Stop PC "sleeping" when display turns off? v19044.1288

Not Bob said:

I've been avoiding hibernate just for the sake of saving my SSDs from needless write cycles, but I might enable it just to try and troubleshoot.

Any current SSD is going to outlive the computer anyway.
My SSD is at about 84% life remaining after two years use according to CrystalDiskInfo.

I don't know if trying Hibernation is going to yield any useful diagnostic info but I would try in the hope that it did.
In my previously-S0 computer, Hibernation is the only option I have because disabling S0 did not enable S3 Sleep in my case. It's easier than only having the option of turning it off when I finish with it.

When I disabled S0, I had to reinstall my WiFi driver because it kept faulting after waking from Hibernation. That was the only side-effect I suffered & it has been fine since. That's why I suggested reinstalling the display driver.

S0 is an Intel initiative but MS & hardware makers seem to revel in it. I think it's a curse.

All the best,
Denis

Not Bob,

I think your Event viewer is telling you that it is entering / exiting "Connected standby", i.e. S0, when your Power options turn off the screen. That's correct, display off = S0 kicking in.

If there is no physical user input then Power options turn off the screen. If Power options turn off the screen then the computer notes that as being idle even though that is not correct.

If your computer has S0 disabled & S3 Sleep enabled then this is what you should see in that Event viewer entry when Power options tells S3 Sleep to start:-


If you continue to use S0 then I believe you will continue to need to keep your computer plugged in.

All the best,
Denis

If you have S0 enabled then
- When Power options turns off the display, S0 starts [I wouldn't care whether it was calling it an 'idle timeout' or not, it's the onset of S0 that matters.
- I spent a while with S0 enabled making Power options keep my screen 'on' the whole time but having a screensaver set up for 1 minute / 2 minutes / whatever and that kept S0 at bay because the display was still on even though my screensaver was a blank one so it looked similar to being off.
- You can set up something like a hotkey to initiate a screensaver so that might suit you. It would actually be a shortcut to the screensaver file e.g. C:\Windows\System32\scrnsave.scr
- Your applications will keep running normally when the display is using the screensaver.

I also found that disabling S0 did not enable S3 Sleep so I am in the same boat as you. I only have On, Hibernate, Off.
- Many people have found that disabling S0 automatically enables S3 Sleep.
- I still feel better off than having S0. At least my applications keep running normally when the display is off.
- My WiFi adapter needs to be jolted into working if I wake from hibernate. I have a script to do this so it's no bother really.


All the best,
Denis

"simulate a keypress at a set interval" - It would be simpler to just set Power options to keep the display on. That would have the same effect.

You could, if you wanted, have a subtle message drift across the screen as part of the screensaver telling you that S0 has not been triggered.

It's an old WinXP screensaver
ssmarque.zip
and you just need to unzip it, copy it to
C:\Windows\System32
then open screensaver settings
C:\Windows\System32\rundll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL desk.cpl,,1
select it then click on Settings... to set the words, font & whathaveyou.

By the way, I think you replied to my last message while I was still fiddling with it. I had re-read the thread & realised that I had forgotten what you had previously told me so I changed what I wrote to suit.

All the best,
Denis

Not Bob said:

Over on the Legion Discord somebody mentioned there's progs that can simulate a keypress at a set interval so Windows doesn't assume the machine is idle.

It is not idle that initiates S0.
It is the display turning off that initiates S0.

Denis

Not Bob said:

Man, are they just giving away software engineering degrees with every Happy Meal sold now

That is very cynical.
No, they have to be paid for.
My local supermarket sells them for about 0.25p each [they sell them in rolls of about 320].


All the best,
Denis