Monitor won't wake up

[ekearney]

Hey,
I just got some great quick help on my first post so I have to say
that I have more hope for my computer and I'm going to try another
one.

I have a Lenovo 3000 N100 laptop running Windows XP.

In my "Power Settings" I have the options for how much time should
pass before the computer will 'turn off monitor' or 'turn off hard
disks'.  So if I have the 'turn off monitor' set for 10 minutes, after
10 minutes of no activity the monitor goes black.  The problem is that
sometimes, 1 in 10 times or other times 1 in 25 times, the monitor
won't come back on.  When this happens I close the top of the laptop
and then open it again.  As soon as it is back open the screen is on,
but then because I've closed the top it goes into Standby.  I then
press any key and it comes back.  It doesn't waste that much time but
is a pain anyways.  When the screen doesnt' come back on it is
defintely still running all programs because I can still hear music or
can use keyboard shortcuts and see the results when the screen comes
back.  Strange.

This has happened for a long time and I've just become used to it.

Thanks!

[Carbon Dudeoxide]

(I have a lenovo C200  )

Try configuring your power settings to this:



(should be similar for both XP and Vista)

Try that and then post back.

[ekearney]

Thanks again Dudeoxide,

I've just made the changes and will report back in a couple of days after I've given it a whirl.

[Carbon Dudeoxide]

Good Luck!

[ekearney]

So far your fix seemed to have worked.  Is it the hibernate feature that causes trouble?

But, an interesting and nearly disastrous development. 

A few times in the past I've opened up the pc after having the top closed for a bit and noticed that the battery had singnificantly drained.  Could it have come out of Stand-by while the top was down?

A few days ago I installed the Windows PowerToy called Powershot.  It takes pictures from the pc's built-in camera at regular intervals.  We set it at 10 minutes and its been pretty funny so far.

So yesterday, before implementing your changes, we took a trip into town and I had my pc in a backpack.  When I opened the bag I found the fan running and the pc was hotter than I've ever seen.  I was really worried about it having overheated.  I shut down and got it into cold air quickly.

I checked the Powershot history and found that it had been taking pictures every 10 minutes.  It had been running the whole time in the bag.

So it was somehow coming out of standby while the top was down and running the disks I guess...  I'm not sure if your last fix would address this but I'm going to put the Powershot on again tonight and put the top down and see if we get any by morning...


Thanks
Emmett

[drmsucks]

Carbon can elaborate, but I always configure a laptop to shut down when the lid is closed.

How is yours configured - sounds like standby; and, perhaps, Powershot won't allow the system to enter standby so it keeps running.

[Carbon Dudeoxide]

Looks like I have another picture to show.

These are what my settings are so far:


It basically means when I close my laptop lid, it does nothing (only turns off the screen).
When I press the power button, it goes into Stand By.

Try changing those settings and see what happens.

[mroilfield]

The below statement was taken from Help and Support in my start menu.


standby
A state in which your computer consumes less power when it is idle, but remains available for immediate use. While your computer is on standby, information in computer memory is not saved on your hard disk. If there is an interruption in power, the information in memory is lost.


So when you put your computer in standby it is in effect still on so if you unplug the power cable it will still drain the battery even though it may take longer then normal for it to do so. If it is is standby and in a back pack it should heat up as it is still running and has no air circulating.

If you are going to be transporting a laptop I would suggest completely shutting it down first.

[Carbon Dudeoxide]

In Stand By, The only thing the battery is giving power to is the RAM.

My laptop drains about 1% every 2 hours in Standby Mode.

[ekearney]

Thanks all. 

Dudeoxide it appears that your fix has worked!  I've also started to shut it down whenever I travel with it, even though it takes time to start up, because that's obviously the more rational thing to do.

[Carbon Dudeoxide]

All right then.

If you're happy, we're happy.

[ekearney]

I appreciate the sentiment, although I'm not totally happy.   

I think that I've got a virus.  If I can't sort it out and remain not totally happy I'll be back to seek your advise... ahh the road to happiness.

[Carbon Dudeoxide]

If you have a virus, we can help.

Just ask.