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Laptop won't wake up if it went to sleep on its own

972 views 19 replies 2 participants last post by  Macboatmaster 
#1 ·
My new Lenovo Thinkpad (E490S), with 8 GB RAM and an i7 processor, is my first machine with Windows 10. I run it with a limited amount of software: two browsers (typically with only a handful of tabs running), an email client, LibreOffice Writer, Bitdefender Internet Security, Express VPN, and a couple of other programs. Nothing too demanding.

When I click on Sleep or close the lid, there's no problem. But when it times out and goes to sleep on its own (on the schedule I've chosen in power settings), the laptop usually freezes and must be restarted. Lenovo's tech support claimed the problem is that I'm running too many processes. It's true that more than 200 are running at any given time. But shouldn't a new computer with decent specs be able to handle a typical software load without being paralyzed? In fact, I should be ahead of the game because I immediately disabled Cortana and OneDrive. I didn't have this problem with my last Thinkpad, which ran Windows 7, and it doesn't happen with my desktop, which still runs Window 8. (I have the same software on both of these, so the problem isn't with the security program, the VPN, or the browsers.)

I've updated the BIOS, and the computer isn't showing any other problems. What have I overlooked?
 
#2 ·
Send as below please
We recommend that you download our free SysInfo utility. When you run it, it will show technical specifications of your computer. Please copy and paste that information and include it with your question below. Thank you!
shown on the page when you clicked post new thread

Also I know you have Bitdefender Internet Security, but please confirm all AV apps that are installed and ALL system management apps from 3rd parties eg CCleaner, and any other system boosters, driver finder programs etc.

200 processes depending on what you are including in the 200 is way TOO many, to expect a laptop to enter sleep on timeout.
Windows 10 is or should be so quick to open a process that their is no need to keep that number live

Also please be assured that what you ran on 7 and do on 8, in respect of 3rd party AV/Security has very little bearing on 10
10 is a totally different proposition to 7 and indeed different to 8 in some respects
 
#3 ·
Thanks for your reply. The tech specs of my system (from your utility) are pasted below.
In addition to the software I mentioned in my O.P., I have a few apps like CCleaner and RevoInstaller that I run only occasionally and don't load at startup, and I also use Syncplicity (which does). Again, all of these (and more, including Bitdefender) did not cause problems on my previous Windows 7 system and do not cause problems on my current Windows 8 system.
It's pretty clear that Windows 10 is the problem, despite my having disabled Cortana and OneDrive. When I look at the list of background processes in Task Manager, I can see that the vast majority are indeed part of Windows. I don't open these manually, so the question is why Windows is keeping so many of them live . . . and what I can do about it.

-- AK
________________________________________

Tech Support Guy System Info Utility version 1.0.0.9
OS Version: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro, 64 bit, Build 18362, Installed 20191106064736.000000-300
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-8565U CPU @ 1.80GHz, Intel64 Family 6 Model 142 Stepping 12, CPU Count: 8
Total Physical RAM: 8 GB
Graphics Card: Intel(R) UHD Graphics 620, 1024 MB
Hard Drives: C: 237 GB (180 GB Free);
Motherboard: LENOVO 20NGS01F00, ver SDK0J40697 WIN, s/n L1HF9A501M7
System: LENOVO, ver LENOVO - 270, s/n PF1ZS056
Antivirus: Windows Defender, Disabled
 
#4 ·
What power profile is enabled in Bit Defender - if any please

and when the timeout occurs is the laptop then on battery power or mains power

May I presume that you do NOT use the registry cleaner on CCleaner
 
#5 ·
1. No profiles are enabled in BitDefender.
2. The computer fails to wake after timeout sleep mode regardless of whether it's on AC or battery.
3. I don't have CCleaner scheduled to do anything, but the handful of times I've used it I have also manually cleaned up registry files that it identifies as unnecessary.
 
#6 ·
1. re Bitdefender profiles - are you certain please that if you have that facility on your Bitdefender a profile has not been automatically enabled
There are reports of this occurring and when one is it changes certain power settings
https://forum.videolan.org/viewtopic.php?t=146681

2. My strong advice is to leave the registry alone - reports of unnecessary registry entries - rely totally on how the app that reports such views the registry entry as being unnecessary. The fact the app says it is unnecessary does NOT mean that the Windows system sees it as unnecessary and even if it was, there are so many 1000`s of entries that it makes absolutely no difference to performance to delete some EVEN if they were genuinely unused.

3. Open a command prompt with admin rights and type
sfc /scannow
please post what it reports I do NOT at this stage need the file
If it reports errors could not be fixed
then return to the cmd prompt and run this cmd which it is easier to copy and paste than try and work out spacing

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth
post the result of that as well please
 
#7 ·
Thanks for your continued help.

1. I double-checked: automatic profiles are disabled in BitDefender, and there are no individual profiles.
2. I appreciate your advice about registry cleaning and will take it seriously. But I've been letting CCleaner do this for years on my other computers, so it seems unlikely that this explains the sleep issue with my new machine.
3. SCANNOW result: "Verification 100% complete. Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them." (I'm curious what it found! What are the chances those files were related to the sleep issue?)
 
#8 ·
I would not be even 50% on the corrupt system files being responsible, but it was certainly worth a check to see if there was system file corruption

My money is on BitDefender even although a profile is not set
Humour me and try this
https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/13426/

Turn all off
Do NOT used a browser of course
Let it go to sleep on timeout and see what happens

I am signing off now it is 0200
Do not worry I feel sure I will sort it
Goodnight and goo to work with you

NOT back online until approx. 2000 hrs UK time
however please post result of above
 
#9 ·
I'm willing to humour you with this experiment, as you say, in light of your expertise and the time you've been kind enough to devote to my case. But I must admit that this theory puzzles me. First, BitDefender scans only weekly and checks for updates only every two hours. What are the chances that it's doing one of those checks (or something else I'm overlooking) at the exact time the computer is trying to go to sleep - and that this happens almost every time it times out? Second, didn't you agree with the Lenovo rep that the real problem is likely too many active processes -- the majority of which are part of Windows?
 
#10 ·
Well the choice is yours
I do not see what you have to lose by trying it

The processes you referred to were originally - perhaps wrongly, presumed by me to be processes relating to windows etc that you had open but minimized, for instance some browsers open a new process for each tab that is open
I now suspect that you do not actually mean that
I also suspect that the Lenovo rep thought you did mean - processes relating to your activity

As you have said on your last post and on a previous, but not on your original post
Lenovo's tech support claimed the problem is that I'm running too many processes. It's true that more than 200 are running at any given time.
they are NOT mainly processes from your opening of browser tabs, apps etc.
 
#11 ·
-- Regarding your last message: So having 200+ open processes that are mostly from Windows 10 itself rather than from lots of apps and browser tabs is (a) not a matter of concern and (b) not likely to explain the sleep problem?

-- Regarding your suggested test: OK, I did it and here's what happened. With BitDefender sidelined, the computer woke up from timed-out sleep just fine. Then I reactivated BitDefender and let it go to sleep again. Again, it woke up just fine. One possibility is that the problem somehow fixed itself, at least for now. (This still leaves me wondering what caused it.) Another possibility is that the problem happens only intermittently and will show up again at some point regardless of whether BitDefender is activated.

Thoughts?
 
#12 ·
Test it over the next few days, by letting it go to sleep with Bitdefender enabled as usual
If it fails again, as I am doubtful the system file check fixed anything, then you have two choices
You can either uninstall Bitdefender and test it for as long as you wish with Windows Defender turned on
Or you can test it periodically with Bit Defender turned off

Windows Defender - see here
https://forums.techguy.org/threads/pc-hangs-crashes-freezes-when-gaming.1238295/#post-9665045
post 6

and here
https://forums.techguy.org/threads/usb-mouse-keyboard-slow-to-load-windows-10.1237314/#post-9663038
post 10

Your computer will I can assure you run smoother with the included free Windows Defender.
However in that regard the choice is yours.
 
#14 ·
You are welcome please do let me know how it goes
 
#15 ·
Checking in again, a month and a half later. I tried two rather extreme steps to solve the problem of the Laptop That Won't Wake Up. First, I (reluctantly) changed the power settings so that it never goes to sleep when plugged in. Amazingly, it still conked out from time to time and had to be restarted. (I don't even understand how this is possible.) Second, I took your advice and uninstalled Bitdefender, enabling Windows Defender in its place. I thought this had done it, but yesterday the laptop again spontaneously went into a coma after an hour or so - suggesting that Bitdefender wasn't the problem after all.

What now? (Incidentally, Task Manager is showing only 78 background processes running at the moment.)
 
#16 ·
#18 ·
You do not have to reinstall anything
NOTHING is uninstalled

it is simply a clean boot, as explained on the link
There is no way I would suggest something that required you to reinstall all your programs, apps and files
I think you are confusing the clean boot with a clean installation
It is absolutely nothing to do with a clean installation

I suspect you never looked at the link I sent you
 
#20 · (Edited)
No need to apologise
I can understand how you can confuse clean install with clean boot

I suggest you try it first and see if it does solve it

If it does it is then a question of this - as on the link
If your problem does not occur while the computer is in a clean boot environment, then you can determine which startup application or service is causing the problem by systematically turning them on or off and restarting the computer. While turning on a single service or startup item and rebooting each time will eventually find the problematic service or application, the most efficient way to do this is to test half of them at a time, thus eliminating half of the items as the potential cause with each reboot of the computer. You can then repeat this process until you've isolated the problem.
The clean boot is not specifically designed for a diagnosis of your problem, but it can be used for many situations not just the install of apps and updates etc.
It is certainly worth a try
 
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