How to
Troubleshoot the Laptop that Won’t Wake Up
A wake-up problem arises when
you put the laptop to sleep (in Stand By mode) or hibernate it. When you
attempt to rouse the laptop, nothing happens. The cause may be power management
issues or monitor failure. Here’s how to troubleshoot both possible problems:
Try pressing the Ctrl key on
the laptop. When pressing a key on the keyboard doesn’t work, press the
laptop’s Power button. Sometimes, that simple action thrusts the laptop back to
life.
Check for a separate Sleep
button on your laptop. The Sleep button may be required in order to wake up the
machine, as ironic as that sounds.
If all else fails, press and
hold the Power button until the system turns off. Then, restart the laptop. If
that fixes the symptoms, you need to update your power management drivers. If
not, skip to checking the display.
Update
the power management drivers
To fix the disease, confirm
that the laptop is using the most current version of the power management
software. If not, update the drivers. Follow these steps:
1.
Press Win+Break.
The
System window appears.
2.
Open the Device Manager.
·
In Windows 7 and Vista, click the link on the left side of the
window: Device Manager. In Windows Vista, also click Continue or type the
administrator’s password.
·
In Windows XP, click the Hardware tab. Then click the Device
Manager button.
3.
Click the plus sign (+) next to System
Devices.
4.
Right-click Microsoft ACPI-Compliant
System.
5.
Choose Update Driver Software.
6.
Heed the instructions onscreen.
Also try repeating these
directions, but use the item titled Microsoft ACPI-Compliant Embedded
Controller in Step 5.
If this method doesn’t work,
you must visit the laptop manufacturer’s website. Search the Support section
for your PC’s make and model for any new power management drivers.
Do not
remove any ACPI entries, because doing so may disable some of your laptop’s
power management features, such as the ability to sleep the laptop by pressing
the Power button. It's a real
pain to reinstall these
features.
Check the
laptop display
Sometimes, the power lamps are
lit but the laptop still appears to be dead or sleeping. As long as the power
lamps are up, there may still be hope.
Press the Caps Lock key. The
Caps Lock lamp on the laptop should blink on and off as you press the key. If
so, the display may have a problem.
Next, check the display’s
brightness settings. If the brightness level is turned down too much, the
screen will be dark, especially in a bright room or in direct sunlight. Try
turning up the brightness all the way to see whether the screen glows.
Finally, plug an external
monitor into the laptop’s monitor port. If the external monitor works, the
problem is with the laptop’s display only, not with the laptop’s display
adapter or other internal hardware.
Sadly, you cannot go to the
store and buy another “laptop monitor.” Because the laptop and monitor are the
same thing, fixing the monitor (or the display adapter) involves replacing
major laptop components. You must return the laptop to the dealer for repair.
Source: www.dummies.com
