Re-Enable Sleep Mode in Windows Vista
If you've found that your Sleep mode menu is dimmed out in Windows Vista, it's most likely because Media Center disabled the option when it feels that media is being shared. This is an easy setting to fix, but it's a little tough to locate without some assistance.
First, you'll need to open Control Panel. To make things easier, type in "power" into the search box, and then click on "Power Options". (for command line hackers, you can just type powercfg.cpl,1 in an admin mode command prompt and get right to the good stuff)
In the resulting screen, click the "Change plan settings" link underneath the currently selected plan.
In this screen, click "Change advanced power settings".
Now you'll need to browse down to Multimedia settings \ When sharing media.
Change both of the options to "Allow the computer to sleep". The menu item for Sleep should be back to normal.
Funny side note: This article was in response to an email from a reader, who signed it "Sleepless in Jersey". Thanks for the grin =)
I am not able to get the right settings for sleep and wakeup on Vista. When it does go to sleep it will not respond to the mouse or power button to come alive again. What steps should I take from the beginning to get settings right.
Per my previous message, I found this fix. Vista has been such a pain. Seems the disk clean-up tool, kills hybernation and hybrid sleep modes:
Below works, my PC now has both Hybrid Sleep and Hybernation.
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SYMPTOMS
After you use the Disk Cleanup Tool in Windows Vista, you may experience the following symptoms:
You cannot see the Hibernate option in Power Options.
When you use the sleep feature, the computer does not recover its settings if power is lost.
CAUSE
This problem occurs when the Disk Cleanup Tool disables the hibernation file. The hibernation file must be enabled to access the hybrid sleep feature and the hibernation feature in Windows Vista.
When the hibernation file is disabled, and the hybrid sleep feature is enabled, a backup of open programs and open files will not be saved to the disk when you use the sleep feature in Windows Vista. Additionally, if the computer loses power while the Windows is in sleep mode, open programs and open files will not be recovered, and any unsaved work will be lost.
RESOLUTION
To resolve this problem in Windows Vista, run the powercfg -h on command at an Administrative command prompt to enable the hibernate feature and the hybrid sleep feature. To run this command, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, click All Programs, and then click Accessories.
2. Right-click Command Prompt, click Run as administrator, type powercfg -h on, and then press ENTER.
Perfect solution!
Thanks! It solved part of the problem. Now "Hibernate" is back, but "sleep" function is still unavailable (in the shade of grey). Any suggestions?
My "Dell" computer does not go into sleep mode. I followed all the steps here and it still does not go into sleep mode. I had this problem before and now it's back again. The Dell tech that solved this problem last time said it had something to do with my DSL connection always being on. He changed some setting and it was working great again. But now for some reason it is not working again. This is all very confusing. Please help.
Thanks.
Sal - go to Device Manager and expand Network Adaptor. Select your adaptor and then the Power Management tab. De-select the "Wake on' check box(es). Good luck.