Windows 7 does not 'wake up' from Sleep mode

Question

I'm new to Windows 7, so I don't know if this is normal.

When the computer is idle for 30 minutes, the screen goes black and no key pressing or mouse movement will bring the computer out of standby. The computer is still running (fans and hard drive noise) but it will not respond and the screen remains black. The only way to get a response is to press and hold the power button until it goes off, then switch it back on. When it turns on it says "Resuming Windows" and then goes black again.

1. Is this normal?
2. Can the time-out delay be increased?
3. Is there a better workaround than switching the PC on and off?

Answer 1

In my experience, this is caused by a problem with Hibernation or Hybrid Sleep. To help diagnose the problem, you can edit your power settings:

• Open the Control Panel and navigate to:

  Control Panel\Hardware and Sound\Power Options
  

• Click Change plan settings to the right of the active power plan (in bold).

• Click Change advanced power settings

• In Power Options under Sleep, try changing the settings to Never or Off.