Windows 8.1 Power problems

Question

I upgraded to Windows 8.1 from a purchased, from Microsoft, Windows 8 disc. My power controls have partially ceased to work. Display switches off but my PC refuses to sleep. Can you help, please? I am running File History. Could that be causing a problem?

Answer 1

Hi Monknash,

This issue could be caused due to some incorrect power settings or due to some corrupt or incompatible driver. I would suggest you to try these steps and check:

Method 1: Power troubleshooter

The power troubleshooter can automatically detect and fix any incorrect power settings. Refer to these steps to run this troubleshooter:

a)      Press Windows key +F to bring up the search Charms bar.

b)      Select settings in the drop down menu below search and type Troubleshooting.

c)       Click on Troubleshootingand select the view all option on the left pane.

d)      Click on Power troubleshooter and follow the prompts.

Method 2:

If the power troubleshooter didn’t detect any incorrect settings, then it is possible that the issue is caused by an incompatible or corrupt driver. When the computer goes to sleep mode, Windows sends a request to all hardware parts asking to enter sleep mode. But if the driver for a particular hardware part (like a network adapter or graphic card) is corrupt, it might not respond to these requests and may prevent the computer from entering sleep mode. To resolve this, I would suggest you to run Windows update to make sure that you have installed the latest drivers for all the devices. Refer to the section ‘To check for updates’ in this article:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/windows-update-faq

Method 3:

If updating all the drivers didn’t resolve the issue, then I would suggest you to check the Device manager to check if Windows has reported any hardware issues with any of the devices. Refer to these steps to check the device status:

a)      Press Windows key + X, select Device manager.

b)      Locate the Bluetooth adapter.

c)       Check if there is a yellow exclamation mark or a red cross mark over it.

d)      Right click on device and select properties.

e)      In the General tab, check the device status.

Try these steps and get back to us with the results for further assistance.