Hardware Computer monitor won't wake up from sleep

[the_randomizer]

Or rather, so I have my monitor set up to go off after about 30 min right? Well, I was gone for three hours and I come back to wake it up using my mouse and keyboard (either one wakes up the monitor), and the LED changes from orange to red (it's weird, that's how this one works). Well, it didn't wake up the monitor, in fact, I believe the entire OS locked up, and there was no HDD activity or USB wireless activity (usually flickers on the USB LAN adapter). Sure enough, I was forced to hard reboot, and I've been checking under the system event logs and I see nothing to indicate any errors. I also checked under USB power settings to ensure that the monitor can be woken up by pressing a key or using the mouse. So yeah, I think I may have to really go to Windows 10 now, which I'll set up on another HDD (no way in hell am I overwriting my primary HDD with it). I'll need to activate it with a certain KMS method or try my Windows 7 key first. This is the second time it's happened within a month and it's disconcerting to say the least. What the deuce could cause a monitor to refuse to wake up after going to sleep? I should just screw it and only go into screensaver all day and maybe set the computer to sleep when I go to work instead. I'm at a loss here.

I know it's not a loose connection because when I reboot, it works as if noting happened, it has something to do with how the power management is controlling the monitor's sleep. I have it set to max performance BTW and I never had this issue until recently. I suspect Windows 7 is starting to crap itself big time. Moving to Windows 10 will be a PITA primarily because I don't know how my installed Steam games will work when accessing from another OS.

 

[raystriker]

I think I may have to really go to Windows 10

Same thing happens to me on win10 sometimes. But I've never bothered to look into it.

 

[the_randomizer]

Same thing happens to me on win10 sometimes. But I've never bothered to look into it.

What do you suggest I do? I know it's not loose cables, but I suspect something with power or possibly something in the GPU settings? I cleaned the computer out of dust last week, so dust isn't an issue, I just can't figure out what the hell is going on. I'm...on the verge of wanting to say "screw it" and get a damn laptop. This is getting ridiculous, there is no reason for this to suddenly crop up. I recently quarantined some malware, which Malwarebytes didn't actually remove, should I tell it to delete the files as well instead of quarantining them?

 

[Psionic Roshambo]

Check your BIOS settings for things like Legacy power or video card settings, my monitor I use right now refuses to work on my video card if I don't have them turn on... Was a real pain to set up the first time (had to use an HDMI cable and a TV to get it working) Someday I will dump it for a non DVI VGA dongled monitor lol

 

[Kioku]

What do you suggest I do? I know it's not loose cables, but I suspect something with power or possibly something in the GPU settings? I cleaned the computer out of dust last week, so dust isn't an issue, I just can't figure out what the hell is going on. I'm...on the verge of wanting to say "screw it" and get a damn laptop. This is getting ridiculous, there is no reason for this to suddenly crop up. I recently quarantined some malware, which Malwarebytes didn't actually remove, should I tell it to delete the files as well instead of quarantining them?

Reinstall windows.

 

[the_randomizer]

Check your BIOS settings for things like Legacy power or video card settings, my monitor I use right now refuses to work on my video card if I don't have them turn on... Was a real pain to set up the first time (had to use an HDMI cable and a TV to get it working) Someday I will dump it for a non DVI VGA dongled monitor lol

I don't have any integrated GPU on this motherboard, so I know that shouldn't be an issue. The motherboard is an MSI Z97-GD65, so I don't know how the BIOS is set up, as I didn't set this machine up, it was given as a free gift last year from my bother. Up until a month a go, I had literally no issues, but out of the blue, the damn monitor will seemingly at random, refuse to wake up from sleep. This is the second time within a month this has happened. I fear the worst because I don't know what could be going on. And because of this, I may be forced to use Windows 10 once and for all.

 

[Psionic Roshambo]

I don't have any integrated GPU on this motherboard, so I know that shouldn't be an issue. The motherboard is an MSI Z97-GD65, so I don't know how the BIOS is set up, as I didn't set this machine up, it was given as a free gift last year from my bother. Up until a month a go, I had literally no issues, but out of the blue, the damn monitor will seemingly at random, refuse to wake up from sleep. This is the second time within a month this has happened. I fear the worst because I don't know what could be going on. And because of this, I may be forced to use Windows 10 once and for all.

I don't either GTX 980 but still.

2 times in a month? Hmmm worst kind of issue lol

See if there are BIOS updates for your machine, maybe something is conflicting.

 

[the_randomizer]

I don't either GTX 980 but still.

2 times in a month? Hmmm worst kind of issue lol

See if there are BIOS updates for your machine, maybe something is conflicting.

Flashing the BIOS, eh? Never thought of that, but can't help, I just ugh... damn. I hope it's nothing serious, because other than that, I've had no real issues to speak of. Should I still install Windows 10? I'll ask my brother as well, since he works for an IT company. I just hope I don't have to install 10, I'll look for BIOS updates and hopefully my mobo has flash protection.

Reinstall windows.

Preferably without deleting the HDD's contents? Yes, I've backed up the majority of my vital data (pics and music mostly), how would I do a repair installation? I'll try that first, and then do a full reinstall as a last resort, I don't want to have to format unless absolutely necessary.

 

[the_randomizer]

Reviving the thread, sorry


So, I've done some more sleuthing, and I've narrowed down the problem further.
First part: I was looking into the power settings and noticed the HDDs turn off after 20 minutes of being inactive in the power settings. This is typically better for laptops, but for desktops, it doesn't seem to be very useful, additionally, revving up and down can introduce extra wear and tear. Is it safe to turn this off by having it set to 0 minutes (disable)? I realize keeping the HDD spinning for 12-15 hours/day is a bit risky, and if I want my PC off, I can always put it in sleep for a few hours while I'm at work or something.

Second part: Screensavers, it seems that the freezing is happening after it's been in screensaver mode for a while, 1-2 hours, and I think it's related to the HDD going to sleep and not being able to wake up the monitor, but there is no BSOD or any kind of errors in the event viewer. I tested my HDDs with three different SMART utilities and all are in good health, all pass with flying colors. So I can rule that out, GPU could be failing, I don't know.

I suspect the power setting to turn HDDs off after 20 minutes and/or a failing GPU is causing the screensavers to lock up, and monitor sleep is disabled as well.

So where do I go from here, I don't know, a lot of info seems anecdotal, nothing truly conclusive, but to me it sounds better than having the HDD rev up and down multiple times a day, it may run a bit warmer and use electricity, but surely, the HDDs won't wear out as fast, yes? Any info would help, thank you

@Psionic Roshambo @Memoir @VinsCool @Foxi4 Any info will help

 

[Foxi4]

You guys are suggesting a BIOS reinstallation because his monitor doesn't get a wake up signal? God almighty, his power plan is probably just messed up. Restore your power plan defaults and if that fails, do a repair installation of the OS.

 

[the_randomizer]

You guys are suggesting a BIOS reinstallation because his monitor doesn't get a wake up signal? God almighty, his power plan is probably just messed up. Restore your power plan defaults and if that fails, do a repair installation of the OS.

What should I do about the HDD going to sleep after 20 min? I suspect that's part of the issue, should I disable that so it never makes them go to sleep? I don't see any need since I'm not even running a laptop. The other thing is I don't know if there are any detriments to the HDD's never going to sleep. What the issue with my power setting is, IDK, I currently have it at max performance, which I should note hasn't has a single issue until a month and a half ago, when these issues started with screensavers. I don't know how to do a repair install of Windows 7 without losing vital data, I'll need to use a USB or DVD

 

[Foxi4]

You'll need an installation medium. I wouldn't adjust that setting, the drive only goes to sleep after a period of inactivity. Letting the drive park extends its lifespan.

 

[the_randomizer]

You'll need an installation medium. I wouldn't adjust that setting, the drive only goes to sleep after a period of inactivity. Letting the drive park extends its lifespan.

Right, but the fact the screensaver/monitor standby causes this is beyond baffling. Should I reset the power settings back to default or is it bad to trust Window 7's default power settings? What's weird is the only settings I changed is preventing the PC to turning off devices like LAN, WiFi devices. I never touched the HDD settings, *sigh* Now to find out how to repair install without losing data, or install Windows 10 and screw 7 all together (on another HDD partition) . I'll do an experiment and let my PC run without screensavers.

 

[Foxi4]

Right, but the fact the screensaver/monitor standby causes this is beyond baffling. Should I reset the power settings back to default or is it bad to trust Window 7's default power settings? What's weird is the only settings I changed is preventing the PC to turning off devices like LAN, WiFi devices. I never touched the HDD settings, *sigh* Now to find out how to repair install without losing data, or install Windows 10 and screw 7 all together (on another HDD partition) . I'll do an experiment and let my PC run without screensavers.

I always start by reverting to default settings, after that I use CCleaner to fix possible registry issues, if nothing pops up then I do a repair install. This could be anything from a driver conflict to a hardware issue, you have to eliminate possible causes one by one.

 

[the_randomizer]

I always start by reverting to default settings, after that I use Ccleaner to fix possible registry issues, if nothing pops up then I do a repair install. This could be anything from a driver conflict to a hardware issue, you have to eliminate possible causes one by one.

I thought letting CCleaner doing registry cleaning was ill-advised, given that deleting entries or false-positives was a bad idea? Defaulting the power setting (which is on max performance), is something I'll try today. Repair install, how do I go about that when using the Windows 7 install disc/USB? Thanks

I did scan more malware, and have since quarantined any and all malware, spyware, etc that it found last week. I know my HDDs are fine as multiple SMART programs all state they are healthy, even Windows' built in SMART tool passe with flying colors. At least I can eliminate the HDD being at fault, which would have been worrisome. This all began about 1.5 months ago, before that, never had a single issue at all.

 

[Foxi4]

I've never had an issue with CCleaner and consider it safe. If you're worried, make a registry backup - CCleaner will make one for you automatically.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Or rather, so I have my monitor set up to go off after about 30 min right? Well, I was gone for three hours and I come back to wake it up using my mouse and keyboard (either one wakes up the monitor), and the LED changes from orange to red (it's weird, that's how this one works). Well, it didn't wake up the monitor, in fact, I believe the entire OS locked up, and there was no HDD activity or USB wireless activity (usually flickers on the USB LAN adapter). Sure enough, I was forced to hard reboot, and I've been checking under the system event logs and I see nothing to indicate any errors. I also checked under USB power settings to ensure that the monitor can be woken up by pressing a key or using the mouse. So yeah, I think I may have to really go to Windows 10 now, which I'll set up on another HDD (no way in hell am I overwriting my primary HDD with it). I'll need to activate it with a certain KMS method or try my Windows 7 key first. This is the second time it's happened within a month and it's disconcerting to say the least. What the deuce could cause a monitor to refuse to wake up after going to sleep? I should just screw it and only go into screensaver all day and maybe set the computer to sleep when I go to work instead. I'm at a loss here.

I know it's not a loose connection because when I reboot, it works as if noting happened, it has something to do with how the power management is controlling the monitor's sleep. I have it set to max performance BTW and I never had this issue until recently. I suspect Windows 7 is starting to crap itself big time. Moving to Windows 10 will be a PITA primarily because I don't know how my installed Steam games will work when accessing from another OS.

Was the PC in sleep mode?
This sounds a bit like what happens to my desktop. It has problems waking up from sleep mode so I had to disable it completely.
It seems to wake up, but there's no activity on screen and the USB devices aren't even powered up, as my keyboard backlight doesn't come on, also the HDD LED doesn't flash.
But the same behavior also occurs frequently when I power it on and it often takes 3-4 power cycles to get it to even attempt to POST.
Something is seriously wrong with my desktop and I have no idea what it is, my RAM is good but it could be a faulty CPU or mobo. I hope your problem is easier to fix.

 

[the_randomizer]

I've never had an issue with CCleaner and consider it safe. If you're worried, make a registry backup - CCleaner will make one for you automatically.

Okay, so I ran a test, I turned the monitor off while I was gone for three hours, leaving it completely idle; no crash, no BSOD, no issues. This makes me conclude that the way the PC/monitor enters screensaver mode (or standby) is misconfigured in some way. The power settings may need to be reset, but I will test some more. Heck, I'll even run Windows' RAM test if I must. Should I just turn my monitor off if I'm going to be gone for long periods of time manually? I only asked about CCleaner as I've had an issue in the past. I'll post the results here before I go any further.

Was the PC in sleep mode?
This sounds a bit like what happens to my desktop. It has problems waking up from sleep mode so I had to disable it completely.
It seems to wake up, but there's no activity on screen and the USB devices aren't even powered up, as my keyboard backlight doesn't come on, also the HDD LED doesn't flash.
But the same behavior also occurs frequently when I power it on and it often takes 3-4 power cycles to get it to even attempt to POST.
Something is seriously wrong with my desktop and I have no idea what it is, my RAM is good but it could be a faulty CPU or mobo. I hope your problem is easier to fix.

That's just it, I disabled hybrid sleep, I don't put the PC to sleep anymore. What I did do was have the monitor go to sleep, that's when it was locking up the OS. It's weird, but when I disabled screensaver and standby and turned
the screen off manually, and came back three hours later, it was fine.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Okay, so I ran a test, I turned the monitor off while I was gone for three hours, leaving it completely idle; no crash, no BSOD, no issues. This makes me conclude that the way the PC/monitor enters screensaver mode (or standby) is misconfigured in some way. The power settings may need to be reset, but I will test some more. Heck, I'll even run Windows' RAM test if I must. Should I just turn my monitor off if I'm going to be gone for long periods of time manually? I only asked about CCleaner as I've had an issue in the past. I'll post the results here before I go any further.



That's just it, I disabled hybrid sleep, I don't put the PC to sleep anymore. What I did do was have the monitor go to sleep, that's when it was locking up the OS. It's weird, but when I disabled screensaver and standby and turned
the screen off manually, and came back three hours later, it was fine.

Is your GPU driver up to date?
Also, sometimes GPU driver updates can introduce weird issues like this.

 

[the_randomizer]

Is your GPU driver up to date?
Also, sometimes GPU driver updates can introduce weird issues like this.

Yes, it's the most recent nVidia drivers, installed them about three days ago. But whenever the monitor/system was about to go into screensaver, and after that, monitor standby, that's when it would lock up. Or, once it entered screensaver mode, the OS would completely lock up, forcing me to hard reboot (that can't be good on the hardware when I'm forced to do it over and over). But again I manually turned off the monitor when I left for a few hours, came back, turned it on, OS didn't lock up. So I know the HDDs are not the issue, RAM may be, GPU may be, as something in the power options is preventing the PC from waking up the monitor and locking up. I've found a lot of anecdotal info, but nothing conclusive online, I can't seem to find anything definitive and it's starting to piss me off I may be forced to install Windows 10 after all, only prob with that is I'll either have to pay for a key, or activate it via less scrupulous means (and I know a permanent way to do it). *Sigh* I know the GPU driver isn't at fault, because the issue happened on older drivers too, and this began about the end of December 2017, is when this issue cropped up.

Should I just manually shut off my monitor once a day for a few hours and back on, or is that bad? I disabled hybrid sleep as I thought it was causing issues, so I never have it sleep anymore.