How to Wake a PC from Hibernation / Sleep / Stand By on Windows 7
Windows 7 Does Not Come Out of Sleep Mode (Hibernation / Stand By)
With Windows 7 Microsoft took the sleep mode / power saving options a little to the extreme. Because of this some users have been having issues getting their PC to come out of sleep mode. After working with Windows 7 for awhile I have come up with several common fixes that users can try if they are running into these problems.
Using the Power Button to Wake to the PC with Windows 7
In some cases with Hibernation / Sleep mode under Windows 7 waking the PC by jiggling the mouse or hitting any key on the keyboard will not wake the computer.
In these cases users should try hitting the power button on the front of the PC to bring the computer out of sleep mode.
When hitting the power button hold the button for the count of “One, One Thousand” and this should be enough to wake the computer up without sending it into an instant off.
Changing Power Saving Settings under Windows 7
In some cases this issue can just be so annoying that users prefer not to deal with it altogether. If this is the case you can change your power saving settings under Windows.
To do this, do the following:
- Right Click on the Desktop and select “Personalize” from the menu.
- At the bottom right hand corner of the Personalize window click the “Screen Saver” icon.
- At the bottom of the Screen Saver window look for “Power Management” and click the “Change power settings” link.
- In the new Window you should see an option that says “Balanced (recommended)” with a link that says “Change plan settings”. Click the Change plan settings link.
- In the new window you will be given two options. (“Turn off the display” & “Put the computer to sleep”.) To prevent your computer from going into sleep mode change the settings to “Turn off the display: 20 minutes” and “Put the computer to sleep: Never”.
- Once you have done this click the “Save changes” button. The click “OK” on the Screen Saver window.
Your system is now set to not go into Stand By
USB Keyboard and Mouse will not Wake PC in Windows 7
In some rare cases you may continue to experience issues with your computer not coming out of sleep mode. This may not necessarily be caused by the computer being in Stand By. But it may be that either the PC or Monitor is in Power Saving mode or the system won’t accept input from your USB Keyboard or Mouse to wake it.
This is because in Windows 7 the system may shut off power to USB devices to save power. In order to make sure this doesn’t happen you would need to do the following:
- Click the Start Menu and then right click “Computer” and select “Properties”.
- In the new window select the “Device Manager” link that is in the upper left hand corner.
- In the Device Manager window look down towards the bottom of the window for “Universal Serial Bus Controllers”. Click the arrow to the left of this section.
- In the drop down menu look for any instances of “USB Root Hub”. When you find the first one right click on it and select “Properties”.
- In the USB Root Hub Properties window look for the tab in the upper right that says “Power Management”.
- Click on “Power Management” and uncheck the option that says “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power”. Then click “OK”.
- Continue to do this for every instance of “USB Root Hub” in device manager.
What we have just done is make sure that the computer does not turn off power to the USB ports when it goes into a Power Saving mode. This should allow us to always wake the PC by use of the USB keyboard or mouse.
Hope some of these suggestions help!
Monte Olsen Said,
April 17, 2010 @ 12:10 pm
Unfortunately, Windows 7 has bricked my computer. It’s gone into hibernation mode and won’t come out, no matter what I do. Pressing Power for long periods, short periods; unplugging computer, pulling RAM and video card; pressing keys, moving mouse; Any ideas?
Neal Said,
October 19, 2011 @ 8:32 am
Please read the following: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/266283
and its assoicated KBs.
I was having same problem coming out of sleep mode in WIN7, applied the suggested registry settings and things are back to normal.
dan Said,
November 6, 2011 @ 11:26 pm
this doesnt work on my intel BLKDG33BUC motherboard.
admin Said,
November 8, 2011 @ 8:06 am
Hi Dan, this method is more for resolving the Wake features on a software side of things in Windows. If you are having issues with one model board specifically you may want to check on the manufacturer’s forum (Intel I believe for your board.) to see if anyone else is running into the same issue or can offer suggestions.
winrey Said,
November 10, 2011 @ 10:39 pm
hi dan..my problim is my loptop power botton is broken..evry time i want to turn it on my loptop is i need to loooooong press it..my question is how can i transfer the power on to my loptop kryboard…thanks…
winrey Said,
November 10, 2011 @ 10:43 pm
ohh my os is vista not win 7
Johny Said,
February 3, 2012 @ 2:58 am
This follwing address helped me to solve the problem to wake mouse.
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/15132/stop-your-mouse-from-waking-up-your-windows-7-computer/
hamza Said,
February 21, 2012 @ 7:47 am
thanks thih helped me alot.
luise Said,
March 10, 2012 @ 9:16 pm
one of my daughters was given a computer trouble is that it is in sleep mode have tried turning on and holding power on for 30 seconds still not working sign comes up up say in sleep mode then screen goes black
Buddha Said,
March 18, 2012 @ 10:16 am
Try clearing your CMOS… If you do not know what your CMOS is please refer to a specialist or if you are a do it your self kind of person then YouTube.
Alexis Said,
April 8, 2012 @ 6:10 pm
I am having this issue right now, and it’s really aggravating! It all of a sudden has started doing this. We’ve been “hibernating” the computer for well over a year now with no issues in the past. It wouldn’t even turn on after I unplugged the power cord and plugged it back in. If I do it twice, it works. I am wondering if it is because of the fact that all of the usb ports are currently in use, plus we have a usb hub. We unplug this and just have the monitor, mouse and keyboard connected and it’s still screwy. I would like to clear the CMOS, but unfortunately I don’t remember how to do this…has something to do with the motherboard, that much I remember. Sigh….
Anurag Said,
April 10, 2012 @ 3:06 am
I have windows 7 pc my problem is when i dont operate my computer for 5 mins it shows an option such as switch user…. how can stop that thing…..
P Said,
April 22, 2012 @ 12:38 pm
Thank you spent hours looking at drivers, never considered usb ports. It would be nice if they just left them in the off position. Must be some default with driver installation.
Kaylee Said,
July 3, 2012 @ 6:53 pm
My computer’s power button lights up blue when it is turned on, when it is sleeping it turns orange. lately when my computer has been “sleeping it stays blue and when i move the mouse nothing happens. what is wrong with it?!
jessica Said,
July 28, 2012 @ 10:54 pm
Hello, I have a question my laptop turned of and it said windos is hibernating.I try to turn it back ok and I can’t I unplugged it and its not working… What can I do??I have a lot of important things can u help me please
Christine Said,
September 21, 2012 @ 2:09 pm
I am having a similar issue that has now escalated into destroying my computer. I was unable to wake it up without pressing the power button (wasn’t an issue until recently) Now after so much of that. We can’t get the computer to come on at all. Power button says computer is on but moniter is not responding. We changed moniters, we upgraded our graphics card. etc but we still can’t get computer to respond.
Karen Said,
November 6, 2012 @ 12:47 pm
I have a Dell desktop with Windows Vista. I turn my computer on and the monitor states “going in to power saver mode”. It then tells me there is no input coming from my computer and suggest pressing the “input button” and use the mouse or keyboard to wake the computer. I have tried multiple times at turning the computer on and off with no success. Neither my keyboard or mouse are responding. My monitor remains black and I hear the humming of the computer. Can someone direct me as to what to do next? My warranty is expired and I would prefer to troubleshhot on my own before dragging it into a service/repair store…HELP!!!
Justin Said,
November 7, 2012 @ 11:06 am
Thank you very much for this solution. I have had several problems with my computer not waking from sleep mode. Tried everything I knew. Tried your last method mentioned and now when my computer goes to sleep all I have to do is move the mouse. Vey Thankful.
Jo Ann Said,
December 6, 2012 @ 4:55 am
Microtek 710S monitor remains black with 3 color lights flashing. All solutions on how to wake from hibernatio/sleep require being able to see something on the monitor which I cannot do. Any other suggestions?