Monitor doesn't wake from sleep

[strikeblazer]

I plugged my monitor into Macbook over HDMI one day. It had some issues turning on in the next boot (the PC). Since then, whenever I put my PC to sleep (haven't connected the laptop to the monitor anymore), my monitor doesn't wake. So when I sleep it and then wake it in 1 minute or 10 minutes, the PC actually gets on, the fans start spinning, and my SignalRGB is set to have the RAM sticks glow white. When/if/until the OS and the apps aren't loaded, the RAM sticks are the default RGB unicorn rainbow colors. So, my PC is working. My keyboard and mouse are technically waking the PC, but the monitor says no input and goes power saving.

The worst part is even a hard reset doesn't do anything now. I turn power off, UPS off, and everything back on again, PC just refuses to boot up. SignalRGB doesn't turn on now (it's a startup app and turns RAM white even on the lock screen, but in this case, it doesn't). The only way I can turn PC on is by opening the case and reseating the RAM sticks, then the PC boots with the BIOS warning, I select Save Changes and Reset on BIOS, and it boots up fine. I've tried with Safe Mode and Secure Boot off and on, same thing.

Unfortunately I am in the habit of putting my PC to sleep. I've started doing it a lot less now but what seems to be the problem? Years of having a PC has taught me that my initial diagnosis is almost always wrong but I do believe it's either a BIOS problem or a problem with my wireless mouse. It's certainly not a display issue as I'm experiencing the same problem with a different HDMI cable and a different monitor.

 

[P4-630]

Is the time correct in the BIOS?

Maybe you need to change the CMOS battery of the motherboard.

 

[strikeblazer]

Is the time correct in the BIOS?

Maybe you need to change the CMOS battery of the motherboard.

That could be the problem, yes. That won't be easy to test for me right now. The time is correct in BIOS. One more thing, I am not sure whether this is out of the ordinary or not, the CPU fan graph in the BIOS goes from 0 to 100% pretty quickly and stays there. Should the CPU fan be spinning at full speed on the BIOS screen?

 

[Bill_Bright]

Unfortunately I am in the habit of putting my PC to sleep.

I would not say unfortunately - other than that is when you see this issue. Just letting our computers go to sleep is what I do and recommend.

If you just tell the computer to reboot, does the monitor come on?

It's certainly not a display issue as I'm experiencing the same problem with a different HDMI cable and a different monitor.

Have you tried a DisplayPort?

Since it appears your computer is booting fine, and your time remains correct, I don't believe this is a CMOS issue.

I would try a different graphics card. Or, if by chance, you have or can borrow a CPU with integrated graphics (since the board supports it), try that.

 

[strikeblazer]

Yes, I guess it's time for the complete breakdown. I was really dreading this, for now I am using my laptop to do work and I still have tons of work to do and the PC is just better to do it all. Later tonight I am going to try different GPU, different RAM, different CMOS battery too. I don't have a CPU with integrated graphics.

If you just tell the computer to reboot, does the monitor come on?

No.

Have you tried a DisplayPort?

Don't have one, but I am going to try VGA once later today.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Don't have one,

Huh? What do you mean?

What computer/hardware are we trying to troubleshoot?

According to the hardware listed in your system specs, your graphics card AND your monitor both support DisplayPort too.

 

[strikeblazer]

Sorry for the confusion, yes both support DP. I meant to say that I do not have a DP cable to test that. Well, I tried my older RX 580, news CMOS battery, different RAM sticks, different monitor. It's none of these parts. My motherboard is quite old, it's possibly something wrong with that. I'm going to rebuild the PC later tonight. If I still can't figure it out I guess it's time to call a technician.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Well, I don't see where you tried a different power supply. Since everything inside the case depends on good, clean, stable power, I would ensure that by swapping in a known good supply before taking it to a tech or spending any money on replacement parts.

Since you tried a different graphics card, different HDMI cable, and a different monitor, it seems very unlikely it would be a HDMI issue. Therefore, I think it safe to assume going with DP will not resolve the issue. If you can borrow a DP cable from a friend, fine. But, in this case, I would not go out and buy a DP cable just to verify that does not work either.

If the PSU is not the issue, that leaves the CPU and/or motherboard. As a technician, I am probably biased to say (though I truly believe) there is no shame in taking it to a qualified technician. However, the shop is probably going to charge you for at least 1/2 hour, maybe a full hour for troubleshooting time. Depending where you live, that could be $€£100/hour or even more.

It is important for folks to understand and remember that for an experienced technician, "replacing" parts is typically a very simple and relatively quick job (since they probably already have the necessary tools, facilities, skills and experience to do so). The hard, and most time consuming part of electronics repair is the troubleshooting to determine exactly which component is bad and needs to be replaced.

Since you said this motherboard is "quite old" (and its probably safe to say the CPU is too), it may be money better spent if you just put that repair money towards a new computer. Something to think about. You wanted a new computer anyway, right?

 

[strikeblazer]

I have a few other power supplies, but none of them are rated for either of my GPUs. But as I said, reseating the RAM works and then the PC powers up just fine, I can even play games. It's only the sleep that causes an issue. Do you happen to know what actually happens when a PC goes to sleep? I know in hibernation the disk acts as the application storage. During a sleep, does the PC store all open apps and data on the RAM, as they were? And when you wake, what happens?

Anyway, the technicians around here are not competent. As you mentioned, it's much easier for them to suggest replacement parts. They charge a lot but come up with bad solutions almost always. My older processor was not fried, but they insisted it was and I had to get a new one. My motherboard is old and can only go up to Ryzen Gen2, so I got a Gen2 quite recently, so it's not likely that it's a CPU problem.

I believe something happens during the sleep/wake cycle that's causing this problem. The PC works fine as long as it's open (after reseating the RAM) and I can stress the CPU, GPU, RAM, everything. I'm going to disconnect everything and connect it all back again instead of doing it part-by-part and see if that can solve the issue. Otherwise the technician it is!

 

[Solaris17]

For what it’s worth I have ran into this before years ago and it was a motherboard issue in both cases.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Do you happen to know what actually happens when a PC goes to sleep? I know in hibernation the disk acts as the application storage. During a sleep, does the PC store all open apps and data on the RAM, as they were? And when you wake, what happens?

There are several sleep states so what happens depends on which state is set. What happens also depends on the type of RAM you have and the sleep (standby) state.

Typically in pure hibernation mode, an image of the computer's environment is saved to disk. This is commonly used on laptops. The environment is saved with you close the lid and restored, right where you left off when you open it again.

With PCs, a "hybrid" mode is commonly used where the environment is keep alive in RAM in a "low voltage" state so when you wake, then environment is restored much more quickly since there is no need to read in the huge file from the disk. But an image of the environment is also saved to disk. This ensures [hopefully] all will be okay if, after going to sleep, there is a power outage, your computer is not corrupted or data lost. Instead of restoring from RAM, it restores from the hibernation file - it just takes a few seconds longer.

The ATX Form Factor standard for PCs requires all ATX compliant power supplies to provide +5Vsb standby voltage to multiple points on the motherboard when the computer is shutdown (or goes to sleep) AS LONG AS the master power switch on the back of the PSU is set to "On" or "|" (if it has such a switch) and the power cord is plugged into the wall. This +5V keeps that PC RAM alive (but in a low power state), as well as other functions like Wake on Mouse, Wake on Keyboard, and Wake on LAN. This voltage is also used to keep the case's front panel power button functional.

So, in standby mode, that voltage is still present ASSUMING there is no other fault somewhere.

Considering all the other troubleshooting you have done, I agree with Solaris17. This sure looks like the motherboard is failing to me.

You said above,

I select Save Changes and Reset on BIOS, and it boots up fine.

I am going to assume you meant to say "Save Changes and Restart" (not Reset). I might suggest you actually select "Reset" to return any user settings back to the factory defaults and see what happens. If you still see this problem, then I think it time to shop for a new mobo.

 

[strikeblazer]

I finally fixed it. It was my fault all along. I never tried to boot with a single RAM. My RAM sticks are brand-new, the newest components I have, but as I suspected and you both seem to suspect as well, it's a motherboard issue. Even when I swapped RAM, I swapped 2 HyperX ones I have in another PC instead of just getting one for some strange reason. Both RAMs help me avoid this issue when they are alone, PC comes out of sleep just fine. My board has two slots, and the right one is gone I guess. I did try putting the second RAM again after finding the culprit, the PC is booting just fine (as it did after reseating RAMs as well) but I should've picked it up sooner. RAM reseating was helping the PC boot, so it was something to do with the RAMs. And not the RAMs but their slots. Guess it's time to get a new motherboard.

I am greatly interested in what you told me about the sleep state. If possible I'd like to get to the bottom of this. I believe when the PC was put to sleep and the state saved to the RAM, the wake on keyboard/mouse didn't fully go through and the RAM couldn't restore the state because of a problem with the slot itself. Not sure how that would happen, because a faulty slot should keep the RAM from working at all times, I guess.

Every other function seems to be just fine. I launched several Adobe apps and it was 80-90% being used without any freeze or issue. So definitely not a RAM problem.

Also, this isn't relevant to this problem, but seeing as now I need to buy a new board and I have an AMD Ryzen 5 2600X, what will be the best option for me that has some scope of future-proofing? Like if I want to get a Ryzen 5 5600 in the future, is there a board that can support that and my current R5 2600? This board is also maxed at 3200, so I am using DOCP 3200 with lower timing/CL too. The RAM can go up to 3600 with higher timing.

PS I did mean Save and Restart, not Reset. I did double check the settings anyway, they were preserved.

 

[Bill_Bright]

I finally fixed it. It was my fault all along.

Much appreciated when someone on this site actually has the nads to admit their own mistakes. However, not sure you are being fair on yourself - at least not this time. I had to go back and see if I suggested trying one stick at a time. I didn't. I feel I should have. But, in yours and my own defense, the symptoms you described are NOT any I have seen before that were due to a bad slot.

So this has been a learning experience - always good to learn something new and one of the primary reasons I participate on these forums.