Tag Archives: windows

USB eXtensible Host Controller Preventing Computer from Sleeping

Software,

Recently I noticed that my desktop computer didn’t go to sleep automatically. I have Windows 10.

As an experiment, I manually put my computer to sleep by opening Start menu, clicking Power button, then Sleep:

My computer went to sleep for about 5 seconds and then woke up without me doing anything.

Common advice to troubleshoot Windows sleep problems is to use powercfg -lastwake command. Here’s the output that I received:

Wake History Count - 1
Wake History [0]
  Wake Source Count - 1
  Wake Source [0]
    Type: Device
    Instance Path: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A36D&SUBSYS_50071458&REV_10\3&11583659&0&A0
    Friendly Name: Intel(R) USB 3.1 eXtensible Host Controller - 1.10 (Microsoft)
    Description: USB xHCI Compliant Host Controller
    Manufacturer: Generic USB xHCI Host Controller

Why would Intel(R) USB 3.1 eXtensible Host Controller wake up my computer? I was stuck trying to figure that out. Then I saw a post on Super User website and realized: it’s actually one of USB devices connected to USB host controller that wakes my computer up!

I opened Device Manager and switched view to ‘Devices by connection’:

I had 4 USB devices connected to the host controller:

  • Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)
  • Keyboard
  • Mouse
  • Webcam

I bought UPS not long ago so most likely it was the actual culprit. To confirm I disconnected it from my computer and put it to sleep again. This time it stayed asleep as intended. Mystery solved.

In the end I decided to keep UPS disconnected from my computer. Initially I connected it using USB cable so that Windows 10 would automatically hibernate if there is power loss. I’d love to figure out how to configure Windows so that it goes to sleep after 15 minutes of inactivity but wakes up if there is power loss, wait for 1 minute and then hibernates by dumping all memory to disk.

How to Configure Windows 7 to Put Your Computer to Sleep Automatically

Software, ,

I used to leave my computer on all the time – just so that I don’t have to wait for it to start. Then, I upgraded my computer. As part of the upgrade I switched from Windows XP to Windows 7. What I noticed is now my computer goes to sleep automatically when I don’t use it. I think this is great for saving electricity.

Here is how to make sure that Windows 7 puts your computer to sleep automatically.

Click Start button, open Control Panel.
start-menu

Open ‘Hardware and Sound’ category.
control-panel

Open ‘Power Options’.
hardware

Click ‘Change when the computer sleeps’.
power-options

Set ‘Put the computer to sleep’ to 20 minutes.
plan-settings

The default is 30 minutes which is reasonable; 20 minutes is even better. Click Save Settings. Now if you don’t use your computer for 20 minutes it will go to sleep automatically.

While you there click ‘Choose what the power button does’ …
power-options-power-button

… and select ‘Sleep’ option.
power-button

I like to be able to quickly put my computer to sleep when I know that I finished for today. Also, when my kids were small they liked to press the power button just to see what will happen. Usually this resulted in Windows starting to shut down the computer and closing half of the programs before getting to some editor that would ask if I want to save the document before closing it.

The computer uses very little energy in sleep mode but starts up very quickly and in exactly the same state as you leave it. Another cool benefit is that you can wake it up by pressing any key or clicking the mouse. Keep in mind that you still need to shut down your computer if you want to unplug it. If your desktop computer loses power while it is in the sleep mode it would reset its state: all open programs and documents would be abruptly closed. This is why it’s a good idea to save your work when you step away from your computer – just in case of power outage.

See also: Sustainable Computing: Sleep or Hibernate?