Jbasya Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 Hi Brian! I have an old laptop (running Windows 10) in my bedroom that I like to keep handy for tasks that are awkward on a tablet. It runs well for this light use, and shutting the lid to put it to sleep doesn’t cause problems (except the one I’m about to complain about). Because it’s slow to boot, I don’t want to shut it down every single time. But.... sometimes it wakes up in the middle of the night and makes noise for a few minutes. I’m a light sleeper. I’ve looked at every scheduled task I could think of, disabled a sleep wake timer setting, but the problem persists. Do you have any suggestions I could try? This isn’t urgent, obviously, just figured I’d ask. Thanks! (And happy new year!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted January 14, 2021 Share Posted January 14, 2021 Now this is a unique problem. I usually get questions (in real life) to make sure a device doesn't go to sleep, you are the direct opposite. The short answer is, I have no idea. I did find this article: How to Stop Your Computer From Randomly Waking Up From Sleep Mode. I also found this article: What to do if your laptop wakes up from sleep on its own. I'm thinking it might be some sort of scan from virus software, possibly Windows update running, even the manufacture's software that is looking for driver updates. If you are running a Cloud Service, it could be doing a maintenance cycle from there and looking to sync things. Basically, it can be anything. Even a external HD or another device that is plugged into it. If your laptop is configured for DHCP, I'm wondering if the lease time is expiring and the laptop is hunting for a new IP address? (My thinking, if this is happening, the WiFi Adapter is waking up the system, but this is a long shot. Again, I'm just throwing things out there as I think of them.) If you are familiar with the Command Prompt I want you to try this: Click the Start Button Immediately type CMD (Just start typing, don't worry about putting anything into a search box.) Now, this is the important step, the Command program should appear in the list, if you see it, great...but the important thing is to look towards the right column and look for "Run as Administrator." If you don't see Run as Administrator in the right column, that's OK, just simply right-click on the Command Program in the Start Menu and select Run as Administrator. I don't care how you accomplish this, just make sure the Command Window is opened with elevated privileges. (Yes, even though you might be logged in as an Administrator, you still need to do this.) Once the Command Prompt Box appears, type: powercfg -lastwake. If you are lucky, something obvious will appear. If not, you are going hunting for a solution. If you'd like, I want to see what powercfg comes up with. Post a screenshot here with the results. (You can use the Snip-It Tool.) Maybe we can put our heads together in figuring out what is causing this issue. Oh, type exit and hit enter to close the Command Window Box. Edit: You might have to wait to do the powercfg -lastwake command after it wakes up during the night. I know this sucks as you want to get a full night's sleep, but we need to figure out WHAT is causing the issue, and that needs to be done just after it happens. The good news is, if it's obvious, we can form a plan of attack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jbasya Posted January 14, 2021 Author Share Posted January 14, 2021 thanks Brian! I'll do this in the next few days and follow up! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jbasya Posted January 15, 2021 Author Share Posted January 15, 2021 From this morning, but I don’t think it woke up last night. Will try again when it does. Have a great weekend! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted January 16, 2021 Share Posted January 16, 2021 Yeah, it doesn't look like it woke up last night. You also want to make note of the day/date that it woke up. If this happens every Tuesday or early Wednesday Morning (2:00AM,) it could be Windows Update checking the Microsoft Servers since patches are typically released on Tuesdays. Also, if you want dead silence and are determined to keep using this laptop, you might have to upgrade/replace the Hard Drive with a SSD model. In addition to the CPU fans, you have a rotating disks in the HD and that motor can get loud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jbasya Posted January 17, 2021 Author Share Posted January 17, 2021 You might be onto something with the weekly schedule. I’ll track that. It’s ten years old though, I wouldn’t spend money on it. Will update soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jbasya Posted January 28, 2021 Author Share Posted January 28, 2021 I’m pretty sure it woke up last night but I got the same power button message as above (though I’m pretty sure I just opened the lid this morning). am I supposed to be opening it up while it’s in the middle of making its middle of the night noise? thanks ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 10 hours ago, Jbasya said: am I supposed to be opening it up while it’s in the middle of making its middle of the night noise? So you are closing the lid at night? Honestly, I'd keep it open. I'm thinking it's Windows Updates running. Last night for me would be Wednesday night, and MSFT releases patches on Tuesday. Windows Update usually kicks in around 2AM, sometimes 3AM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jbasya Posted January 29, 2021 Author Share Posted January 29, 2021 I’m in California, and I think it wakes up between 11 and 12 which is 2-3 eastern.... will check on windows auto-updates, but what’s the benefit of leaving the lid open? Never heard that before... thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 Well, if you open the lid, it will wake the laptop up from sleep, thereby contaminating the results. We want to know WHY it’s waking up on its own. If you open the lid, Windows will record that “last event” and not the 11PM PST Event. Make sense? We know that it woke up due to you opening the laptop, duh! You could set the screen saver to just turn off the display when you leave it open. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jbasya Posted January 29, 2021 Author Share Posted January 29, 2021 Ok yeah I didn’t think that part through ? I did, however, find this buried four layers deep in the control panel. Before this screenshot it was set to 2 am..... i changed it.... If you don’t hear from me again in another few days, thanks for your help!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 Yep! Windows does "Maintenance" stuff at 2AM as the default. Oh, make sure you are set to the correct Time Zone as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jbasya Posted January 31, 2021 Author Share Posted January 31, 2021 I’m definitely in the right time zone lol. Thanks for your help. Maybe I’m wrong about why this setting wasn’t in plain sight, but I’ll no longer second-guess paying extra for windows pro....thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted February 1, 2021 Share Posted February 1, 2021 Windows Pro...I prefer that version for my computers. Not only because I do more "Commercial" (i.e. Domain) stuff, it also doesn't get in your way like the Home Edition does. The Pro version is the full version of Windows, at least in my world. Sure there is "Ultimate" but Pro is just overall better in my opinion for the majority. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jbasya Posted February 1, 2021 Author Share Posted February 1, 2021 I agree completely. I like some semblance of control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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