HP PC with luminated switch

I just bought a new HP PC that I use in my bedroom. I leave it on 7/24. Sometime during the night the power switch light starts blinking. I know perfectly well where that switch is, don't need it flashing.

How the heck can the led be disabled so we don't have a bright blue light flashing in the dark of night?


John

 

Steve, You may have info different from me, but I thought laptops were not PCs.

The question was about disabling the led not choosing a different lifestyle. I leave my desktop computer on 7/24 for scans & updates to happen while I'm asleep.



John

 

My Digital Storm Enix Desktop also blinks a really bright blue LED when in Sleep mode. I _do_ like to know when it's in Sleep mode so I can simply press the [Spacebar] to wake it back up but, I didn't need the entire room blinking blue at night. What I did was to simply cut out a roughly 8 mm square of black electrician's tape, poked a hole in it with a safety pin and stuck it over the LED. Works great for me.

 

Thanks Doc, I have a lot to learn with 7. Is sleep mode necessary? I usually close my programs, and use the blank screen with screen saver. This sleep mode thingie is new to me.



John

 

You're welcome.

When I walk away from a computer I usually either press [Winkey]+[L] to lock it or, if I know I'm going to be away from the computer for a while, I'll press the little key with quarter-moon icon on it to immediately put it in Sleep mode.

Here's Microsoft's explanation of the different modes:

Windows 7 Help > Sleep and hibernation: frequently asked questions

 

No. But it does save energy. If your computer is not being used overnight, why have it sitting there running? Even at idle, it may be burning as much as a 60 or even 100 Watt (or more)lightbulb (depending on the idle efficiency of your PSU, motherboard and graphics solution).

For Windows 7 on a PC, I highly recommend the Hybrid sleep mode. I run that on all my systems now. And yes, "PC" typically means a desktop or tower computer. But a notebook is still a "personal computer" so better to clarify than be uncertain.

As far as your power light - other than covering it or pulling one the wires to it (super easy and harmless to do, BTW), your only option is to move the computer out of the bedroom.

 

Bill, thanks. I have run my computers for 15 years 7/24, reasons scans & updates were scheduled at that time.

I will try to disconnect the led, when I can get the time. This stinking computer is creating problems on every corner. It can't use my existing kmv switch. I pick up a used usb switch yesterday local & it don't like it. I plugged the printer into it, now the other computers in the house can't use it. Make a homegroup cant print the password, find out IE has to be default to allow that. Print it, take it to another 7 unit and it sez it's invalid.

Upgrading bites.



John

 

I hear you. I did the same thing. But when I migrated all my systems to Windows 7 almost 3 years ago, I started using hybrid on everything but my backup/file server.

Of course these new machines are MUCH more powerful than my older XP systems - notably in RAM resources (with 8Gb on all systems). So I have found running my scans and backups in the background while I am using the computer has no noticeable impact on performance - admittedly, I am not a gamer. Those folks may see a performance hit.

Yeah, it can be. Especially if trying to make legacy hardware and software work with modern technologies. This is exactly why I built all new systems when I migrated to Windows 7.

As for KVM switches - I have used them many times in the past - with mixed results. And one thing I discovered is quality counts. Cheap KVM switches, cables, and connections tend to attenuate the data flow too much (my guess) causing connectivity/sync issues.

 

After many hours of head banging, Win 7 is in the drivers seat, and running the network printer.

I got a new IOGear USB KVM stitch off Ebay to use with my Ububtu box. Now if I can figure how to get that one to use the network printer most will be done. I still have to pull the front cover & kill the lighted switch.




John