may be responsible for waking up your computer. It does not mean that these devices are the ones that woke up your computer though, just that they are able to.

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1. Open an elevated command prompt.​

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2. To List Devices that Can Wake Up the Computer​

A) In the command prompt, copy and paste in bold: (See screenshot below)​

powercfg -devicequery wake_armed and press Enter.​

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B) Go through the list of devices to see if you have one you do not want to wake up your system.​

EX: A Network Device (Modem, Ethernet, etc.) or Wireless Mouse.​

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C) If you found a device that may be causing the problem, then check with the STEP SIX section below first to see if you can disable a wake up option for the device in it's Power Management settings in Device Manager to test to see if that is it before proceding.​

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3. To Disable a Listed Device From Waking Up the Computer​

NOTE: Only do this step if you cannot do it from STEP SIX below using Device Manager instead.​

A) In the elevated command prompt, type below in bold and press Enter.​

WARNING: Be sure to write this device name down in case you want to be able to enable it again in step 4. Once you disable it, it will not be listed again in step 2A until enabled again.​

powercfg -devicedisablewake "exact name of device listed in step 2A"​

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NOTE: For example, if I wanted to disable the listed (step 2A) High Definition device (HDAC), then I would type powercfg -devicedisablewake "High Definition Audio Controller" and press enter.​

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4. To Enable a Listed Device Again to Waking Up the Computer​

NOTE: Only do this step if you cannot do it from STEP SIX below using Device Manager instead, or you have done step 3 above with the device.​

A) In the elevated command prompt, type below in bold and press Enter.​

powercfg -deviceenablewake "exact name of device listed in step 2A"​

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NOTE: For example, if I wanted to reenable the High Definition device (HDAC) that was disable and removed from the list in step 3, then I would type powercfg -deviceenablewake "High Definition Audio Controller" and press enter.​

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5. When done, close the elevated command prompt, and test sleep mode.​

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STEP 6

To Disable or Enable the "Allow this device to wake the computer" Option for a Device

   Note

• Check your Network device. Network activity can cause the network hardware to wake the computer, especially when the network is always on (like cable and DSL connections).
• High Definition Audio, if listed in STEP FIVE, may also rarely cause the computer to wake from sleep mode. You can disable (only option available) the device as a test in Device Manager to see before putting the computer to sleep. Just enable it again if it is not the problem.

1. Open the Control Panel. (Classic View)​

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2. Click on the Device Manager icon.​

NOTE: You need to be in a Administrator account.​

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3. Click on Continue in the UAC prompt.​

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4. Open the device's list that you want to change. (See screenshot below)​

EX: Network Devices​

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5. Right click on the device name and click on Properties.​

EX: Network Devices​

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6. Click on the Power Management tab. (See screenshot below)​

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7. Uncheck Allow this device to wake the computer. (See screenshot above)​

NOTE: To Enable it again, just check this instead. If you need to disable the wireless mouse and keyboard, then you can wake the computer by pressing the power button on the case.​

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8. If listed, check Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power. (See screenshot below step 6)​

NOTE: This will turn the device off when the computer goes into sleep mode.​

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9. Click on the Advanced tab. (See screenshot below)​

NOTE: This is only for the Network device.​

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10. Check the boxed in red Property: items below to see if they are set to Disabled in the Value: area. (See screenshot above)​

NOTE: This area may be different for your particular network device since it is based on the driver, but it should be similar. You will be looking for any Wake on type property options listed.​

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11. Click on OK to apply and close properties window. (See screenshot below step 6 or 9)​

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STEP 7

Check the Screen Saver

NOTE: Some screen savers can interfere with the computer’s ability to go into and come out of sleep/standby mode. Disabling or changing the screen saver may resolve the problem.

1. In the Screen saver settings, select an alternate screen saver, or set it to None, then click on OK.​

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2. Test sleep mode.​

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STEP 8

Check Startup Programs

   Note

• Many software components start up automatically with Vista and run in the background. Some of these programs may not be necessary, and can interfere with the sleep/standby mode. For troubleshooting purposes, use the following steps to prevent programs from starting up with Vista to see if this is the issue.
• If you are having these problems, you can avoid from having to do this completely if you logoff and put the computer to sleep from within the logon screen.

1. Open the Start Menu.​

A) In the white line (Start Search) area, type msconfig and press Enter.​

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B) Go to step 3.​

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OR​

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2. Click on All Programs, Administrative Tools, and System Configuration.​

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3. Click on Continue in the UAC prompt.​

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4. Under the General tab, dot Selective startup. (See screenshot below)​

NOTE: When done with the test, dot Normal startup, to return to the default settings before the test, and click on OK.​

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5. Uncheck Load startup items and click on OK and restart the computer.​

NOTE: You will get a notification that you made changes to the Startup programs in the bottom right Notification area. Just ignore it for now. It will go away when you put it back to Normal startup after you finish.​

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6. Test sleep mode.​

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7. If unchecking (disabling) Load startup items fixed the sleep problem, then enable one startup item at a time and test to see if the problem occurs again. Continue enabling startup items, until you find the program that is causing the problem. Remove or update the problem program.​

NOTE: See Method One or Two here: How to Check and Change the Startup Programs in Vista​

A) When done, change the setting back to Normal startup (step 4).​

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8. If unchecking (disabling) Load startup items did not resolve the sleep problem, then set it back to Normal startup (Step 4) and go to the next step below.​

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STEP 9

Check Scheduled Tasks for Programs

NOTE: Sometimes a program will have something scheduled to run that will wake the computer up. Try turning them off temporarily to see if it resolves the problem.

1. Check in the suspected program settings to see if there is a feature that may wake the computer.​

NOTE: Sometimes it can be the Auto-Update feature in the program.​

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2. Check Task Scheduler for items that are set to Wake-Up the computer to perform it's action.​

A) Expand out the list in the left pane and click on the suspect item's folder. Double click on the task in the middle pane.​

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B) Click on the Conditions tab.​

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C) Uncheck the Wake the computer to run this task box.​

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3. Check Windows Automatic Updates settings.​

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STEP 10

Check Windows Sidebar Gadgets

NOTE: Sometimes a Windows Sidebar Gadget may cause the computer to not sleep on it's own.

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1. Turn off Windows Sidebar as a test to see if your computer will enter sleep on it's own now.​

NOTE: Sometimes, you may need to restart the computer afterwards as well.​

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2. If it does, then turn Windows Sidebar back on and turn off each Gadget one by one. Test sleep again after each one until you find the one causing the problem.​

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STEP 11

Check Motherboard Jumpers

NOTE: A few motherboards have been reported has having jumpers on the board for certain functions (ex: USB device wake-up) that may need to be enabled or disabled.

1. Pull out or download your motherboard manual, and check for any such jumpers.​

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2. If you have one that is related (ex: USB device wake-up), then test sleep mode inbetween toggling the jumper on and off.​

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STEP 12

Reset Print Spooler

NOTE: This may help if your computer will sleep fine manually, but will not sleep automatically or not go to sleep at all. Credit to Artxie for this.

1. Open Services, and temporaily Stop the Print Spooler service.​

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2. Open the Start Menu and type %WINDIR%\system32\spool\printers in the search line and press enter, then delete all files in this folder.​

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3. In Services, Start the Print Spooler service. Close Services window.​

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   Note

If the print spooler issue persists, the installed printer driver may not be compatible or corrupted. Check the printer manufacturer's website to download and install the latest Windows compatible driver for it.

STEP 13

Enable or Disable Windows Media Center Updates to Wake Up the Computer

NOTE: This will show you how to enable or disable the Windows Media Center (mcupdate) task from waking up the computer from sleep when it checks for Media Center updates in Windows 7 and Vista.

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1. For how, see: Windows Media Center Updates - Enable or Disable Waking Computer - Windows 7 Forums​

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STEP 14

View and Override Power Availability Requests

By using power availability requests, applications, services, and drivers can temporarily disable power management features to accomplish user scenarios. Availability requests can prevent the display from turning off after inactivity, and prevent the computer from automatically sleeping, enable Away Mode, and shutting down.

1. For how, see: How to View and Override Power Availability Requests in Windows​

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STEP 15

Try System Restore

NOTE: If sleep/standby mode previously worked, attempt a system restore back to a time when it worked. If the problem has always existed, skip this step.

1. Save any open files and close all programs, then backup anything that you do not want to lose to be safe..​

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2. See: How to Do a System Restore in Vista​

NOTE: If System Restore resolves the problem, the problem is probably caused by software that was installed after the restore point date.​

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I hope this helps,
Shawn

Related Tutorials

---

• How to Change Power Button Settings for the Start Menu and Case in Vista
• How to Disable or Enable Password Protection on Wakeup in Vista
• How to Create a Hibernate Shortcut in Vista
• How to Use and Change a Screen Saver in Vista
• How to Create a Power Options Shortcut in Vista
• How to Restore or Disable Hibernation in Vista
• How to Changed the Return to Sleep Timeout for a Unattended Wake Up in Vista
• SP1 Causes Hibernation Error: "System was shut down unexpectantly"
• How to Restore the Default Power Plan Settings in Vista
• How to Enable or Disable Windows Media Center Updates to Wake Up the Computer
• How to Read the Wake Source Log in Event Viewer for Windows 7 and Vista
• How to View and Override Power Availability Requests in Windows

 

[Rossner]

Hey Brink,

When I first assembled this computer, it wouldn't go to sleep, but changing one of the USB jumper settings on the motherboard fixed that. Now the problem is when it wakes from sleep. Basically if I wake the computer with the keyboard, the mouse doesn't wake up unless i unplug it and plug it back in. Same thing happens if I wake the computer with the mouse, I have to unplug and replug the keyboard. Not a big problem, just an annoying one. Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[Brink]

Hello Rossner, and welcome to Vista Forums.

Double check to see if the Legacy USB setting in the BIOS is set as enabled. Also, you might check to see if you have the latest driver version installed for the mouse from the manufacturer's link below. If you do, then you might uninstall and reinstall them in case they had gotten corrupted.

Cyber Snipa™ :: Downloads :: Drivers & Manuals

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[narcopletic pc]

Just read most of the forum (at work ahem):D but will try the steps when i get home - my problem starts the same as everyone else but when i go to shut my pc down to reboot it actually goes directly back into sleep mode with out even booting. Hmmm... The only way i have got it to turn back on was to pull the lith batt out of the MB. Does this make any sense? I didnt have these problems till my pc auto installed the sp1 pack.

 

[Brink]

Hello Narcopletic PC,

If the tutorial cannot help, then the SP1 may have messed up during install corrupting your Vista installation and you may need to reinstall Vista. If you do reinstall, install the SP1 before doing any other Windows Update using the stand-alone installer instead.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[narcopletic pc]

ty for the info - one thing i found is that my pc clock was not linked to the server clock - this was in part to the auto daylight savings time - i was not getting any of my updates - i unclicked the auto DLST and relinked to the windows server clock and updated a few drivers i seemed to be missing - i wonder if this was due to the fact that we changed the day we set our clocks back now? - not sure but it did help - almost wiped HD and started over - glad i waited - this site is very helpful - thanks to all who post - i use my pc for gaming so just tuned up power performance and shut off all the sleep modes and just turn it off when im done - who needs brakes when all ur trying to do is go fast lol

 

[Brink]

You're welcome Narcopletic PC. I'm happy to hear that you got it sorted.

I never heard of that affecting sleep mode before, but since it worked, it must have been part of the problem. Thank you for posting back your results.

Shawn

 

[dpservis]

Hi,

I am pretty much in trouble.... though your tutorial is by far the most complete on the web, it did not help... my computer won't go to sleep and though I try to setup hibernate, it immediately dissapears from the options. Even more weird is the output of powercfg:

>powercfg lastwake
Wake History Count - 1
Wake History [0]
Wake Source Count - 0

and powercfg -devicequery wake_armed is completely empty...

i would appreciate any help!

thanks a lot

-- dimitris

 

[Brink]

Hello Dimitris, and welcome to Vista Forums.

That just means that no device has waken up the computer.

Have you already checked to make sure Hibernation is enabled still?

If you try Sleep instead of Hibernate, how does it work then?

Shawn

 

[dpservis]

Hi Shawn

thanks for the reply. Yes, I have tried that, but no luck.... it is completely strange, just as if a transparent device to the system wakes it up. I tried to see what can do in safe mode and when I tried to enable hibernation from there, it said that there is a legacy device VgaSave that prevents hibernation, and I couldn't set any powersave properties to this device (at least from the command prompt). However, in normal mode, I do not get this message, but I do not get hibernation or sleep either... sigh...

... and this is what I get in the event log:

The system has resumed from sleep.

Sleep Time: 8/11/2008 5:25:57 μμ
Wake Time: 8/11/2008 5:27:12 μμ

Wake Source: Unknown

 

[Brink]

Dimitris,

What results do you get with Step 5?

 

[dpservis]

Hi Shawn

it is totally empty... no devices mentioned

thanks!

 

[Brink]

Double check to make sure that the BIOS ACPI setting is enabled and set to S3.

Have you installed the latest motherboard chipset drivers and BIOS version? If this is an issue with your motherboard, then this may resolve that part of the problem.

 

[dpservis]

I tried with S3 and didn't work. I updated the bios and this did not work either.

 

[Brink]

Ok. Well, the only thing I know to do next is to reinstall only Vista and start with just the bare basic devices to see if sleep will work then. If so, then install everything else one by one, testing sleep inbetween, until you find out what was causing the problem.

 

[dpservis]

Hi Shawn,

I think I finally got the problem sorted out: the motherboard is an Asus P5GC-MX/1333. On page 1-24 of the manual there is a description of a jumper for USB device wake-up. This was by default set to disable (it was like this when I got the computer) and thought it should be this way. Guess what.. it was my last resort to change that to enabled. Now my computer seems to hibernate and sleep perfectly with default Windows Vista settings. I'll keep an eye on it but I think this was the problem. Of course the manual describes that if you enable this function the computer will wake up if you press the space bar and so on. None of this is the case... maybe you could add another step in your solution: check and switch all related jumpers on your motherboard one by one :-)

 

[Brink]

Dimitris, I'm happy to hear that you got it sorted. Thank you for posting back your results. They have been added to the tutorial to help others.

Thank you,
Shawn

 

[whootang12]

Hi,

I have an Asus M3A-H/HDMI motherboard with 32 bit Vista (Home premium). I have updated my drivers and bios and done a clean install of windows. Hibernate works fine, but I'd prefer to use Sleep as it is much faster. However, everytime I awake from sleep, the screen comes up and everything is more or less frozen. I have to hold down the power button to shut the computer off. The interesting thing is that if I use hybrid sleep and power it down after a failed "awake", the machine thinks it's returning from hibernate and comes up where I last left it. I've tried everything in the tutorial and am about to give up, any other ideas? It sucks because i replaced my old system almost year ago with an nVidia graphics card because i was sick of crappy drivers never working, and yet this motherboard has never really worked right either.

Thanks to anyone with some good ideas (or a solution)!

Other Hardware:
hauppauge 1600 tv card
Logitech wireless keyboard/mouse

By the way, this is the most helpful troubleshooting guide I've found on the web, great work by the OP

 

[Brink]

Hello Whootang, and welcome to Vista Forums.

Are you using the recommended settings for Sleep in STEP TWO (step 6)?

You might check to make sure that you are using the ACPI S3 state in the BIOS from STEP THREE.

Using hybrid sleep is the same as using sleep and hibernate. The computer will go to sleep at first, then after the time you set, it will go into hibernation. This would be why it wakes up like hibernation when you have hybrid set.

Hope this helps for now,
Shawn

 

[whootang12]

Yes, I'm using the recommended settings (and every other combo I could think of). I've tried setting my bios to "Auto" and to S3, neither seemed to have worked.

 

[Brink]

Since you have tried all of the recommended settings for Sleep, then the only other thing I can think to do is to strip your computer to the bare bones and test Sleep again. If it works, then add one item at a time until you find the culprit.