How to Solve Sleep Mode Problems on a Dell Computer

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Solve Sleep Mode Problems on a Dell Computer

When Microsoft patched the power-saving features of Windows XP Service Pack 3 and Windows Vista, certain Dell computers were affected by various issues where the computers would go into sleep mode and be unable to come out of it or error out and not go into sleep mode. Sometimes the computers would go into sleep mode and wake up only when a USB mouse was jostled. Pressing keys on the keyboard would not wake the computer because the keyboard would stop functioning.

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Step 1

Open the Dell support page on your Internet browser. See the Resources section for a link. Make sure to have your seven-digit alphanumeric (letters and numbers) service tag. Place that information into the "Choose by Service Tag" option.

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Step 2

Make sure that the option for the "Operating System" is correct.

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Step 3

Go to "+Bios" and click on the "+" symbol. Click on "Download" at the far right, save and run the downloaded file.

Step 4

Restart your computer after installing the file.

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Step 5

Test the "Power-saving" feature once you have rebooted.

Step 6

Go to "Display Properties" by right-clicking in an open area on your desktop and left-clicking on "Properties." Click on the "Settings" tab.

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Step 7

Check if the "Display" midway down is saying "Plug and Play Monitor on..." If it is not, go to the "Device Manager." Left-click on the "X" in the top right corner of the "Display Properties" menu.

Step 8

Go to "Start," left-click, and then open the "Control Panel" (or "Settings" and then "Control Panel" depending on your system is set up).

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Step 9

Select "System," go to the "Hardware" tab, and left-click on it. Left-click on "Device Manager" about 1/3 of the way down that page.

Step 10

Look at "Monitors" and see a "+" symbol. Left-click on it once and see if it has an exclamation point,"!," with a yellow circle around it. If it does, right-click on the "Plug and Play Monitor" and left-click on "Update Driver."

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Step 11

Choose "Yes, this time only" and then left-click on "Next." The wizard will update the monitor drivers automatically, if possible. Restart if necessary once updated.

Step 12

Test the"Sleep" mode again. The computer should go into sleep mode and then wake up successfully.

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Step 13

Left-click on "Start" and then "Control Panel" (or "Settings" and then "Control Panel," depending on your system's setup).

Step 14

Double-click on "Power Options" to open it. Open the "Hibernate" tab and click on "Enable Hibernate." You may have to reboot again.

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Step 15

Test the "Sleep" mode function again.

Step 16

Open the Dell support page in your Internet browser. See the Resources section for a link. Make sure to have your seven-digit alphanumeric service tag. Place that information into the "Choose by Service Tag" option.

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Step 17

Make sure that the option for the "Operating System" is correct. Go to "+Bios" and click on the "+" symbol. Click on "Download" on the far right. Save and run the downloaded file.

Step 18

Restart the computer after installing the file.

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Step 19

Test the "Power-saving" feature once you have rebooted.

Step 20

Reboot the system and press "F2" or "Del" to get into Bios. Make sure that the "Legacy USB" option is enabled.

Step 21

Save and exit the Bios and start Windows Vista. Go to "Start" and then "Control Panel."

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Step 22

"Switch to Classic View" on the left side. Click on "Power Options."

Step 23

Click "Change Plan Settings" and then "Change Advanced Power Settings."

Step 24

Set the "Sleep>Sleep After" to "Never."

Step 25

Set the "Sleep>Allow Hybrid Sleep" to "Never."

Step 26

Set the "Sleep> Hibernate After" to one minute after the monitor and hard drive are set to turn off.

Step 27

Set the "Power" button and "Lid>Start" menu power button" to "Hibernate."

Step 28

Restart the computer and test the "Power Sleep" mode.

Step 29

Find the "Windows" sidebar at the bottom right corner. Right-click on it to disable it.

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Step 30

Test the "Sleep" mode again. If the computer does go to sleep, enable the "Windows" sidebar by going into the "Control Panel" and enabling it again.

Step 31

Start turning off each gadget one by one, and test the "Sleep" mode to see which gadget is causing the problem.

Step 32

Look at the system and see if you have a "Google" sidebar." If you do have Google sidebar, then pick only one to use, or choose not to use either of them.

Step 33

To remove the "Google" sidebar, left-click on "Start," then left-click on "Control Panel." Double-click on "Programs and Features." Wait for the computer to populate installed software on your computer. Find the "Google" sidebar and remove it by left clicking on it and left click "Uninstall."

Step 34

If you want to remove the "Windows" sidebar, right-click on it, left-click on properties to open "Properties," then remove the check from the "Start Sidebar When Windows Starts," selection and click "OK."

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