Software & AppsOperating System

How To Wake Up a Computer From Sleep Mode

Sleep Mode Key

Sleep Mode is a power-saving feature that shuts down the monitor and other running apps after some period of inactivity. When needed again, the computer starts back up and processes the previously running programs. However, sometimes the PC fails to wake up from the sleep mode.

Quick Answer

If your computer can’t wake up from sleep mode, examine the computer power cable, update the device driver, change mouse and keyboard settings, and disable the USB selective suspend option. 

If your computer isn’t turning on properly or does not display anything, it might be stuck in sleep mode. This write-up will discuss why your computer won’t wake up from sleep mode and how you can fix this issue with our step-by-step instructions.

Why Won’t My Computer Wake Up From Sleep Mode?

If your computer is not waking up from sleep mode, this usually happens for the following reasons.

  • Monitor power cable is loose or damaged.
  • The mouse and keyboard are not allowed to wake up your PC from sleep mode.
  • You are using outdated device drivers.
  • USB selective suspend enabled on your device.

Troubleshooting Sleep Mode

Waking your computer is a very straightforward process unless other serious issues are going on with the system. Our step-by-step process will ensure that you can easily troubleshoot all the issues that prevent your computer from being stuck in hibernation.

If you have tried moving or clicking the mouse, pressing any key on the keyboard, or pressing the power button and the issue persists, here are the five troubleshooting methods for waking a computer from sleep mode.

Method #1: Reboot the Computer

Sometimes restarting a computer that won’t wake up from sleep mode could be the best way to fix it. To do this:

  1. Find the power button on the laptop or CPU.
  2. Open the menu and click on the “Restart” or “Shutdown” option.
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  3. Finally, recheck sleep mode and verify that your computer can wake up this time.
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If the screen is completely off, press and hold the power button for at least 5 minutes until your computer automatically shuts down. Next, boot from “Safe Mode” once and see if the sleep mode feature is functioning properly.

Method #2: Examine the Power Cable

A loosely connected or damaged power cable will not let your monitor function properly on a desktop computer. To fix the issue, examine the power cable in the following way.

  1. First, ensure the monitor power cable is firmly attached to the back of the monitor and the wall outlet.
  2. If all seems good, check for any visible damage to the cable.
  3. Finally, replace the damaged cable with a new one and see if you can see your computer desktop.

Method #3: Allow Mouse and Keyboard To Wake Up the Computer

You can allow your mouse and keyboard to wake your computer up from sleep in seconds just by wiggling the mouse or pressing the keys. To do this:

  1. Open “Device Manager” on your computer.
  2. Locate the “Keyboard” or “Mouse” option.
  3. Now, navigate to HID Keyboard Device/HID Mouse > Properties > Power Management.
  4. Finally, select the “Allow This Device To Wake the Computer” option.
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To check the devices that support the feature to wake up the computer from sleep mode, open “Command Prompt” and type powercfg -devicequery wake_from_any“.

Method #4: Update Your Device Drivers

Outdated device drivers can make your computer lag causing many other performance problems, including not waking up from the sleep mode.

Update the device drivers through the following instructions.

  1. Go to the search bar on the taskbar and type “Device Manager.”
  2. Open the “Device Manager,” find the device missing the latest driver; right-click to select it.
  3. Next, choose the “Search Automatically for the Updated Driver” option.
  4. Now, click on the “Update Driver” option and see if this fixes your issue. 
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Ensure that your operating system is also updated to fix the issue permanently.

Method #5: Disable USB Select Suspend

USB Selective Suspend feature can prevent your USB-connected keyboard and mouse from waking up your computer from sleep mode.

Follow these steps given below to change the USB device settings.

  1. Open “Control Panel” and choose “Hardware and Sound.”
  2. Select “Power Options,” then click on “Change Plan Settings.”
  3. Go to the “Change Advanced Power Settings” option.
  4. Finally, locate the “USB Selective Suspend Setting” option and disable it.
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You can also enter BIOS setup and disable the “Block Sleep” option for USB devices from there.

Summary

In this guide about waking your computer from sleep mode, we have discussed the reasons for the issue and explored different methods that can help your computer come out of hibernation quickly.

We hope that your problem is resolved now and you can carry on with the tasks on your computer. 

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