20 Fixes: Computer Won’t Wake Up From Sleep

It’s not always the best idea to turn off your Windows computer, especially if you want to boost your productivity by keeping your documents and files running in the background so you can immediately start work where you left off.

Sleep mode is an effective power option for your device because it allows you to resume your work exactly where you halted in case you won’t be away from your computer for an extended period of time.

Any open windows and their original state are kept in your PC’s RAM, and if your battery dies while in sleep mode, your PC will immediately save your memory state onto the hard drive and restart when it is plugged back in.

To instantly get your computer back up and running, you usually only need to press a keyboard key or move your mouse. However, there are times when your computer gets stuck and is unable to resume its sleep despite constantly pressing the keyboard or mouse buttons. 

If you do not use your device for a long period of time, your computer will not come back from Sleep Mode until you hold the power button down and force it to restart.

If you’re facing similar issues with your system, read on to find out the possible causes and the 20 Best Ways to Fix ‘Computer Won’t Wake Up From Sleep’ error.

The problem may arise if one or more of the following criteria are met:

1. Device drivers and chipset are either not updated or corrupted.
2. Your computer is running an old, outdated version of Windows. 
3. BIOS requires an updating. Your computer’s Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) system could be turning off the power to the port where the input device is plugged in.
4. Your Power Option settings are incorrect.
5. You are using a system that does not support recovery through Bluetooth connection.
6. hiberfil.sys file is old and corrupted
7. Corrupt system files and/or applications.
8. Keyboard keys are not set to wake up the computer when pressed.

While these are the most common causes that can lead up to the problem, there are several other factors that may need to be looked into. Let us now get down to all the possible options to fix the issue:

20 Best Ways to Fix Computer Won’t Wake Up from Sleep Mode or Hibernation in Windows

1. Restart Your Computer
2. Using the Keyboard Settings
3. Using the Mouse Settings
4. Configure Registry Settings
5. Create or Modify Power Plan
6. Use the Command Line
7. Uninstall or Modify Display Drivers
8. Check For Windows Update
9. Check USB Ports Settings 
10. Disable Fast Startup Feature
11. Using the Power Troubleshooter App
12. Check Advanced Power Settings
13. Modify Hibernate Option
14. Update BIOS
15. Change USB Wake Support Settings
16. Perform a System File Checker Scan
17. Perform a System Restore
18. Perform a Clean Boot
19. Make a New User Profile
20. Reinstall Your Operating System 

Fix Computer Won’t Wake Up from Sleep Mode or Hibernation in Windows

Restart Your Computer

To start off, your computer needs a reboot for you to be able to look through the possible issues. In case your computer is stuck on a blank screen or is frozen, you will need to perform a force restart to get it back on.

Option 1: To force restart the computer, hold down the Power button for a few seconds, wait for at least 30 seconds in between, and then turn the power back on normally. 

Option 2: In case your computer screen has the display turned on but it’s frozen or hung up, then press Ctrl+Alt+Delete → to choose the Restart option from the dropdown menu after clicking on the bottom right Power icon.

Reassign the Sleep Key

 If your USB keyboard won’t wake up the computer and you don’t have any dedicated keyboard button for Sleep mode, then follow the below steps to assign a key:

1. In case you have Windows 7 or Windows Vista operating systems on your computer, go to Start → type “keyboard” in the search pane → choose Keyboard or Microsoft Keyboard the search results

(For Windows XP, go to Run → type “control keyboard” → click OK.)

2. To use the Reassign a Key wizard, double-click the key you want to change on the Key Settings tab.
3. Click Next after selecting the Start a Program, Web Page, or File option.
4. To get the key to run Sleep mode, follow the below command:

rundll32.exe powrprof.dll
SetSuspendState 

(Make sure to keep a space before and after powrprof.dll)

For Windows 10 and later, there is no direct method in the Settings to reassign the keys,  so you will have to download a third-party or additional software like Microsoft PowerToys or SharpKeys to assign a key. 

In PowerToys, you can assign the key you want to change under the Key: option in the Remap keys tab and then choose your desired key under Mapped To: (you can also choose multiple key combinations) then click OK.

Whether Keyboard won’t wake up your Windows computer?  

1. Type “keyboard” in the search box, then select the Keyboard option under the Settings.

2. In the Keyboard Properties tab, go to Hardware and click on Properties at the bottom right corner.

3. In the General tab, click on Change settings.

4. Now, go to the Power Management tab and make sure that “Allow this device to wake the computer” box is checked out.

5. Click OK.
6. Using the Mouse Settings 

What if the mouse won’t wake up your Windows computer? 

To check whether your mouse is allowed to switch your computer back from sleep, follow the below steps:

1. Type ‘device manager’ in the search bar, and click on Device Manager.
2. Under the Device Manager, select ‘Mice and other pointing devices‘.

3. Right click on your pointing device and then select Properties. 

4. In the mouse properties tab, go to Power Management → Check the box on ‘Allow this device to wake the computer’. Click OK.

Configure Registry Settings

CsEnabled or Connected Standby registry key option controls and effectively manages the overall power consumption of your computer and maximizes system performance. 

To modify your registry settings and enable this option, follow the below steps:

Note: Make sure to backup your registry before performing any changes to it.

1. Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+R to start the Run command window.

2. Type in ‘regedit’ in the Open: tab and click OK.

3. In the Registry Editor tab, head over to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power from the left navigation pane.

4. Double-click on CsEnabled on the right-side pane to open the DWORD dialog box. 

5. Under Value Data, type the value 0 and then click OK.

6. Restart to save the changes.

Create or Modify Power Plan

Often, errors in your computer’s power plan settings can also potentially create Windows startup issues, such as the system not coming back from sleep mode and the screen going black. To solve sort of issue, it’s highly recommended to either create a new plan or restore the power plan to its default settings.

Follow the below steps to change the Power Plan settings:

1. Open the Control Panel from the Settings or search bar. Select the Power Options from the Control Panel window.

2. Under Power Options, choose ‘Change when the computer sleeps’ from the left pane.

3. At the bottom left corner, select ‘Restore default settings for this plan’ and then click on ‘Yes’ to save the changes. 

Alternatively, you can choose ‘Create a power plan’ from Power Options and then follow the same steps mentioned above.

Use the Command line

You can use the command line to find out all the different possible causes that might have led to the issue.

1. Type ‘cmd’ in the search bar and right click on ‘Run as administrator’.
2. In the command dialog box, type ‘powercfg -lastwake’ and hit Enter. This will show up all the applications that last woke up your computer. Type in powercfg -devicequery wake_armed to look up all the connected devices that might have woken up your computer. 

3. You can modify the settings for the respective apps and devices that you do or don’t want to affect your computer.
4. You can also track and set up the wake time of your computer with ‘powercfg -waketimers’.

Uninstall or Modify Display Drivers 

There’s also a possibility that the display driver you installed isn’t compatible with the current Windows version of your system, resulting in Windows 10 not waking up from sleep.

Follow the below steps to update the display drivers or adapters:

1. Use the keyboard shortcut Windows icon+R to open the Run dialog box. 
2. Type in devmgmt.msc to open the Device Manager. Or else, you can type ‘device manager’ in the search box for the same.
3. In Device Manager, expand the ‘Display adapters’ option and right-click on your installed display drivers.

4. From the pop-up menu, choose ‘Update driver’. Here, you can either manually download and load the drivers or let Windows do it for you.

Check Windows Update

Another reason your computer might be facing sleep mode issues is due to a glitch caused by the last Windows update or an outdated version of Windows. You can change the schedule of your device updates or try stopping them temporarily to see if it fixes the issue. Follow the below steps to go ahead:

1. Go to the search bar and type in ‘services.msc’. 
2. This will open up the Services window, scroll down to Windows Update under Name.
3. Right-click and select ‘Stop’. Now again right click and choose ‘Start’ then ‘Restart’.

4. Now, head over to Windows Update and check for the new updates and install them.
5. Restart your computer to check if it fixes the issue. 
6. To uninstall an update, go to Settings → Update & Security → Windows Update →

Advanced Options. In Update History, delete a particular update and you’re done.

Modify USB Ports Settings 

While your hp or dell computer goes to sleep and won’t wake up, it’s possible that it turns off the connection to its USB root hub terminal temporarily to save power. When you click your mouse or hit a keyboard button in these situations, it’s unlikely to make a difference as the connection is broken.

Option: 1

To stop your computer from shutting down the USB Ports, follow these steps below:

1. Hold down Windows icon+R → type in ‘devmgmt.msc’ → Open Device Manager.
2. Expand the ‘Universal Serial Bus controllers’ and right-click on any device under it. Now, go to Power Management in the General tab → remove the check on ‘Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power’. Then, click OK. 

3. Repeat the step with each of the devices listed under USB controllers. Reboot and check if it fixed the issue.

Option: 2

You can also check your computer’s Power Plan to fix your USB Ports settings with the below steps:

1. Go to Settings → System → Power & sleep → choose ‘Additional power settings’.
2. Now, on the Control Panel → Power Options window, go to ‘Change advanced power settings’ at the bottom. 

3. Now, in the Power Options dialog box, expand the ‘USB settings’, then disable ‘USB selective suspend setting‘ . Change this setting to Disabled and then click OK.

Modify Fast Startup Feature

Fast Startup is a configuration option that allows the computer to restart more quickly after it has been shut down.

However, it stops the computer from shutting down like usual and may cause compatibility issues with systems that do not have a sleep mode option. If Fast Startup is enabled, restarting following a complete shutdown may lead to false sleep mode errors.

To disable the Fast Startup feature, follow the below steps:

1. Go to Control Panel → Power Options → System Settings
2. Scroll down to Shutdown settings and remove the tick next to ‘Turn on Fast startup (recommended)’ and then click on ‘Save changes’.

Using the Power Troubleshoot Option

Windows came up with a built-in Troubleshooter option to automatically find out and fix any issues arising out of your computer’s power management and settings, so it’s helpful to use it once in a while.

To run the troubleshooting process, follow the steps below:

1. Open the Settings app by pressing down the keyboard shortcut Windows icon+I
2. Head over to Update & Security → Troubleshoot. Scroll down and click on Power → ‘Run the troubleshooter’

3. Alternatively, you can go to Control Panel → Power → click on ‘Next’ to begin with the troubleshooter. 

Check Advanced Power Settings 

You can choose to manually modify the Sleep settings to fix the possible issues by following the below steps:

1. Head to Control Panel → Power Options → select ‘Choose when to turn off the display’.
2. Now, click on ‘Change advanced power settings’. Scroll down to ‘Sleep’ and expand the selection. 

3. You can modify these options as per your requirements so you don’t have to face any problems when you leave your computer for long hours in sleep mode.
4. Click on Apply and then OK to save your choice.

Modify Hibernate Option

Sometimes, hibernation can also cause certain issues like BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) that occur after the computer comes back from standby or hibernate due to certain glitches in the power management of your computer system. This can also affect the sleep settings.

To disable the hibernate option in your computer, follow the below steps:

1. Go to search, type ‘cmd’ → right click on command prompt and select ‘Run as administrator’.
2. In the command prompt window, type in ‘powercfg.exe /hibernate off’ → hit Enter.

Update BIOS

BIOS has an important role in keeping your system running perfectly without any issues. It can fix several arbitrary system issues and hardware malfunctions including your RAM or CPU.

It’s important to keep BIOS well updated to be able to identify new hardware and to increase the stability and performance of your system.

To check the version of your BIOS, follow the below steps:

1. Go to Control Panel → Administrative Tools → System Information. Here you can see all the details about your computer including the operating system, RAM, BIOS version/last updated date, etc.

2. To update BIOS, you need to go to your system manufacturer’s website or support assistant. For example, in HP systems, you need to locate the Software and Driver Downloads page on their website → select BIOS and look up updates, if available. 

Then click on Download → Next → Save to finish saving the updated file. You can then browse the file and install BIOS. Alternatively, you can use the BIOS Update utility software for your manufacturer.

Change USB Wake Support Settings 

In case you choose to disable the USB Wake Support option, your computer will get notified to help save power by switching off the connections to any USB root hub devices while in hibernation or sleep mode.

To enable the USB Wake Support option, follow the below steps:

1. Turn off your computer system. 
2. Press the power button and hold down F2 for a few seconds. This will open up BIOS settings.
3. Head over to Power Management → Wake Up Support.
4. Using the keyboard, scroll down to USB Wake Support and press Enter to change it to ‘Enabled’.

5. Now, click on ‘Save and Exit’ or press F10 to save the changes and start up your computer. 

Perform a System File Checker Scan

The System File Checker (SFC) utility included with Windows may be useful to scan your computer’s files to check whether they have been modified/tampered with or corrupted. If a file is modified, it will automatically replace it with the updated version.

Follow the below steps to perform a System File Checker scan:

1. Type in ‘cmd’ in the search bar and right-click on the command prompt, then choose ‘Run as administrator’ to begin.
2. In the command prompt window, type in ‘sfc /scannow’ and tap Enter. This will trigger a full system scan for any possible system changes and it might take a while to complete. When it’s done, check if the issue is resolved. 

Perform a System Restore

System Restore can come in handy when you decide to make new changes in your system, including downloading new software/applications, drivers, etc. but want to make sure they don’t cause any problems with your default system settings. A system restores will keep your regular files and documents but will remove any new software or drivers downloaded since your last restore point.

To begin with, a system restores, follow the below steps:

1. Press the Start button, then type control panel in the search bar next to the Start button on the taskbar, now choose Control Panel app from the results. 
2. Now, go to Recovery  → Open System Restore. Choose your preferred restore point relevant to the software or app downloads you think might be causing the problem, then click Next and then Finish.

Perform a Clean Boot

MSConfig is a Windows utility to control and manage software, services, or drivers that are set to run during the startup process. It can also help solve certain app conflicts issues to stop their interference with each other and several boot-related issues.

To get started with a clean boot with MSConfig utility, follow the below steps:

1. In the search box, type in ‘msconfig’ and hit Enter. 
2. It will open a System Configuration dialog box. Go to the Services tab.

3. Now, under the Services tab, tick the box next to ‘Hide all Microsoft services’. Then click Disable all. 

4. Now go to the Startup tab and check the boxes next to startup items and then click Disable all. Next, click on OK to save the changes.

Make a New User Profile

To create a new user profile to start afresh, follow the below steps:

1. Go to Settings app → click on Accounts  → select Family & other users from the left. Now, choose to Add someone else to this PC under ‘Other users. Enter the email address and click OK  → Finish setting up the account. 

2. Reboot your computer and see if you can see two separate accounts on the lock screen during the startup, tap on your new account icon and start the system. Check if the issue is still persistent. 

Reinstall Your Operating System 

If you have made it down this far, that only means that none of the above-mentioned troubleshooting steps worked out for you and you’re looking for an ultimate solution that fixes the issue, once and for all. You should need to create a recovery media of backup settings, files, and folders 

To perform a system reset, follow the below steps:

1. Go to Start  → Reset this PC → choose ‘Keep my files’ if you want Windows to keep your files saved or else choose ‘Remove everything’.

2. Once you have created a recovery media, insert it on to the USB port or a DVD slot in your system. 
3. Switch off your computer. 
4. Now, press the power button and repeatedly press F12 at startup to open up the Boot menu. Under Choose an option, select Troubleshoot. 

5. Now, under Troubleshoot, click on ‘Recover from a drive’. or ‘Use a device’ as per your preferred method.

6. It will show up two options, whether you want to keep your files or fully clean the drive on your system.

After selecting the methods, choose the Recover option to begin reinstalling your operating system. 

Here, we conclude our troubleshooting guide that should resolve your Windows sleep mode problem. In case the issue still remains, you should consult Windows support or a computer technician.