# Computer isn't waking up from sleep properly



## Psychotron7x2 (Feb 16, 2013)

Hi everyone

The problem I'm experiencing with my PC is as follows: About 3 years ago I got a pre-built PC. It is a desktop Gateway FX6831 Gateway Support - FX6831 Gateway FX6831 Desktop Series

When I first bought it, it had Windows 7 as the OS. Last year I got over anxious and upgraded to Windows 8. Since then I have had numerous problems with my computer waking up on it's own and not waking up properly. 

The problem I would like to deal with is why when I wake up my PC from sleep mode does my monitor, mouse and keyboard not work? This happens about 25% I wake my computer up, otherwise it wakes up normally. The other 25% I wake up my computer, either by moving my mouse or pressing the start button, all the lights on my keyboard and mouse flicker on for a brief second and shut off OR they don't come on at all and no amount of key presses or clicking around does anything to make the computer respond. The monitor does absolutely nothing when this happens, it just sits in standby. The only thing to do from here is hold down the start button until my PC shuts off and restart it, which is horrible for my computer and very time consuming to reboot so often. 

This never happened with Windows 7, so I'm very baffled. Does anyone have any bright ideas about how I can stop this from happening again? Thank you very much for your help. 
http://support.gateway.com/s/desktop/2010/gateway/fx/fx6831/FX6831nv.shtml


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## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

It sounds like there maybe a bios update for Windows 8 for that pc, have you checked the Gateway website for same?


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## Psychotron7x2 (Feb 16, 2013)

I went to Gateway.com > Support > Drivers & Downloads > put in my computer's model number > clicked the BIOS tab

The only BIOS update is from 2010 and it says it is to improve performance, nothing to do with Windows 8 and I believe I already installed it years ago. All the drivers in the drivers section are from 2009, which is before I got my system so I think my computer is up to date.


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## OldGrayGary (Jun 29, 2006)

Did you do an in-place upgrade install or a "custom" (clean-upgrade onto its own partition) install? 

An option when upgrading is to choose Custom, and let Windows 8 reformat the hard drive and install fresh. Of course, that requires that you backup all your personal data beforehand, and reinstall all your programs afterwards. But it does tend to avoid hard-to-fix problems such as your sleep/hibernate problems. If you are running an Acer/Gateway power-utility such as "Eco mode" or whatever, consider looking for Windows 8 compatible updates for it, or uninstalling it if no updates are available. The power options in Windows 8 are flexible, and should be able to meet your needs without having to use a power utility from the manufacturer.

Best of luck
. . . Gary


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## Psychotron7x2 (Feb 16, 2013)

Thanks Gary,

I only upgraded to Windows 8, I didn't do a fresh install. However, when I first upgraded to Windows 8, this problem happened right away and I had to restart my computer and it corrupted my hard drive. I ended up getting my hard drive wiped, and the tech I brought it to put a fresh copy of Windows 7 and then I upgraded to Windows 8 and the problem still keeps happening. 

And as far as I can tell there isn't a Gateway program that manages power options, I only use the options available in Windows.

I really think this is a bug with one of the settings in BIOS. If I knew which one was the culprit I would go in and disable it but I don't have any idea.


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## OldGrayGary (Jun 29, 2006)

I'm a little surprised that there isn't a Bios update for your model, to help the computer get along better with Windows 8. We happen to have a Gateway laptop in our family that is about two and a-half years old (in the NV series), and it has several recent Bios updates as recent as December 13, 2012. The Gateway site is a little crazy to navigate -- why not take another look from time to time, just to see if any updates are added.
_______________

The Gateway applications that might be failing on resume might include:
Acer Updater
Application (Screensaver)
WebCam application
ePower Management application
Launch Manager application 
Turbo Boost application

Those are the names as listed on the Gateway support pages. A fair number don't have updates any earlier than 2010 = so their Windows 8 compatibility is far from a lock. If any have recent updates, take advantage of those. For those with no updates, consider uninstalling those.
_______________

I did notice at least one case of a computer having trouble resuming from sleep/hibernation, that was resolved by downloading the latest Windows 8 Intel Rapid Storage Technology driver. If your Gateway has an Intel chipset, you can check out that strategy.
_______________

Check around in Device Manager (look and see what drivers look ancient), and Event Viewer (for any error messages just before/after the resume problems).

I'll check back again later on & see if you've had any luck.
. . . Gary


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## Psychotron7x2 (Feb 16, 2013)

I think I may have fixed it. I went to the Logitech website and updated the drivers/software for my gaming mouse and since then my computer is waking up totally normal. I missed this since I didn't believe this would affect things but my computer works much better since I did it THANK GOD!

Thanks for all your help Gary. Your expertise was much appreciated.


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## OldGrayGary (Jun 29, 2006)

Nice work! Glad you found the culprit & got it fixed.


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## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

Lets keep this going as I have never seen mouse software driver software mean a thing except problems.


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