How to fix Windows 98 Power Saving and Standby mode
If you are using Windows 98 Power Saving and Standby mode, and it's not working correctly, follow these steps.
Verify Power Management is enabled
Click Start, Settings, Control panel, and double-click the Power Management icon. Verify that Power schemes is set to Always on and specify the time that you want Power Management for the monitor and hard drive to activate.
Remove background applications
Remove all software running in the background. Once third-party programs are removed from the background, verify if the Power Saving and Standby feature still exists. If the issue is resolved, a program was running in the background (e.g., antivirus program), causing the computer from going into Power Saving and Standby mode.
Screen savers
Disable all screen savers. Screen savers like 3D Flower Box, 3D Flying Objects, 3D Maze, and 3D Text can prevent the computer from going into Power Saving and standby mode.
Power Management enabled or disabled in CMOS
Computers have the capability of having the computer hardware (BIOS) control power management and Windows control power management. Check your computer CMOS setup to verify if Power Management is enabled within CMOS. If enabled and the computer is not going into Power Saving and Standby mode, disable Power Management in CMOS and follow the steps below for reinstalling Windows APM (advanced power management) drivers.
Corrupt APM (advanced power management) drivers
Click Start, Settings, Control Panel, double-click the Systems icon, click the Device Manager tab, and click the + next to System. If the first device is not Advanced Power Management support, skip to the next paragraph. If Advanced Power Management support is present, highlight and click the Remove button to remove it from Device Manager. Once removed, reboot the computer. Let it reinstall and try power management again.
If Advanced Power Management is not listed in Device Manager, click Start, Settings, Control Panel, and double-click Add new hardware. Let Windows detect and install new hardware (should detect and install Advanced Power Management support). If Windows does not detect Advanced Power Management support, verify in CMOS that Power Management is Enabled.
Hardware components preventing Power Saving or Standby
Some hardware devices, such as USB (universal serial bus) devices, can cause the computer to not go into Power Saving and Standby mode. If you have recently installed new hardware, we recommend temporarily removing it to verify it is not causing the issue of going into Power Saving or Standby mode.