How to get PC to sleep, wake for recording, then sleep after
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How to get PC to sleep, wake for recording, then sleep after
I am wondering if there is a way to get the PC to sleep, wake for recording, then sleep again. I've messed with things I saw on various searches and now my PC won't even enter sleep. Thanks!
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Since XP MCE 2005, that was a built-in feature of the OS, provided you had the right hardware. It may require an EFI BIOIS on Windows 8, however. Did you try it out before you messed with it?
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Before I messed with it, and before I started using WMC, my computer would actually go to sleep, but it would turn on randomly without me waking it. So I guess it never really worked properly for me to begin with (sleep mode that is). Now, however, it will not sleep at all. Ideally, I could get it to sleep, wake for recordings, then sleep after X minutes of inactivity.
- newfiend
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Any new Driver installations lately or BIOS updates?lonepalm wrote:Before I messed with it, and before I started using WMC, my computer would actually go to sleep, but it would turn on randomly without me waking it. So I guess it never really worked properly for me to begin with (sleep mode that is). Now, however, it will not sleep at all. Ideally, I could get it to sleep, wake for recordings, then sleep after X minutes of inactivity.
Check the PC BIOS and make sure your sleep mode is set to S3 only.
Also you can use MCE Standby Tool here : http://slicksolutions.eu/mst.shtml
to help aid in a sleepless PC. I have used this since Vista to help get my PC back to sleep after waking. The PC will randomly wake to run tasks.. Guide downloads, Hard Drive maintenance (defragging), and waking to record shows as you know.
Make sure your drivers for all your hardware are up to date as well as the correct BIOS setting for S3 (Suspend to RAM).
If all those are set up and up to date try the MCE Standby tool. I use the latest Windows 7 beta w/o issue.
newfiend~
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There are no BIOS/driver updates available. I was actually using the MCE Standby Tool and didn't seem to work... Perhaps it was not configured right.newfiend wrote:Any new Driver installations lately or BIOS updates?lonepalm wrote:Before I messed with it, and before I started using WMC, my computer would actually go to sleep, but it would turn on randomly without me waking it. So I guess it never really worked properly for me to begin with (sleep mode that is). Now, however, it will not sleep at all. Ideally, I could get it to sleep, wake for recordings, then sleep after X minutes of inactivity.
Check the PC BIOS and make sure your sleep mode is set to S3 only.
Also you can use MCE Standby Tool here : http://slicksolutions.eu/mst.shtml
to help aid in a sleepless PC. I have used this since Vista to help get my PC back to sleep after waking. The PC will randomly wake to run tasks.. Guide downloads, Hard Drive maintenance (defragging), and waking to record shows as you know.
Make sure your drivers for all your hardware are up to date as well as the correct BIOS setting for S3 (Suspend to RAM).
If all those are set up and up to date try the MCE Standby tool. I use the latest Windows 7 beta w/o issue.
newfiend~
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Just out of curiosity, do you have wake on lan enabled? I was having a lot of issues with sleeping and it turned out to be WOL. I disabled it and have had no issues since.
Just my .02
Eric
Just my .02
Eric
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If your computer went to sleep, then sleep mode was working fine. There are various reasons why the computer will wake automatically...WOL, scheduled tasks, etc. Additionally, the default behavior for recordings is to wake up a few minutes before the recording starts, stay awake through the recording, then go back to sleep after the recording, provided there is nothing else keeping the computer awake. So it sounds to me like everything was working as expected before you adjusted whatever settings you have adjusted.lonepalm wrote:Before I messed with it, and before I started using WMC, my computer would actually go to sleep, but it would turn on randomly without me waking it. So I guess it never really worked properly for me to begin with (sleep mode that is). Now, however, it will not sleep at all. Ideally, I could get it to sleep, wake for recordings, then sleep after X minutes of inactivity.
My recommendation would be to undo whatever you have done, then investigate any wake events. You can see what caused the last wake by running powercfg -lastwake. You can also see if anything is keeping the computer awake by running powercfg -requests.
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I will check this and let you know. Currently at work so can't check now.boogmeister1 wrote:Just out of curiosity, do you have wake on lan enabled? I was having a lot of issues with sleeping and it turned out to be WOL. I disabled it and have had no issues since.
Just my .02
Eric
I understand the default behavior for waking for recordings, but thanks for confirming that. Yeah, I guess you are right - sleep mode probably was working fine to begin with, at least in terms of actually going to sleep and waking for SOME event. I'm not convinced that it would have worked in the way I need it to though (turn on for recording and off after). Perhaps more testing was needed. Now, unfortunately, I don't remember what tinkering I did, so not sure I can undo what I did. Bonafide noob here!richard1980 wrote:If your computer went to sleep, then sleep mode was working fine. There are various reasons why the computer will wake automatically...WOL, scheduled tasks, etc. Additionally, the default behavior for recordings is to wake up a few minutes before the recording starts, stay awake through the recording, then go back to sleep after the recording, provided there is nothing else keeping the computer awake. So it sounds to me like everything was working as expected before you adjusted whatever settings you have adjusted.lonepalm wrote:Before I messed with it, and before I started using WMC, my computer would actually go to sleep, but it would turn on randomly without me waking it. So I guess it never really worked properly for me to begin with (sleep mode that is). Now, however, it will not sleep at all. Ideally, I could get it to sleep, wake for recordings, then sleep after X minutes of inactivity.
My recommendation would be to undo whatever you have done, then investigate any wake events. You can see what caused the last wake by running powercfg -lastwake. You can also see if anything is keeping the computer awake by running powercfg -requests.
- newfiend
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+1 for Richards suggestions on powercfg -lastwake and powercfg -requests at a elevated CMD prompt. This should help you track down what's waking the PC.. Then you can look into why it's waking unexpectedly. There are many things that can wake a sleeping PC. Mice, Keyboards, (check any of these for low batteries that may cause them to malfunction) USB devices, WOL Packets, etc.. Once you figure out what's waking it you can begin narrowing down the culprit.
newfiend~
newfiend~
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I went though this same thing myself, also with Win8.1---finally discovered it was automatic updates MS adds to the OS.
Since disabling all those (the machine is NEVER online) I've successfully done the sleep>record>sleep thing without any further issues.
HTH
Since disabling all those (the machine is NEVER online) I've successfully done the sleep>record>sleep thing without any further issues.
HTH
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Would you be able to tell me everything you did/are doing to get this to work? Also, are you using Xboxes as extenders? I figured out that the computer will sleep if I turn off Away mode, but then the extenders stop working. Can you tell me all of your settings?JWA wrote:I went though this same thing myself, also with Win8.1---finally discovered it was automatic updates MS adds to the OS.
Since disabling all those (the machine is NEVER online) I've successfully done the sleep>record>sleep thing without any further issues.
HTH
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You should re-enable away mode. There are several consequences to disabling away mode, and you've already experienced one of them. Another consequence is that a user can manually put the computer to sleep...even if the system is recording. That means your recording will stop instead of continuing as expected.
If the computer will not sleep when away mode is enabled, that's because an application has an open request to keep the computer awake for some task to execute. You can use the commands I previously posted to figure out what application it is, then figure out what that application is doing.
And I'm not sure if you are aware of this, but the computer has to be awake or in away mode for extenders to work.
If the computer will not sleep when away mode is enabled, that's because an application has an open request to keep the computer awake for some task to execute. You can use the commands I previously posted to figure out what application it is, then figure out what that application is doing.
And I'm not sure if you are aware of this, but the computer has to be awake or in away mode for extenders to work.
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I'm still not able to get this working properly. I ran those commands you mentioned but cannot figure this out. I can post the results when I get back home, but every time I run the commands to get the report it tells me something different. Hopefully you or others can help me to get to a point where I can utilize the sleep/wake stuff because I really don't prefer the PC to be on 24x7.richard1980 wrote:You should re-enable away mode. There are several consequences to disabling away mode, and you've already experienced one of them. Another consequence is that a user can manually put the computer to sleep...even if the system is recording. That means your recording will stop instead of continuing as expected.
If the computer will not sleep when away mode is enabled, that's because an application has an open request to keep the computer awake for some task to execute. You can use the commands I previously posted to figure out what application it is, then figure out what that application is doing.
And I'm not sure if you are aware of this, but the computer has to be awake or in away mode for extenders to work.
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I've never been able to get sleep working properly with Media Center since I started using it on Vista. I have two identical computers running Windows 8.1 with Media Center. My normal-use home office computer sleeps and wakes as designed. My living room PC that is used for about 95% of the television consumption in my house always wakes immediately after I use the remote to put it to sleep, and it never goes to sleep on its own.
As far as I can figure, the only difference is that one is scheduled to record about 3 hours of television every night and the other one is only occasionally used for live TV or playing back unprotected recordings.. This is my third different computer and third operating system since I started using WMC, and I've always had this same issue with sleep mode.
As far as I can figure, the only difference is that one is scheduled to record about 3 hours of television every night and the other one is only occasionally used for live TV or playing back unprotected recordings.. This is my third different computer and third operating system since I started using WMC, and I've always had this same issue with sleep mode.
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Thanks. I'm in a slightly different boat as I use Xbox 360s as extenders and don't connect TVs directly to a computer. However, I have seen so many people say that they have this working perfectly (sleeping and waking) so I really would like to be able to figure out why mine doesn't work as needed and get it working properly. I just don't know enough about everything yet to be able to figure this out on my own. I am still very new into the WMC/Extender/Tuner stuff (dumped the rental set top boxes from Verizon), so I'm trying to learn and figure this stuff out as I go. Not having very much luck, other than actually having live and recorded TV working properly, which I guess, is the most important thing. I would like to optimize everything though and not have things running when they aren't necessary.poit57 wrote:I've never been able to get sleep working properly with Media Center since I started using it on Vista. I have two identical computers running Windows 8.1 with Media Center. My normal-use home office computer sleeps and wakes as designed. My living room PC that is used for about 95% of the television consumption in my house always wakes immediately after I use the remote to put it to sleep, and it never goes to sleep on its own.
As far as I can figure, the only difference is that one is scheduled to record about 3 hours of television every night and the other one is only occasionally used for live TV or playing back unprotected recordings.. This is my third different computer and third operating system since I started using WMC, and I've always had this same issue with sleep mode.
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lonepalm,
Did you ever check to see if you have WOL enabled on the NIC? You never said if you checked it, so I'm just curious.
Eric
Did you ever check to see if you have WOL enabled on the NIC? You never said if you checked it, so I'm just curious.
Eric
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Sorry Eric, I did check it but I think I forgot to respond to you. So, when I look at Device Manager, and then Network Adapters, I check the Properties of my Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller #3. In the Advanced tab, there are a few different options I checked:boogmeister1 wrote:lonepalm,
Did you ever check to see if you have WOL enabled on the NIC? You never said if you checked it, so I'm just curious.
Eric
Shutdown Wake-On-Lan : set to Enabled
Wake on Magic Packet: Enabled
Wake on pattern match: Enabled
WOL & Shutdown Link Speed: 100 Mbps First (other values are 10 Mbps First or Not Speed Down)
Then I checked the Power Management tab and Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power, Allow this device to wake the computer, and Only allow a magic packet to wake the computer are all selected.
Hope this helps you help me, and sorry for not checking back in!
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richard1980 wrote:You should re-enable away mode. There are several consequences to disabling away mode, and you've already experienced one of them. Another consequence is that a user can manually put the computer to sleep...even if the system is recording. That means your recording will stop instead of continuing as expected.
If the computer will not sleep when away mode is enabled, that's because an application has an open request to keep the computer awake for some task to execute. You can use the commands I previously posted to figure out what application it is, then figure out what that application is doing.
And I'm not sure if you are aware of this, but the computer has to be awake or in away mode for extenders to work.
Code: Select all
C:\Windows\system32>powercfg -requests
DISPLAY:
None.
SYSTEM:
None.
AWAYMODE:
None.
EXECUTION:
None.
PERFBOOST:
None.
Code: Select all
Power Efficiency Diagnostics Report
Computer Name JONATHAN
Scan Time 2015-02-10T16:27:31Z
Scan Duration 60 seconds
System Manufacturer To be filled by O.E.M.
System Product Name To be filled by O.E.M.
BIOS Date 04/07/2014
BIOS Version 2501
OS Build 9600
Platform Role PlatformRoleDesktop
Plugged In true
Process Count 76
Thread Count 981
Report GUID {2cf5e0d7-8b08-4b92-a2ee-55955ba81acd}
Analysis Results
Errors
USB Suspend:USB Device not Entering Selective Suspend
This device did not enter the USB Selective Suspend state. Processor power management may be prevented when this USB device is not in the Selective Suspend state. Note that this issue will not prevent the system from sleeping.
Device Name USB Root Hub
Host Controller ID PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_4397
Host Controller Location PCI bus 0, device 19, function 0
Device ID USB\VID_1002&PID_4397
Port Path
USB Suspend:USB Device not Entering Selective Suspend
This device did not enter the USB Selective Suspend state. Processor power management may be prevented when this USB device is not in the Selective Suspend state. Note that this issue will not prevent the system from sleeping.
Device Name USB Root Hub
Host Controller ID PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_4396
Host Controller Location PCI bus 0, device 22, function 2
Device ID USB\VID_1002&PID_4396
Port Path
USB Suspend:USB Device not Entering Selective Suspend
This device did not enter the USB Selective Suspend state. Processor power management may be prevented when this USB device is not in the Selective Suspend state. Note that this issue will not prevent the system from sleeping.
Device Name USB Mass Storage Device
Host Controller ID PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_4396
Host Controller Location PCI bus 0, device 22, function 2
Device ID USB\VID_11B0&PID_6118
Port Path 2
USB Suspend:USB Device not Entering Selective Suspend
This device did not enter the USB Selective Suspend state. Processor power management may be prevented when this USB device is not in the Selective Suspend state. Note that this issue will not prevent the system from sleeping.
Device Name Microsoft Mouse and Keyboard Detection Driver (USB)
Host Controller ID PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_4397
Host Controller Location PCI bus 0, device 19, function 0
Device ID USB\VID_045E&PID_0745
Port Path 5
CPU Utilization:Processor utilization is high
The average processor utilization during the trace was high. The system will consume less power when the average processor utilization is very low. Review processor utilization for individual processes to determine which applications and services contribute the most to total processor utilization.
Average Utilization (%) 16.11
Warnings
Platform Timer Resolution:Platform Timer Resolution
The default platform timer resolution is 15.6ms (15625000ns) and should be used whenever the system is idle. If the timer resolution is increased, processor power management technologies may not be effective. The timer resolution may be increased due to multimedia playback or graphical animations.
Current Timer Resolution (100ns units) 10000
Maximum Timer Period (100ns units) 156250
Platform Timer Resolution:Outstanding Timer Request
A program or service has requested a timer resolution smaller than the platform maximum timer resolution.
Requested Period 10000
Requesting Process ID 5856
Requesting Process Path \Device\HarddiskVolume2\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe
CPU Utilization:Individual process with significant processor utilization.
This process is responsible for a significant portion of the total processor utilization recorded during the trace.
Process Name chrome.exe
PID 5856
Average Utilization (%) 6.02
Module Average Module Utilization (%)
\Device\HarddiskVolume2\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\40.0.2214.111\chrome_child.dll 4.03
\SystemRoot\system32\ntoskrnl.exe 0.92
\Device\HarddiskVolume2\Windows\System32\ntdll.dll 0.68
CPU Utilization:Individual process with significant processor utilization.
This process is responsible for a significant portion of the total processor utilization recorded during the trace.
Process Name chrome.exe
PID 7128
Average Utilization (%) 2.74
Module Average Module Utilization (%)
\Device\HarddiskVolume2\Windows\System32\nvwgf2umx.dll 0.80
\Device\HarddiskVolume2\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\40.0.2214.111\libglesv2.dll 0.68
\SystemRoot\system32\ntoskrnl.exe 0.38
CPU Utilization:Individual process with significant processor utilization.
This process is responsible for a significant portion of the total processor utilization recorded during the trace.
Process Name chrome.exe
PID 3292
Average Utilization (%) 1.29
Module Average Module Utilization (%)
\Device\HarddiskVolume2\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\40.0.2214.111\chrome.dll 0.81
\SystemRoot\system32\ntoskrnl.exe 0.25
\SystemRoot\System32\win32k.sys 0.08
CPU Utilization:Individual process with significant processor utilization.
This process is responsible for a significant portion of the total processor utilization recorded during the trace.
Process Name ehrecvr.exe
PID 3520
Average Utilization (%) 1.08
Module Average Module Utilization (%)
\SystemRoot\system32\ntoskrnl.exe 0.44
\Device\HarddiskVolume2\Windows\System32\ntdll.dll 0.14
\Device\HarddiskVolume2\Windows\System32\combase.dll 0.11
CPU Utilization:Individual process with significant processor utilization.
This process is responsible for a significant portion of the total processor utilization recorded during the trace.
Process Name dwm.exe
PID 868
Average Utilization (%) 0.69
Module Average Module Utilization (%)
\Device\HarddiskVolume2\Windows\System32\dwmcore.dll 0.16
\Device\HarddiskVolume2\Windows\System32\nvwgf2umx.dll 0.14
\SystemRoot\system32\ntoskrnl.exe 0.11
CPU Utilization:Individual process with significant processor utilization.
This process is responsible for a significant portion of the total processor utilization recorded during the trace.
Process Name System
PID 4
Average Utilization (%) 0.33
Module Average Module Utilization (%)
\SystemRoot\system32\ntoskrnl.exe 0.12
\SystemRoot\System32\drivers\dxgmms1.sys 0.11
\SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\nvlddmkm.sys 0.03
Information
Platform Timer Resolution:Timer Request Stack
The stack of modules responsible for the lowest platform timer setting in this process.
Requested Period 10000
Requesting Process ID 5856
Requesting Process Path \Device\HarddiskVolume2\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe
Calling Module Stack \Device\HarddiskVolume2\Windows\System32\ntdll.dll
\Device\HarddiskVolume2\Windows\System32\kernel32.dll
\Device\HarddiskVolume2\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\40.0.2214.111\chrome_child.dll
\Device\HarddiskVolume2\Windows\System32\kernel32.dll
\Device\HarddiskVolume2\Windows\System32\ntdll.dll
Power Policy:Active Power Plan
The current power plan in use
Plan Name OEM Balanced
Plan GUID {381b4222-f694-41f0-9685-ff5bb260df2e}
Power Policy:Power Plan Personality (Plugged In)
The personality of the current power plan when the system is plugged in.
Personality Balanced
Power Policy:802.11 Radio Power Policy is Maximum Performance (Plugged In)
The current power policy for 802.11-compatible wireless network adapters is not configured to use low-power modes.
Power Policy:Video quality (Plugged In)
Enables Windows Media Player to optimize for quality or power savings when playing video.
Quality Mode Optimize for Video Quality
System Availability Requests:Analysis Success
Analysis was successful. No energy efficiency problems were found. No information was returned.
Battery:Analysis Success
Analysis was successful. No energy efficiency problems were found. No information was returned.
Platform Power Management Capabilities:Supported Sleep States
Sleep states allow the computer to enter low-power modes after a period of inactivity. The S3 sleep state is the default sleep state for Windows platforms. The S3 sleep state consumes only enough power to preserve memory contents and allow the computer to resume working quickly. Very few platforms support the S1 or S2 Sleep states.
S1 Sleep Supported false
S2 Sleep Supported false
S3 Sleep Supported true
S4 Sleep Supported true
Platform Power Management Capabilities:Connected Standby Support
Connected standby allows the computer to enter a low-power mode in which it is always on and connected. If supported, connected standby is used instead of system sleep states.
Connected Standby Supported false
Platform Power Management Capabilities:Processor Power Management Capabilities
Effective processor power management enables the computer to automatically balance performance and energy consumption.
Group 0
Index 0
Idle State Count 1
Idle State Type ACPI Idle (C) States
Nominal Frequency (MHz) 3400
Maximum Performance Percentage 100
Lowest Performance Percentage 23
Lowest Throttle Percentage 23
Performance Controls Type ACPI Performance (P) / Throttle (T) States
Platform Power Management Capabilities:Processor Power Management Capabilities
Effective processor power management enables the computer to automatically balance performance and energy consumption.
Group 0
Index 1
Idle State Count 1
Idle State Type ACPI Idle (C) States
Nominal Frequency (MHz) 3400
Maximum Performance Percentage 100
Lowest Performance Percentage 23
Lowest Throttle Percentage 23
Performance Controls Type ACPI Performance (P) / Throttle (T) States
Platform Power Management Capabilities:Processor Power Management Capabilities
Effective processor power management enables the computer to automatically balance performance and energy consumption.
Group 0
Index 2
Idle State Count 1
Idle State Type ACPI Idle (C) States
Nominal Frequency (MHz) 3400
Maximum Performance Percentage 100
Lowest Performance Percentage 23
Lowest Throttle Percentage 23
Performance Controls Type ACPI Performance (P) / Throttle (T) States
Platform Power Management Capabilities:Processor Power Management Capabilities
Effective processor power management enables the computer to automatically balance performance and energy consumption.
Group 0
Index 3
Idle State Count 1
Idle State Type ACPI Idle (C) States
Nominal Frequency (MHz) 3400
Maximum Performance Percentage 100
Lowest Performance Percentage 23
Lowest Throttle Percentage 23
Performance Controls Type ACPI Performance (P) / Throttle (T) States
Device Drivers:Analysis Success
Analysis was successful. No energy efficiency problems were found. No information was returned.
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This may sound obvious but If, in your power plan, you have "change when the computer sleeps" set to "never", it does exactly that. It never goes to sleep.
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Thanks for that. Unfortunately, as obvious as that may seem, sometimes I or others overlook stuff like that. In this case, I have it set to sleep at 30 minutes, but thanks for suggesting that!dmagerl wrote:This may sound obvious but If, in your power plan, you have "change when the computer sleeps" set to "never", it does exactly that. It never goes to sleep.