Daydreaming Laptops
        Windows XP laptops continue to "sleep" from Standby mode. 
        
        
			- By Bill Boswell
- August 10, 2004
Question:My laptop users have this nagging problem. They 
        close the lid on their laptops, which puts them in Standby. When they 
        open the lid, the screen stays black. I know the machine wakes up because 
        I can make a network connection, but users can't get any screen action 
        at all. They have to do a cold restart. 
      
We're running Windows XP Service Pack 1 on a mix of Dell, HP and Toshiba 
        laptops. Not all the laptops have the problem, but it shows up on any 
        vendor's box. What's up?
        Wayne
      
      
      
         
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      Answer: It just so happens that I know the solution to 
        this problem because I was also afflicted by it. It turns out to be caused 
        by a race condition in the power management software. It's documented 
        in KB Article 833740, "The 
        monitor does not turn on when you open the lid after you configure the 
        energy-saving settings on a Windows XP-based portable computer." 
      
      The problem is supposed to be fixed in Windows XP SP2, but I'm running 
        the release candidate and I still get the symptom. Maybe the fix is in 
        the gold code that was released a couple of days ago. I'll let you know 
        as soon as I get a copy installed on a test laptop. 
      The workaround is to add a key (not a value, but a key) to the Registry. 
        Here are the details: 
      Parent key: HKLM | System | CurrentControlSet | Control 
        | GraphicsDriver
        New key: LidCloseSetPower
      As soon as I added this Registry hack on my laptop and rebooted, I did 
        not experience the symptom any longer. I haven't had any odd side effects, 
        other than a strange compulsion to watch Charmed 
        on The WB network. 
      May the Power of Three protect you.
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
            
        
        
                
                    About the Author
                    
                
                    
                    Contributing Editor Bill Boswell, MCSE, is the principal of Bill Boswell Consulting, Inc. He's the author of Inside Windows Server 2003 and Learning Exchange Server 2003 both from Addison Wesley. Bill is also Redmond magazine's "Windows Insider" columnist and a speaker at MCP Magazine's TechMentor Conferences.