Standby problem

Standby problem
NOW I can't turn my computer off in the normal way. I have to completely switch off, not go through Start, etc, otherwise it just keep restarting, even though I click on "the Off" button.

I'm no expert, but sounds suspiciously like a virus.

You need to be (much) more specific.

Are you talking about hardware buttons or software buttons? I think you are talking about both but it's very unclear.

Please make sure to differentiate between buttons that are physically located on your keyboard or computer and ones that are "software buttons" (i.e. they appear on the computer screen).

Standby problem
OK: the "sleep"button is a hardware button (not a key) on the MS Office keyboard. The "Off" and "Standby"buttons are software buttons on the screen. The "Standby" button is greyed out; the "Off" button is still in normal full color.

As for a virus - I shouldn't think it's a virus, as I am careful to keep my AV protection up to date.

I don't know what other information would be relevant, but if you have further questions, I'll do my best to answer them.

I was having some of these problems - and I have a similar set-up to yours.
I did a defragmentation, and that seemed to improve things.

Tom,

And when you press the "Off" button the computer restarts instead of going off?

When you say that neither button is working can you tell me what you mean? For example when you told me that a button is greyed out that was very good information to know. Because that means it is intentionally disabled (not by ypu, but by a setting or some software).

And can you give me a rundown on your computer enviroment? I think it's a Win 98 or XP you are running but I could be confusing it with other help requests.

Just to get the ball rolling I'm going to assume it's XP until I hear otherwise.

The standby function is often disabled by XP when there is a problem on the computer and it wants to take the precaution of avoiding standby (as this cpuld exacerbate the problem).

I believe it is either that or a setting that was changed that has desabled sleep/hibernate.

But before I try to solve that one I want to make sure I know of any additional problems (e.g. is "Off" not working as well?).

Well, in case I don't get on A2K for a while I will give a possible solution to the sleep/hibernate problem.

This solution assumes that the ability to set your computer to hibernate was turned off and gives instructions on turning it back on.

• Right click your desktop
  
• Click on "Properties"
  
• Go to the "Screensaver" tab
  
• Click the "Power" button to change the power settings.
  
• In the power settings choose the "Hibernate" tab.
  
• Verify that you have enough space on your computer to hibernate*.
  
• Make sure the box "Enable hibernation" is checked.
  
• Click " Apply" then "Ok" you way out.
  

*Your computer needs space on the harddrive to hibernate as it will write temporary files to store your hibernation information to the hard drive.

It does this to preserve the information in your RAM etc at the time, so that when you turn it back on it is restored as it was when it started to hibernate.

To verify that you have enough space to hibernate you can look at the box on the hibernate tab. It will tell you both how much free space you have and how much is needed to hibernate.

If you do not have enough space to hibernate you have a problem. It means your disk is very very full (as hibernation usually only takes about as much space as the RAM you have on the box).

Letting your hard drive get almost completely full is dangerous. Your harddrive needs empty space to perform maintenance tasks. For example defragmentation is a process in which your files are moved to a blank portion of the disk while it's being reorganized.

Your RAM settings might include use of disk spac as memory as well.

So if you are that low on space you need to rectify it. You should always keep some free space on your disk.

Standby problem
OK, Craven, here you are. I run XP Home on an hp Pavilion 9800. The specs call for 128 MB 133Mhz SDRAM Memory 1 (DIMM). (To be honest, I don't know what some of that means.) I also have an external additional hard drive, and transfer a lot of stuff right onto that; I have Quicken and that is only on the Maxtor HD.

The hard drive that is installed in the computer is 60.0 GB 5400 rpm 3.5 Ultra DMA 66 Hard Drive; as stated above, I don't altogether understand these specs.

The processor itself is 933 MHz Intel Pentium III.

I'm going to try your suggestion about Enable Hibernation.

BTW, I seem to have solved the mouse problem; I now have two Logitech cordless mice that work fairly well.

I'll keep you posted, but in the meantime, thank you and have a great holiday.

From the specs you gave me I am certain you have plenty of spec on your jard drive (unless my guess about your typical computer use is way off).

Try to enable hibernation and let us know how that goes.

Stanby problem
I tried to Enable Hibernation, but no such entry/option occurs. I followed your instructions and got to the "Power" setting. There is no "Hibernate"
tab.

In the "Power Schemes" window there is a drop-down menu listing Home/Office Desk, Portable/Laptop, Always On, and other options. When I arrived at that window the setting was for Always On. In the same window the Turn off Monitor options include "Never" which was the setting given. The same for "Turn off hard disks".

Advanced options were Always Show Icon on the Taskbar, and under Power Buttons "when I press the power button on my computer the choices are "Do nothing, Ask me what to do, and Shut down; Shut down is the setting that shows in the little window.

The third window in all this concerns the Uninterruptible Power Supply. There is a yellow danger triangle with an exclamation point in it and the message that the UPS is currently stopped. Going to Advanced shows that I actually have no UPS power supply.

I'm going to check "Hibernate" in a couple of books, but am feeling very pessimistic.

Since the only way that I can currently shut down is cold turkey, so to speak, is my computer in any danger? I know it's not ideal, but what other option is there?

Standby problem
Drive C: Used space 10.7 GB
Free space 45.0 GB
Capacity 55.8 GB

Standby problem
As best as I can tell from looking in various books and manuals, there should be a Hibernate tab, but it has disappeared, and the Power Options window is the one used for computers without any hibernate facility. But how could this have happened? And why, although the Turn Off button still shows red doesn't it work?

Standby problem
Would uninstalling/reinstalling XP be an option? And if I did that would I have to reregister?

GoBack
Does anyone know how far back a GoBack Restore Point is valid?

Tom, when you say the only way you can shut down is "cold turkey" what do you mean?

I can't answer whether that is a problem without knowing what you mean.

If you mean using the physical button on your computer then yes, that is not the best way to do it.

And when you say the "Off" button "doesn't work" what do you mean?

Remember that since you are posting a help request we know that something "doesn't work". Since things can "not work" in millions of ways we need information to try to help you.

How does it not work? Earlier I asked if it is restarting instead of turning off. Is that correct?

BTW, I answered the Go back question on your other thread.

Standby problem
Craven - The Off button is not effective, i.e. when I click on it, the computer does not turn off; it simply restarts.

The only way to turn the computer off is to unplug it.

The Standby button is greyed out and gives no response at all.

The Hibernate tab is missing from the Power Options window; it's as if the computer was never designed to hibernate at all, which is definitely not the case.

About GoBack - thanks, & I'll check the other thread.

Thanks, it's a big detail that the off function malfunctions and is not a case of nonresponsiveness.

I'll try to look for an answer but with the other problems you describe I'm wondering if restoring through Go Back is a better idea. What do you think about that? It sounds like some change on your computer has caused a lot of problems. Why not undo the changes through the restore feature and work back till a restore point prior to these problems?

As to the turning off part:

You can probably turn off the computer by holding down the physical power button on the tower for a few seconds.

It's still a bad way to turn off but is a bit better than yanking out the power cord (I recommend that you do not turn it iff till this is solved if you can avoid it).