Why Won't a Computer Go Into Sleep Mode Automatically?
The purpose of "sleep mode" on a computer is to conserve energy and protect your computer's hard drive. Putting your computer in sleep mode is similar to pausing a movie in a DVD player. Everything stops exactly where you had it and once you press "play" again, it starts up right where it left off.
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Settings
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You may have your "standby" settings set incorrectly for sleep mode to activate automatically. To check, go to the desktop and right click, then choose Properties from the menu. Select the Screen Saver tab and click the "Power" button. Next to "System standby" check the amount of time indicated before your idle computer goes into sleep mode. If "never" is the selection, the sleep mode won't activate automatically.
Hardware
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If you're using a wireless keyboard or mouse for your computer, then these items can keep your computer from entering sleep mode automatically because they constantly send a signal to the system, preventing it from being idle. An optical mouse (that changes colors) causes a similar problem.
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BIOS
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Your computer's BIOS setting may be preventing automatic sleep mode, especially if using Windows Vista. You need to make sure you have ACPI mode: S1 enabled for sleep mode to function correctly.
Devices
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Other devices, such as network adapters or audio controllers, can keep your computer from entering sleep mode because the device is set to remain on at all times. You will need to change this setting in the Device Manager, under the Power Management tab in order to allow sleep mode to start automatically.
Programs
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Programs that run automatically when you boot your computer can interfere with the sleep mode function. Be sure to change the settings on these programs so that they don't run at startup.
Screen Saver
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Some screen savers downloaded off of the Internet can keep your computer from entering sleep mode automatically. Try disabling or changing the screen saver to see if that fixes the problem.
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References
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- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Declan Jewell
