Help, my computer has narcolepsy!

January 4, 2010 9:19 AM

How do I wake up my stupid computer????

I have a PC with Vista on it. Its fine. Except for one big problem. The sleep option is listed right above the shut down option and every now and then i'll be in a hurry and the mouse will slip and click on the "sleep" option and then..... disaster.

The computer will NOT wake up. I have to hard boot it three or four time and F2 and F12 and basically do really bad, jarring things to my computer to make it come back to life. What am i doing wrong? How can I wake it up gently?

And if there is no way and this is some weird glitch, how do i remove the "sleep" option all together? I will never want to make my computer sleep. Never. Can't i just remove that option so i won't accidentally click on it in the future?

posted by silverstatue to Computers & Internet (9 answers total)

Here's a guide to do just that (see Method 2 or 3). Caution: It involves editing the registry. Make a backup of any files you change. If you don't feel comfortable doing that sort of thing, don't - get someone else to do it.
posted by Salvor Hardin at 9:33 AM on January 4, 2010

And by "just that" I mean remove the "sleep" option. I don't know why your computer won't wake up from sleep - sounds like a motherboard issue.
posted by Salvor Hardin at 9:34 AM on January 4, 2010

Use the windows power options in the control panel. Eliminate the Hibernate option. Usually, in sleep more, the pc on/off light will pulse. pressing the power button should bring it back from sleep. You may want to add the make and model, as the power options are vendor-specific.
posted by theora55 at 10:08 AM on January 4, 2010

without knowing more about the PC, it's hard to say. Check with your motherboard manufacturer for a BIOS update, and check your settings and see if S3 sleep is enabled.
posted by jrishel at 10:09 AM on January 4, 2010

I have an issue with my graphics card where my laptop will wakes up, but the screen stays black and I have to do hard reboots to get it working again. This happened to me in Vista and in Windows 7 -- we think it's a driver issue.
posted by Kimberly at 10:15 AM on January 4, 2010

I had precisely the same problem, and it scared the s**t out of me!

To prevent it from ever happening again, I added a simple date/system function gadget to the sidebar, and always use it to shut down (or restart) the computer.
posted by DrGail at 10:19 AM on January 4, 2010

Best answer: Somewhere under the Control Panel, I think under power-saving options, there is a spot to set the "Shut down" option as the one you get when you hit the button, rather than having to go over to the arrow and avoid sleep/hibernate.

After some googling: a guide with screenshots, which is much clearer than my rambling.
posted by iarerach at 11:20 AM on January 4, 2010

Response by poster: Theora55, the on/off switch DOES pulse, but when i press it, nothing happens. and then when i hard boot it, it starts to boot up.... and then shuts down again. it usually does that 3 or 4 times and then FINALLY it'll boot up completely. its terrifying!

its an Inspiron 518, desktop.

thanks for the suggestions so far.... i will try them when i get home, in order of easiest to scariest.
posted by silverstatue at 11:55 AM on January 4, 2010

I just used the recommendation by iareach, and am quite happy with it. Thank you, even though it wasn't my question!
posted by scottymac at 12:51 PM on January 4, 2010