Imagine you’re all prepared with your coffee, ready to work on your computer, and your Windows 10 PC falls asleep against your instructions. Sometimes, this flaw becomes inconvenient by posing a serious threat to productivity as it unexpectedly shuts down during critical tasks.
It is because of faulty power settings, outdated GPU drivers, turning off the screen saver, registry settings, outdated adapter drivers, or corrupted system files. Windows 10 is designed to conserve energy by putting your laptop or PC to sleep if idle for a specific time.
These settings may often get corrupted, and Windows sleeps even if you have disabled the sleep options. To fix such an issue, you need a technical approach. Here are a few methods to resolve the issue.
Faulty Power Settings
Even if you have Windows 10 configured to never go to sleep, the operating system may still do so on occasion. It may be due to an issue with the power plan or the way the settings for the power plan are configured.
- How To Fix It?
Click on “Control Panel” from the start menu to open it. Click “Hardware and Sound” and then “Power Options.” Choose your power plan and click “Change Plan Settings.” Check that “Put the computer to sleep” is set to “Never” for both “On battery” and “Plugged in” (if it’s a laptop).
If not, put them where they should be. Now, click “Change advanced power settings.” In the new window, expand the “Sleep” menu and make sure that “Sleep after” and “Hibernate after” are both set to “Never” for both “On battery” and “Plugged in.” Then click “Apply” and “OK.”
Outdated GPU Drivers
If the drivers for the graphics card are out of date or do not work well together, Windows 10 may also go into sleep mode unexpectedly. It can happen if the drivers are incompatible.
- How To Fix It?
Right-click the “Start” button and choose “Device Manager.” Expand “Display adapters,” right-click on your graphics card, and choose “Update driver.” Select “Search automatically for updated driver software” and wait for the process to finish.
If Windows can’t find a new driver, look for one on the device’s maker’s website and follow the instructions. If adding a new driver doesn’t solve the problem, try removing the driver and installing it again.
Turn Off The Screen Saver
It may appear that the computer will sleep when a screensaver is activated. Additionally, screensavers tend to get stuck on the screen, and when this happens, you consider yourself sleeping or hibernating. When you attempt to move your cursor, this problem becomes even more severe.
- How To Fix It?
Right-click on your desktop screen and choose “Personalize.” Choose “Lock screen” in the left pane, and then click “Screen saver settings.” Make sure that “Screen saver” is set to “(None)” and that “On resume, display logon screen” is not checked in the new window. Then click “Apply” and “OK.”
Registry Settings
The Windows Registry is a hierarchical database that stores low-level settings for the operating system and apps that use the registry. The user interface, the kernel, the services, the Security Accounts Manager, and the device drivers can all use the register.
Even if you have set the sleep settings to “Never,” your computer might still go to sleep if there are wrong or confusing values in the Windows Registry, in some cases, the registry could override your power management settings.
- How To Fix It?
To open the Run box, press Win + R. Press Enter after typing “regedit” to open the Registry Editor. (Be careful when making changes here because making a mistake could make the system unstable.)
Now go to “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power\PowerSettings\238C9FA8-0AAD-41ED-83F4-97BE242C8F20\7bc4a2f9-d8fc-4469-b07b-33eb785aaca0”
Click twice on “Attributes.” Change the “Value data” from 1 (or whatever it is) to 2 in the new window and hit “OK.” Close the record book.
Update Adapter Drivers
Update your adapter drivers. If your device drivers are outdated or broken, your laptop might not follow the Power settings properly. So, updating the drivers for your device could fix the problem. Here’s how to change the drivers for your adapter.
- How To Fix It?
Press the Windows key + X, then choose “Device Manager.” Expand the “Batteries” group and select “AC adapter”. Click “Update driver” after right-clicking on your display adapter driver.
You will be given two options: “Search automatically for updated driver software” or “Browse my computer for driver software.” Choose the first if you want Windows to automatically look for the driver. If you manually downloaded the driver from the manufacturer’s website and want to install it, choose the second choice.
Remember that it’s always best to get the drivers from the manufacturer’s official website for the best results. Also, you should update your device drivers regularly, not just the display and network connections.
Corrupted System Files
Corrupt system files can occasionally be the cause of this issue. If the power setting files are damaged, Windows 10 might be unable to read the commands properly. So, running a System File Checker (SFC) check can be a good idea.
- How To Fix It?
Running an SFC scan detects and repairs the corrupted and broken files. Press the Windows key + X, then choose “Command Prompt (Admin).” Type “sfc /scannow” in the Command Prompt window and press Enter. The SFC check will begin, which could take a while. Wait for the process to finish, and then turn your computer back on.
Conclusion
Even with sleep settings set to ‘never,’ Windows 10 problems with sleep can be caused by various factors. These can range from old GPU drivers, faulty power settings, registry settings, and screen saver settings to old adapter drivers and corrupted system files.
Each of these potential causes requires a different approach to troubleshooting. For example, changing the power selection on the control panel is necessary to prevent faulty power settings. Older GPU drivers and adapter drivers call for updates from Device Manager. The screen saver issue can be fixed by enabling it using the ‘Personalize’ option from the desktop.
Registry setup requires careful maintenance of the registry editor, and you may need to perform System File Checker (SFC) scans of the corrupted system. Although any user can complete this step, it’s important to remember that some tasks, like changing registry settings and running SFC scans, call for caution due to the possibility of system failure, so in some cases, it can be useful to use professional assistance.
Hopefully, by following these tips, users can prevent their Windows 10 system from falling asleep unexpectedly, thus increasing their overall performance and user experience.
Hey, I’m Hammad. I write for this website to help you with the IT advice about PC, RAM, CPU, Motherboard, PSU, and other PC components.
I will provide detailed guides with images, and explain step by step so you can understand the process. Check all my articles here.
