Resolved Computer won't stay asleep

Lately I've been having trouble getting my computer to stay in sleep mode. It keeps waking itself up. Is there something I can run that will help me identify whatever hardware or software that might be causing this problem. I shut my printer/fax machine down to see if that was the cause, but it still came out of sleep on its own. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

I haven't changed anything in a long time, so I doubt it is that. The only things I'm networked with would be my printer/fax machine and my home thermostat (which I never use). Both are years old. I run Wunderground for weather on my sandboxed Firefox browser, but I have to manually reload it to get to the next day. I close out my Thunderbird email program before I put my computer into sleep mode. The only thing that remains open when the computer is in sleep mode is my sandboxed Firefox, so I don't have to reload the same sites every day. Is there a program I could run that would sniff out what is happening when my computer is in sleep mode? Lately, it only stays asleep for about 10-15 seconds before starting up again.

 

I closed everything out and then put my computer in sleep mode. It still quickly woke up on its own.

 

Sure. You can do this a couple ways. Note this may not give the exact cause, but it should provide some clues.

1. Via the command prompt.

Open an elevated command prompt (run cmd as administrator).
Type powercfg –lastwake and press Enter. ​

This is what I see on mine.

What that is telling me is that something connected to my USB 3.0 host controller woke my computer. And that makes sense since I pressed the space bar on my USB connected keyboard to wake my computer this morning.

2. Via Event Viewer

Search for event viewer, then click the result to access it.
Go to Windows Logs > System, and under the Source column, look for Power - Troubleshooter ​

In that section, you should see much the same information as with the command prompt, but it will also tell you the date and time the computer went to sleep, and when woke.

There are other things that can wake a computer - including antimalware scans and Windows Update. Those should be allowed to run and finish.

Heavy footfalls can even wake the computer by causing the mouse to shake just enough. Flipping it on its back may help with that.

Have you done a "cold" reboot? By “cold”, I mean shut down the computer and flip the master power switch on the back of the power supply (if your supply has one) to off (or “O”) or unplug the power supply from the wall for about 15 seconds. Then turn the master power switch to on (or “|”) or reconnect power and boot up and see what happens. By totally removing power, you remove the +5Vsb standby voltage all ATX Form Factor power supplies are required to supply whenever the power supply is plugged into the wall and (if applicable) the master power switch is set to on. This standby voltage is distributed throughout several points on the motherboard, including RAM for faster boots and the USB ports too. This also keeps alive several features, including “wake on keyboard” and “wake on mouse”, and the network interface for “Wake on LAN” commands. A cold reboot ensures any device settings that may be held by the standby voltage are released, then reset when power is restored.

 

It's showing the wake source to be Realtek PCIe GbE Family Controller. I'll do a cold reboot and see if that changes anything.

 

That controller is often used for your network adapter. The cold reboot might help. You might also need to go into the BIOS Setup Menu and make sure "Wake on LAN" is not enabled. This setting is often used by network administrator who need remote access and need to wake the computers remotely. Most home user don't need, and should not enable that.

 

The cold reboot helped it stay in sleep mode longer, but it still came awake on its own. I restarted and pressed delete to get into BIOS, but though the page loaded, nothing worked. My arrow keys, ESC and F buttons didn't work, so I couldn't navigate to see whether Wake on LAN was enabled.

 

You may have to use a different keyboard - like a PS/2 keyboard (uses the old round connector.

Not sure what to suggest at this point.

What are you using for security? Is Windows and your security fully updated?

Did the computer used to stay asleep? If so, any hardware or major software changes lately?

 

The PS2 keyboard allowed me access to the BIOS. There is no wake on LAN option. Here are the options:
ACPI Suspend Type: S1(POS) or S3(STR) -- the 1st says set suspend type to Power On Suspend under ACPI OS -- The 2nd says set suspend type to Suspend to RAM under ACPI OS
Soft Off: Instant Off or Delay 4 seconds (with enter suspend if button is pressed less than 4 seconds
USB Wakeup from S3: Enabled or Disabled

I used to wake my computer by moving my mouse. Now I have to press a key on my keyboard. Now, the Power on by Mouse options given are Double Click or Disabled. I set it to Double Click, but I can't awake my computer with my mouse by double clicking.

Does suspend mean sleep mode? How should I set these options?

 

The default settings should work. You might have to reset your BIOS. If you do, Save and Exit then boot directly into the BIOS Setup Menu. Set/verify correct date and time. And if you have changed your boot order, make sure those are correct.

How and where do your keyboard and mouse connect? Some motherboards are pretty picky and prefer them be connected to designated USB ports for full functionality. Suspend is a sleep mode.

 

My keyboard and mouse are plugged into 2.0 USB outlets. I have 3.0 available, but my MOBO owner's manual states the 2.0 are fine for keyboard and mouse.

 

Nothing seems to be working. Am I saving any energy or wear and tear on my computer by putting it in sleep mode, knowing it will awake and wait for me to long on, or should I just completely shut down my computer when I'm not using it?

 

I have had laptops and desktops for years. The only time that they get shut off is with a power outage. I do restarts when I do updates or install or uninstall a program. I don't think that the $$$ are enough to talk about. Same with the wife's stuff. Just a personal preference in my opinion.

 

So are you saying it will go to sleep on its own, but then wake again on its own, then stay away (potentially for hours and days) until you log in? If so, does your monitor stay awake all this time?

No, it does not put any extra significant wear and tear. Some folks, and computers working as servers, stay on 24/7/365 and last for years and years. But it does consume more electricity but since it would be sitting at or near idle most of this time, even that is not a lot. Now if your monitor stays on all that time, that would burn some energy. And if the same image is displayed all that time, that could eventually cause some image burn in. If that is the case, I would at least power off the monitor.

Otherwise, the problem with powering down your computer every time you are done for the day, is that could put you behind in updates, malware scans and other housekeeping chores, like automatic hard drive defragging. That could cause some of those tasks to move up in priority and run when you are using the computer, impacting performance. Doesn't hurt anything - but could be annoying. This is why I never power down either - except during a full power outage and that is done automatically by my UPS when the batteries are about out.

 

If I don't use my computer, my monitor goes into standby, but the computer continues to run. I turn it back on with my monitor's remote. I used to be able to put my computer into sleep mode, but apparently that no longer works. When I did that, I had to log in when I woke it up. I turned my monitor off when I put my computer to sleep.

I used to have a lot of trouble with power outages, but that problem has been fixed. California decided to give 2 free Tesla Powerwall backups to anyone in a high fire zone who is on well water. Now, my power stays on all the time, no matter what the power company does.

I guess I'll just run my computer 24/7 and turn the monitor off when I'm not using it. I understand I have to keep my ink jet printer/fax machine on all the time, as it has to regularly clean the heads. I'll keep the router on, also, for WiFi. I'm thinking about getting a laser printer to save the money I'm wasting on ink, as I don't use it enough for it to be trouble-free. My computer notifies me when I need to restart for an update, and the malware scans run in the background without my notice. I thought computers no longer defrag.

 

Your monitor has a remote? Is it really a TV?

Once a week is regularly.

 

My monitor is a combination TV/monitor https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-T24C...00C18YUZU/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
My printer is a Brother MFC-J5910DW, and it cleans more frequently than once a week. The heads frequently require deep cleaning, due to my lack of use, so I go through a lot of ink.

 

This is why I have gotten into the habit of printing out a printer status page once a week (unless I printed something earlier).