So for the last couple of weeks I've been racking my mind wondering what's causing the inability of my Windows 10 PC from going to sleep.
For reference, my computer specifications are follows:
1. Intel 4790K @ 4GHz
2. 32GB DDR3 Kingston RAM
3. 2x SSD and 1x 1TB harddisk storage
4. GTX 1080 Founders Edition
5. Asus PCE-AC88 Wireless PCIe Adapter
I've also installed several peripherals to my computer via USB, namely:
1. Samsung M2070W laser printer
2. Logitech G700s mouse
3. Logitech G610 keyboard
4. Thrustmaster FCS T16000.M Joystick and Throttle
5. Oculus Rift CV1
Troubleshooting:
Before seeking advice from the oracle that is known by the name Google, I decided to use my years-won repertoire of computerese in an attempt to narrow down the culprit.
First, I ran powercfg /requests (in admin mode, of course), to determine if there are any rouge programs keeping the computer awake.
No joy on that front. I decided to dig deeper and consider that maybe some rogue software might be polling the system and causing it to refuse to go into idle state. I scanned task manager for both applications and services there was nothing too untoward about what was running. I did, however, find a trove of unused apps still (always) running in the background, so some housekeeping was in order.
After clearing out all the old apps, and still not being able to put the computer to sleep, I thought that a confirmation on whether the computer was going into idle state in the first place might be to set up a screensaver (I know). I put one up, and set the timer at 1 minute - and lo, the screensaver refused to start either.
Having gone through the software route without much success, and at this point being quite ready to just go nuclear and restore the entire PC to factory state, I had a look at system restore and realized that number of applications I would need to install to set up my computer just how I like it would take far more effort than the nagging irritation of a refusal to sleep was causing me. I could just live with it for good.. but maybe I was missing something in this puzzle.
And then it hit me - maybe it was hardware all along!
I then went into device manager and turned off all the "Allow this device to wake the computer" checkboxes I could find. That exercise was doomed to failure all along... why bother with the system coming awake when it just wouldn't go to sleep? Nonetheless, I thought I may be on the right track, and commenced my Google-Fu.
Some quick searches yielded information about turning off a setting in Power Plans - to allow the computer to sleep even if it's streaming media. Well, my computer wasn't set up to stream media, but dang if I didn't try it. It didn't work either.
The situation was becoming bleak and certainly feeling quite futile. Perhaps I should just start plugging out devices I bought one-by-one, until something makes a difference? Since the last item to be plugged into my computer was my FCS Throttle and Stick, that would be the first to go.
Mind, I didn't have the flight stick plugged in; just the throttle, as that one went via the back of my PC case. The flight stick was only plugged in via the front ports when gaming was imminent.. but I digress. A full minute after I unplugged the throttle, and not a moment too soon, my screen went blank. Success!
I waited for the 2-minute mark for the computer to commence sleep, but it still wouldn't go to sleep... the screen was off, sure, but something else was keeping old MAGI awake.. I needed to go deeper still.
A quick check online found that the Thrustmaster FCS Throttle was (and indeed, still is) keeping screens awake, for reasons unknown. So if you ever find yourself in such a bind, feel free to plug that device out and enjoy your screen turning off when idle. If computer insomnia is your problem, read on...
Now that the computer was going idle at least, I felt like the battle would soon be won. I checked the internet a third time for common problems of Windows 10 PCs not going to sleep, and a curious few users reported that disabling fast boot cured their malaise.. I was intrigued, and also quite keen to do so, as the age of SSDs had made boot time a literal non-event. Some quick settings in my motherboard's BIOS later..
She sleeps. And balance has been restored in the land.
Thanks for reading to the end!
For reference, my computer specifications are follows:
1. Intel 4790K @ 4GHz
2. 32GB DDR3 Kingston RAM
3. 2x SSD and 1x 1TB harddisk storage
4. GTX 1080 Founders Edition
5. Asus PCE-AC88 Wireless PCIe Adapter
I've also installed several peripherals to my computer via USB, namely:
1. Samsung M2070W laser printer
2. Logitech G700s mouse
3. Logitech G610 keyboard
4. Thrustmaster FCS T16000.M Joystick and Throttle
5. Oculus Rift CV1
Troubleshooting:
Before seeking advice from the oracle that is known by the name Google, I decided to use my years-won repertoire of computerese in an attempt to narrow down the culprit.
First, I ran powercfg /requests (in admin mode, of course), to determine if there are any rouge programs keeping the computer awake.
No joy on that front. I decided to dig deeper and consider that maybe some rogue software might be polling the system and causing it to refuse to go into idle state. I scanned task manager for both applications and services there was nothing too untoward about what was running. I did, however, find a trove of unused apps still (always) running in the background, so some housekeeping was in order.
After clearing out all the old apps, and still not being able to put the computer to sleep, I thought that a confirmation on whether the computer was going into idle state in the first place might be to set up a screensaver (I know). I put one up, and set the timer at 1 minute - and lo, the screensaver refused to start either.
Having gone through the software route without much success, and at this point being quite ready to just go nuclear and restore the entire PC to factory state, I had a look at system restore and realized that number of applications I would need to install to set up my computer just how I like it would take far more effort than the nagging irritation of a refusal to sleep was causing me. I could just live with it for good.. but maybe I was missing something in this puzzle.
And then it hit me - maybe it was hardware all along!
I then went into device manager and turned off all the "Allow this device to wake the computer" checkboxes I could find. That exercise was doomed to failure all along... why bother with the system coming awake when it just wouldn't go to sleep? Nonetheless, I thought I may be on the right track, and commenced my Google-Fu.
Some quick searches yielded information about turning off a setting in Power Plans - to allow the computer to sleep even if it's streaming media. Well, my computer wasn't set up to stream media, but dang if I didn't try it. It didn't work either.
The situation was becoming bleak and certainly feeling quite futile. Perhaps I should just start plugging out devices I bought one-by-one, until something makes a difference? Since the last item to be plugged into my computer was my FCS Throttle and Stick, that would be the first to go.
Mind, I didn't have the flight stick plugged in; just the throttle, as that one went via the back of my PC case. The flight stick was only plugged in via the front ports when gaming was imminent.. but I digress. A full minute after I unplugged the throttle, and not a moment too soon, my screen went blank. Success!
I waited for the 2-minute mark for the computer to commence sleep, but it still wouldn't go to sleep... the screen was off, sure, but something else was keeping old MAGI awake.. I needed to go deeper still.
A quick check online found that the Thrustmaster FCS Throttle was (and indeed, still is) keeping screens awake, for reasons unknown. So if you ever find yourself in such a bind, feel free to plug that device out and enjoy your screen turning off when idle. If computer insomnia is your problem, read on...
Now that the computer was going idle at least, I felt like the battle would soon be won. I checked the internet a third time for common problems of Windows 10 PCs not going to sleep, and a curious few users reported that disabling fast boot cured their malaise.. I was intrigued, and also quite keen to do so, as the age of SSDs had made boot time a literal non-event. Some quick settings in my motherboard's BIOS later..
She sleeps. And balance has been restored in the land.
Thanks for reading to the end!
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