Win XP - Standby facility

I bought an upgraded tower recently which came with Windows XP. I think the "standby" setup is great when it works.

Unfortunately it only works for me about 2 out of 10 times of trying. Why is it that the computer makes its own mind up whether to go on "standby" or not? As stated, about 8 out of 10 times the screen just flickers and carries on irrespective of how much I glare at it. Any advice please?:confused

 

Take a look in your Event Viewer. If it mentions a driver, try updating it. Look for an updated video driver, in particular.

 

If you have any network adapters, check the power management for those devices and make sure that the "Allow this device to bring the computer out of standby" is not checked.

 

Many thanks to Abraxas and JohnR for your suggestions.

Afraid I've no experience with "Event Viewer" - how do I access it?

I've checked the Network Adaptor info and the box as described is unchecked.

The problem remains only now it's about 9 out of 10 times the computer ignores my wishes when I want to go into "Standby ".

Further suggestions would be welcome.
Cheers.
Fred Coyne

 

Fred - two usual ways to get to the event viewer are

- right-click My Computer then click manage and you'll see it. Three logs minimum; Applications, security, system. Others are added if you use certain services but that's mostly on servers and big networks.

- start~settings~control panel~administrative tools and you'll see the Event Viewer icon there as well.

 

Hi Newt and Abraxas

Have checked the Event Viewer. There is a regular comment that "A request to suspend power was denied by INCD.EXE ".

Is it possible that INCD.EXE is the culprit? If I delete this program, I may not be able to format CD-RW disks???

Am I on the right lines or completely gaa-gaa?

Thanks for your time.
Fred Coyne

 

Hello fred,

Not delete it, shut it down when not in use, most likely a right click option on the tray icon.

If it's starting up at bootup, right click on the tray icon and see if there is an options menu. If so, there is a good possibility that there is an option to stop it from starting at bootup and only using it as an on-demand proccess, in other words, when you are creating cd discs, the rest of the time, its not needed.

Regards - Charles

 

Many people don't realize that "format" and "erase" don't mean the same thing.

You only need to format a CD for packet writing.

To erase a RW, click "Recorder" in Nero and "Erase Re-Writable CD ".

If you don't need InCD, remove it. I don't believe there is any option to prevent it from loading at startup. You will need to remove the registry key and create a shortcut to InCD.exe to disable startup.

 

Sure there is ... Start > Run > type msconfig. On the Startup tab, uncheck InCD and reboot. Voilà! No InCD!

 

Hello Jss,

After slapping my forehead a few times, remembered that a few things like MS works update finder refuse to stay un-checked in msconfig. Hope this isn't one of them.

Regards - Charles

 

Pete,

Thanks for link to Mike Lin's startup control program. I have PCMAG's SratupCop, but thats no longer free.

"surely msconfig is for troubleshooting only" I think this is about terminolgy. Software like Lin's and StartupCop use the same Windows applet as the Startup tab in msconfig. This is a quess, but I think right from my experience with StartupCop.

The MS Works finder program also refused to be disabled by Startup cop. Changed the executable name by one character, the registry entry for the little bugger would regenerate itself otherwise.

Regards - Charles

 

Pete ...

M$ indicates that msconfig is a trouble-shooting device, but that's like a bakery putting a message on a bread wrapper that the enclosed bread should be used only for making peanut butter sandwiches (terrible analogy, but I think you get my drift ).

The changes I make in msconfig appear to be permanent, as I've had several items unchecked there for months. I usually use PC Mag's Startup Cop, although not everything that appears in msconfig shows up there.

Charles ...

Startup Cop no longer free? So far as I know, all of PC Mag's utilities are free. I just checked the site, and there's nothing that would indicate that Startup Cop, or any of the other utilities, are no longer freeware.

 

Hi Jss,

Look here http://discuss.pcmag.com/pcmag/messages?msg=20319.1

Sad, but true.

Regards - Charles

 

Charles ...

Thanks for the link. They really stirred up a hornet's nest, didn't they?

 

Hi Pete,

Yeah, that message. Check the "don't show this message again ".

The "don't show.." applies to this particular action on your part. If you change anything else, the message will show up again.

It's MS's canned response or one like it to going into msconfig and changing anything, not just the startups.

Regards - Charles

 

Pete ...

I also love peanut butter sandwiches, but I like tuna fish sandwiches and grilled cheese sandwiches, too. My point, of course, was that even though M$ tells you that msconfig is a troubleshooting tool, what they don't tell you is that it can also be used as a problem solving tool.

The message you refer to is probably one of the most cryptic and confusing plain-language messages in the M$ library. The simple answer is to check the box and go about your business normally ... the change you made will remain in effect until you go back in and reverse it.