[Bobwhite]

A question for any computer wizards here:

My Dell 4600 Desktop has decided that it no longer wants to standbye after 3 years. When I choose the standbye option from the start menu it completely shuts off instead of hibernating. Has anybody run into this very annoying problem?

Any solution would be greatly appreciated.

[gluteus maximus]

Originally Posted by Bobwhite

A question for any computer wizards here:

My Dell 4600 Desktop has decided that it no longer wants to standbye after 3 years. When I choose the standbye option from the start menu it completely shuts off instead of hibernating. Has anybody run into this very annoying problem?

Any solution would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Bobwhite, nice avatar

Standby and Hibernate are two very different things, I assume you're just talking about standby, and that you're using Windows XP.

Had you just added any new hardware or software when this started happening?

gm

[Bobwhite]

Originally Posted by gluteus maximus

Hi Bobwhite, nice avatar

Standby and Hibernate are two very different things, I assume you're just talking about standby, and that you're using Windows XP.

Had you just added any new hardware or software when this started happening?

gm

Hey G.M.

Yes, I am running xp, and I am talking about standby mode. When I select this from the start menu, it shuts the computer completely down.... I have not added any new hardware, but possibly some new software. I know I dl the new Java update recently, but I think it was happening prior to that as well.

[gluteus maximus]

Originally Posted by Bobwhite

Hey G.M.

Yes, I am running xp, and I am talking about standby mode. When I select this from the start menu, it shuts the computer completely down.... I have not added any new hardware, but possibly some new software. I know I dl the new Java update recently, but I think it was happening prior to that as well.

Hi Bobwhite

A few people have posted about this problem here and there, it seems to be one of those arcane ones where the usual answer is to go into Control Panel>Power Options and configure the monitor and disk to turn off automatically instead. There's also an option there for going into standby automatically; it might be worth trying that to see if it gives the same problem. You could also try going to Task Manager>Shutdown (Ctrl+Alt+Del) and clicking "Stand By". If you'd like to try these and post the results back, I'll carry on hunting.

In one case this was cured by replacing the power supply unit. In another it was pinned on some digital camera software.

gm

[Dave C]

Originally Posted by gluteus maximus

Hi Bobwhite

A few people have posted about this problem here and there, it seems to be one of those arcane ones where the usual answer is to go into Control Panel>Power Options and configure the monitor and disk to turn off automatically instead. There's also an option there for going into standby automatically; it might be worth trying that to see if it gives the same problem. You could also try going to Task Manager>Shutdown (Ctrl+Alt+Del) and clicking "Stand By". If you'd like to try these and post the results back, I'll carry on hunting.

In one case this was cured by replacing the power supply unit. In another it was pinned on some digital camera software.

gm

Have you tried turning the computer on & off really fast three or four times (always works for me). Failing that, threaten it with a screwdriver ,
Cheers,
Dave C
NB. Never ask a chemist how to fix a computer

[gluteus maximus]

Originally Posted by Dave C

Have you tried turning the computer on & off really fast three or four times (always works for me). Failing that, threaten it with a screwdriver ,
Cheers,
Dave C
NB. Never ask a chemist how to fix a computer

Hi Dave C

Actually that all sounds quite reasonable. The repeated switching to start a computer can be an indicator of a failing power supply. I once fixed a dead hard disk (after trying other approaches) by beating the xxxx out of it with a large repair manual, and a pipe spring worked quite well on my old 286. Also, taking a holistic approach, this link http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~ballard/bofh/bofhserver.pl sometimes gets quite close to the root of the problem

I once worked in a repair department where the standard procedure was
1. Check the manual for known faults
2. Drop it on the floor ("drop testing")
3. Return it to the manufacturer

gm

[Bobwhite]

Originally Posted by gluteus maximus

Hi Bobwhite

A few people have posted about this problem here and there, it seems to be one of those arcane ones where the usual answer is to go into Control Panel>Power Options and configure the monitor and disk to turn off automatically instead. There's also an option there for going into standby automatically; it might be worth trying that to see if it gives the same problem. You could also try going to Task Manager>Shutdown (Ctrl+Alt+Del) and clicking "Stand By". If you'd like to try these and post the results back, I'll carry on hunting.

In one case this was cured by replacing the power supply unit. In another it was pinned on some digital camera software.

gm

Much thanks for your help G.M., I will give that a try. The computer is 3 years old, but it has worked without fault until this problem. I probably should clean out a bunch of software that I never use anyway. I'll let you know if it worked out.

[gluteus maximus]

Originally Posted by Bobwhite

Much thanks for your help G.M., I will give that a try. The computer is 3 years old, but it has worked without fault until this problem. I probably should clean out a bunch of software that I never use anyway. I'll let you know if it worked out.

Hi Bobwhite

There are a couple of other things you could also try. The first is to make sure Hibernation is disabled in Control Panel>Power Options, then run exactly this from the command prompt:

rundll32 powrprof.dll,SetSuspendState

The second is to download the free Sysinternals Pstools suite from http://download.sysinternals.com/Files/PsTools.zip , unzip it to C:\Program Files\PsTools\ then run exactly this from the command prompt:

"C:\Program Files\PsTools\psshutdown.exe" -d -t 0

If either one of these works you could make it into a desktop shortcut.

I understand that you may not want to get into this, but if you do, please let me know your results. Good luck.

gm

[Bobwhite]

Originally Posted by gluteus maximus

Hi Bobwhite

There are a couple of other things you could also try. The first is to make sure Hibernation is disabled in Control Panel>Power Options, then run exactly this from the command prompt:

rundll32 powrprof.dll,SetSuspendState

The second is to download the free Sysinternals Pstools suite from http://download.sysinternals.com/Files/PsTools.zip , unzip it to C:\Program Files\PsTools\ then run exactly this from the command prompt:

"C:\Program Files\PsTools\psshutdown.exe" -d -t 0

If either one of these works you could make it into a desktop shortcut.

I understand that you may not want to get into this, but if you do, please let me know your results. Good luck.

gm

Hey GM,

Thanks for all of your help.
The command prompt "rundll32 powrprof.dll,SetSuspendState" puts it in hibernation mode which is fine. How do I make this a desktop shortcut. Thanks

[gluteus maximus]

Originally Posted by Bobwhite

Hey GM,

Thanks for all of your help.
The command prompt "rundll32 powrprof.dll,SetSuspendState" puts it in hibernation mode which is fine. How do I make this a desktop shortcut. Thanks

Hi Bobwhite

Right click on your desktop, select New>Shortcut. In the Type location box, put "rundll32 powrprof.dll,SetSuspendState" without the quotes, click Next, change the name to Hibernate (or Die, Pig!) and click Finish. If you want to change the icon picture, right click it, select Properties>Change Icon.

Glad to be of service

gm