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Unable to wake from sleep from time to time

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Apr 2, 2010
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Hi all,

I have recently upgraded my CPU from i7 860 to i7 4790k with MSI's Z97S Krait Edition mobo.
I have experienced some anomaly when putting my PC into sleep mode from time to time.
First, the PC sometimes go into Sleep mode without cutting off the power to my peripherals (ie, keyboard and mouse are still glowing even though the tower was powered off).
Second, in some occasion, when I pushed the power button to wake the PC (I set the power button for sleep/wake event), I got no response to my monitor, keyboard and mouse even though the tower is powered on with its fans and everything running inside. The only fix is to do a hard reset. (push reset button on the case)
However, Windows 7 did not recognize the hard reset as an "unsuccessful shutdown" (no error) and entered the OS normally with all my progress intact before the sleep (as if it was just woke up from Sleep).

This phenomenon only occurs randomly and I am unable to replicate it at will. I suspect motherboard malfunction. What do you guys think?
 
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99.9% of the time its related to RAM stability, as its the only part powered when the system is asleep. Minor corruption that won't affect much while the PC is in use, is enough to stop it waking properly.
 
Thanks, I will run a couple runs of Memtest to verify RAM stability. I didn't expect RAMs can cause devices to behave differently during Sleep mode though.
 
As for the peripherals staying on, that's not unusual.. Most motherboards now have "sleep n charge" USB ports that stay powered up all the time to charge phones and whatnot. Even normal ports remain powered in order to allow wake on mouse/keyboard input - the LEDs on the internal card reader and the bus-powered hub on my i7 are always on, even when it's completely powered off.

The failure to rouse it from sleep mode, I can only say this happens occasionally on my laptop too (not even remotely recent model). It has happened since it was brand new, and the issue has traversed three motherboards, two different CPU upgrades, two memory upgrades, and countless Windows reinstallations. I don't think it's something to sweat.
 
99.9% of the time its related to RAM stability, as its the only part powered when the system is asleep
Sorry, but there is a lot more than just RAM.

When the computer is in sleep mode, the power supply is still supplying +5Vsb standby voltage to multiple points on the motherboard to keep those circuits alive. These include power to the USB ports so you can press mouse button or wiggle the mouse, or press a keyboard key to wake the computer.

The network adapter is kept alive to maintain DCHP IP assignments. If "Wake on LAN" is enabled, you can even send wake commands remotely through the network.

This voltage also is routed through the motherboard and to the front panel power button so you can wake the computer.

With newer motherboards and especially with Windows 10, data is kept alive in RAM so the computer can return to where you left off much faster.

Completing your specs will help us. You said this is Windows 7. Did it used to work correctly? Any recent hardware changes?
 
my keyboard has LED's and while they power off in sleep mode, if i hit a button on the keyboard it'll light back up without waking the PC. They definitely do leave some power running through them for charging devices.
 
my keyboard has LED's and while they power off in sleep mode, if i hit a button on the keyboard it'll light back up without waking the PC. They definitely do leave some power running through them for charging devices.

Mine shuts off the 'Lock' lights on the keyboard in sleep, but the mouse eye stays on..
 
Many keyboards and mice have internal sleep modes too. The key/button presses still register but LEDs may go out. In the case of my MS blue laser mouse, after so many seconds of inactivity the blue laser dims significantly (but never completely) to save battery power.
The thing is, they usually powered off during normal sleep state, I don't think it's a "feature" from the mobo.
I agree. So something is keeping them awake.

Media players are notorious for that keeping computers away, or for waking them. Other programs, like scanners and updaters can keep a computer awake too.
 
oh and dont forget that external devices can feed power back into the PC. As an example, you can unplug the power from your PSU and HDMI can feed enough juice to power on LED's on the motherboard - externally powered hubs and hard drives can definitely cause that effect.

I think we should focus on the failing to wake, instead of the 'why are my things powered'
 
I doubt you have a hardware problem

first thing I would do is turn off hybrid sleep(in the windows power options control panel > power options > change plan options> allow hybrid sleep) this will give you a clearer image as to the potential issue and will likely fix the the problem
second thing if you have any board vendor utilities installed uninstall them

final thing I would do would be to check and make sure the bios sleep state is set to S3 and the c-states and speedstep/eist/turbo boost are enabled
 
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second thing I would do would be to check and make sure the bios sleep state is set to S3 and the c-states and speedstep/eist/turbo boost are enabled

Thanks, I will check if I had "Hybrid Sleep" enabled in the Windows 7 when I get home.
MSI's UEFI (BIOS) doesn't have the option for S3 sleep state...
(Picture for reference only, IT"S NOT MY SYSTEM)
qZjVHKj.jpg

Either [OS] or [BIOS] for "Wake Up Event By" gave me the same issue...
And yes, I have C-States/Speedstep/eist all enabled with the exception of Turbo Boost.

My Full Specs are:

CPU:i7 4790k (OC to 4.4G with vCore locked to 1.19v as well as my Ring Bus voltage)
Mobo:MSI Z97s Krait Edition
DDR3: Adata XPG V 1.0 4GB*4 (running XMP profile: 9-9-9-24, 1600Mhz, 1.5v)
GPU: MSI GTX670 PE (Stock setting)
System Drive: Plextor M5s 128GB SSD
Peripherals: Razor DeathAdder 2013 and CM Storm Quickfire Rapid keyboard (on PS/2)
Power: XFX Core Edition 750W Pro
Case: Corsair Graphite 600t
 
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disable hybrid sleep and test I would also enable wake up by usb sometimes waking by power button can cause a conflict where it wakes and then immediately attempts to shutdown causing a hang
if that doesn't do it switch the wake up by to OS
 
disable hybrid sleep and test...

I did have the Hybrid Sleep enabled, and it seems to do the trick by disabling it.
Now my PC powered up/down from sleep much faster.
Hope the issue does not return; otherwise, I will report back to you guys.
A big thanks to y'all!
 
This is so stupid. Laptop for 250€ sleeps and wakes up perfectly. My former 6 years old rig was sleeping/waking up fine. My current system for what, 1200€ with brand new components, everything made for power efficiency. And it can't even freaking wake up from a god damn sleep. So I have it disabled which means it'll run for days if I forget to turn it off. Idiotic.
 
This is so stupid. Laptop for 250€ sleeps and wakes up perfectly. My former 6 years old rig was sleeping/waking up fine. My current system for what, 1200€ with brand new components, everything made for power efficiency. And it can't even freaking wake up from a god damn sleep. So I have it disabled which means it'll run for days if I forget to turn it off. Idiotic.

I feel as though that might warrant a separate thread from this one.
 
This is so stupid. Laptop for 250€ sleeps and wakes up perfectly. My former 6 years old rig was sleeping/waking up fine. My current system for what, 1200€ with brand new components, everything made for power efficiency. And it can't even freaking wake up from a god damn sleep. So I have it disabled which means it'll run for days if I forget to turn it off. Idiotic.

i always turn my system off but have sleep after fours set just in case i forget.. for what its worth my system isnt reliable after waking from sleep mode.. i always reboot it if it ever does..

i havnt bother investigating because i never use it.. i used it with my last system but that needed a reboot after several days of sleep mode use.. i just expect occasional problems with sleep mode :)

to be honest i dont see much need for sleep mode now we have faster solid state drives..

trog
 
At first I thought my system doesn't sleep as it should because I had an older PSU. So I bought a brand new BeQuiet top of the line unit with very latest ATX specification, so it's as up to date as possible. And nope, still not working.
 
At first I thought my system doesn't sleep as it should because I had an older PSU. So I bought a brand new BeQuiet top of the line unit with very latest ATX specification, so it's as up to date as possible. And nope, still not working.


if it cant wake from sleep, again: ram issue. you might simply need to tweak some voltages. try the simple solution and lower the ram speeds down to the slowest you can and see if it works, and go from there.
 
for future reference
hybrid sleep causes nothing but problems
first thing todo when de-bugging startup/resume issues is to turn it off
 
if it cant wake from sleep, again: ram issue. you might simply need to tweak some voltages. try the simple solution and lower the ram speeds down to the slowest you can and see if it works, and go from there.

I was running everything stock for that reason and it was just cycling like mad, failing to boot. Startup, reset, reboot, startup, reset, reboot etc.
 
Man, i want your rig because i feel like it speaks to me on a personal level for not wanting to wake up and get out of bed. You ever try flying as soon as you wake up? It's like driving with a sleeping mask on, but flying.


If its memory, check the XMP profile and settings?
 
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