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Screen Turns Off despite being set to NEVER turn off

Anonymous
2022-11-30T03:44:10+00:00

I’m having trouble keeping my screen from going dark in about 20 minutes.  I’ve researched this site and others, and have already tried the following:  Set both “Screen” and “Sleep” to NEVER when plugged in.  Went to “Additional Power Settings” and “Choose or Customize Power Plan”, and settings for both “Turn off the display” and “Put the computer to sleep” are set for NEVER when plugged in.  I even restored the default settings and then changed them back to NEVER (because one article said that might help).

Background: I’m dedicating a laptop to run my laser engraver, and as a result, it might need to run for one or more hours to finish a project - and I'm frequently out of the room.  The laser part is running fine (USB port active throughout the entire build, so the computer is still sending bits to and from the laser engraver), but the screen turns off (I have it set to have no screensaver) after about 20 minutes.  It stays that way until I come back into the room and turn on the light – at which time the screen wakes back up (because I turned the room light on?) and takes me to the welcome screen, requiring a password. Not sure why turning on the room light wakes up the computer - but that's not the point...

I’ve looked at the Advanced Settings and see there are options for Hard Disk (turns off after 20 minutes when plugged in), but I’m not sure that is related to the screen, so I’ve not played with that.  The Sleep settings are “Sleep after” NEVER when plugged in, “Allow hybrid sleep” OFF when plugged in, “Hibernate after” NEVER when plugged in.  I see something called “Allow wake timers”, and it is set for “Important Wake Timers Only” when plugged in – but I’m not sure what this is or does, so I left it alone.  I also don’t know what the “USB selective suspend settings” do, although it would be nice if I could keep the screen and computer awake while the computer is sending bits to and from the laser engraver…

Since this setup is in a ventilated room in my basement, and I don’t want to have to babysit the machine or breath in smoke, I have 2 cameras (actually, a baby monitor) trained on 1) the laser enclosure, and 2) my laptop screen so I can see the progress bar.  But when I leave the room, the light (motion activated) turns off after a minute, and then some time later (about 20 minutes), the screen goes black.

What setting(s) have I not checked or changed that will enable me to keep the screen on so I can monitor the status bar remotely with my camera?  Ideally, there would be a way to just make sure the screen never goes dark when I have the Lightburn program running, but that might not be possible.

My laptop is running Windows 10. I'm using Lightburn software (but the question is about keeping the screen on, so I'm not sure the program is relevant, unless there is a way to keep the screen awake specific to having the Lightburn program as the active window.) I'm NOT a computer expert, so please be gentle :-)

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Sleep and Power on, off

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  1. Anonymous
    2022-11-30T04:20:07+00:00

    Hi Steven. I'm Greg, 10 years awarded Windows MVP, here to help you.

    Let's take a look at all places where Windows can suspend to try to find the culprit:

    1. Check closely your Display, Sleep and Hibernate settings in Power Options following this guide: https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/2843-change...
    2. Display timeout has been moved to Settings > System > Power & Sleep > Additional Power Settings, on active Power Plan choose Change Plan Settings then adjust Display timeout.

    While there check also Advanced plan settings > Sleep > Allow Wake Timers > under Battery & Plug In options set to Enable, Apply, Save.

    1. If your Power Options settings are set correctly then the next suspect is the screensaver. Check that now at Settings > Personalization > Lock Screen > Screen Saver Settings. It should be set to None with no timeout.
    2. This could also pertain to an issue of Unattended Sleep Timeout setting in Registry. See the Marked Answer here for what has worked for others: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/for...

    Whenever modifying the registry, first set a System Restore point: http://home.bt.com/tech-gadgets/computing/how-t...

    1. If System Unattended Sleep timeout is not present here's now to access it: https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/72133-add-s...
    2. If you suspect overheating which can shut down the PC, then install CoreTemp to monitor temps from System Tray:

    https://www.thewindowsclub.com/core-temp-monito...

    https://www.pcworld.com/article/2365089/compute...

    1. Since sleep is overwhelmingly controlled by the Display driver, Update the Display driver from the PC or Display adapter maker's Support Downloads web page for your exact model number, HP Serial Number or Dell Service Tag - from the sticker on the PC.

    While there check also for newer chipset, BIOS/UEFI firmware (very important), network, sound, USB3 and other drivers, comparing to the ones presently installed in Device Manager reached by right clicking the Start Menu.

    if this doesn't give you the latest or ideal driver for what you need, compare it to the driver offered by the Intel driver update Utility here: http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/...

    or the Nvidia Update utility here: http://www.nvidia.com/Download/Scan.aspx?lang=e...

    or the AMD autodect utility here: http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/windows/P...

    For Display issues one fix that is working is to Roll back or Uninstall the Driver on the Display Device > Driver tab, restart PC to reinstall driver.

    You can also try older drivers in Device Manager > Display device > Driver tab > Update Driver > Browse > Let Me Pick.

    Then you will know you've tried everything in addition to Windows Update drivers.

    1. Check over these other working Sleep solutions which may also be involved:

    http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/fix-windows-10-sle...

    1. Do you know when this started? See if you can System Restore to a point before the problem started:

    https://www.windowscentral.com/how-use-system-r...

    System Restore is your first line of defense and can take you back to a point before a problem began like a time machine. If it doesn't help then you can undo it. Read about it first in the tutorial above and then try restoring to just before this started. If System Restore is not enabled on C drive do that now so it's available in the future.

    If the problem repeats or System Restore doesn't work then check which Windows Updates were installed at Settings > Update & Security > Windows Updates > Update History, uninstall them there or System Restore again, then immediately check for and block the Updates with the Hide Updates tool explained here: https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/8280-hide-s...

    1. If no power setting is causing this then go over this checklist to make sure the install is set up correctly, optimized for best performance, and any needed repairs get done: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wiki...

    Start with Step 4 to turn off Startup freeloaders which can conflict and cause issues, then Step 7 to check for infection the most thorough way, then step 10 to check for damaged System Files, and also Step 16 to test a new Local Admin account. Then continue with the other steps to go over your install most thoroughly.

    1. If nothing else works then do a Repair Install, by installing Media Creation Tool and then choosing to Upgrade Now. This reinstalls Windows while keeping files, programs and most settings in place, and is also the most stable method to advance to the latest version. http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/m...

    Based on the results you post back I may have other suggestions if necessary.

    ______________________________________________

    Standard Disclaimer: There are links to non-Microsoft websites. The pages appear to be providing accurate, safe information. Watch out for ads on the sites that may advertise products frequently classified as a PUP (Potentially Unwanted Products). Thoroughly research any product advertised on the sites before you decide to download and install it.

    90+ people found this answer helpful.
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  1. Anonymous
    2023-02-11T06:53:44+00:00

    That is one of the most impressive and most detailed tech support answers I have ever seen, and I've been in the STEM field for 50 years. Thank you very much. I have grown to expect, as I'd imagine most have, finding good tech support to be a very laborious process with the same wotrthless answers flooding the search responses.

    I am very grateful for your valuable contribution for surviving the maddening state IT has evolved to become.

    Charles

    10+ people found this answer helpful.
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  2. Anonymous
    2022-12-02T05:12:38+00:00

    Greg, the solution was in the screensaver. I had selected "None", and didn't understand that "On resume display logon screen" is still active even without a screen saver. I unchecked "On resume display logon screen" and now the screen stays on.

    One final question then... I know I can change my power plan back and forth from Balanced to the new plan I created for when I am using the laser engraver. But is there a way to tie the screensaver to the power plan, so that each plan I pick has its own screensaver (or lack of), or is the screensaver setting not related to power plans? Changing screensavers takes a lot more mouse clicks than picking a Power Plan...

    Thanks again for your help!

    Steve

    10 people found this answer helpful.
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  3. Greg Carmack 24,770 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2023-05-07T00:06:47+00:00

    Chris -

    Thanks so much for the kind words. This was my life for 14 years and only just ended this weekend so I will take these words with me.

    5 people found this answer helpful.
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  4. Anonymous
    2022-12-02T03:44:54+00:00

    Thanks Greg. I'm working through the steps, but since I will have to wait about 20 minutes each time to see what has changed, this could take me a bit.

    One question so far - on your step 3 you say to make sure the screensaver is set to "None with no timeout". My screensaver is already at None, but there are no settings for this selection, and the timeout is a number from 1 to (not sure if there is an upper end). I just toggled the "On resume display logon screen" to off, and now the number grays out - so maybe this is my solution, but I wanted to verify what you mean when you say "no timeout" - is the logon screen checkbox the way to achieve that? I guess I'll find out in about 20 minutes...

    Steve

    4 people found this answer helpful.
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