Monitor going into Sleep mode randomly

[Cokane]

Hello all,

I've spent many hours going through hundreds of posts on google regarding this problem, and although many others seem to have this issue, I have not yet found a fix. Almost all posts regarding this problem seem to dead end. I have already tried contacting 'thetechguys' - my pc support number, but sadly they hadn't got a clue and their only idea was to take the PC away for 2 weeks (doh!) and try and fix it. I need my PC im afraid.

 

My PC is a Packard Bell Iextreme from PC World

- Windows Vista Home Premium 64 bit

- CPU: Intel Core2 Quad q8300 2.5ghz

- 4Gb RAM

- Nvidia GeForce 220 GT

- HP 2009v monitor

 

My problem is that my monitor will sometimes get put into sleep mode randomly when I play certain games. I will be playing happily and then boom, my monitor screen goes black, and I see a message saying 'monitor going to sleep'. The light will turn orange. Nothing I do will bring back visuals, but as far as I can tell, the PC is still running as music continues, and I can hear the PC react to certain things (like pressing alt-F4 for example produces a ding). The only way to get my machine running again is to hold the power button for 5 seconds and restart.

 

The problem first happened several months ago when playing COD: MW2. It happened twice in quick succession so I opened the PC box and cleared out a bit of dust (there wasn't much), checked the fans (all fine), and updated my video drivers. I also lowered the graphics settings a little to allow for an easier time for my hardware. The problem did initially seem to be resolved.

 

However, in the past week or so the problem has come back and is much worse. When playing COD: MW2 the game only usually lasts a minute or two before the monitor goes to sleep. Also now, whilst playing civilisation V (in windowed mode) the problem has occurred, again within minutes of beginning.

 

I have tried as many things as are within my realm of knowledge but I am stumped and very disheartened by the fact that many others (as revealed through google) are having this problem with a variety of computers, and not finding a fix. Some do, some don't but there is no pattern whatsoever. I have a background as a PC technician, as a I worked for HP/Dell in tech support several years ago, but my knowledge is way out of date.

 

Other things I have tried:

- Changing resolution. Normally I use 1600x900 as that's recommended for my monitor. I have altered this butthere doesn't seem to be a fix.

- Turning off Power Options regarding sleep mode etc. No change. The problem occurs when actually using the PC.

 

I am here to request help with this. It would be a disaster to have to send the thing to Packard Bell for 2 weeks, so I would love to find a pratical solution. Thanks in advance for any help. Any further information needed will be provided asap.

 

C

[Dalo Harkin]

Very weird one that :confused:

 

SO just to clarify, you have the latest drivers for GPU, chipset, BIOS etc.

Also your GPU drivers should be sourced from Nvidia and not Packard Bell..

You are logged in as an Administrator and have looked in the power options and disabled everything that can cause the PC to go to sleep

 

In on W7 here but:-

Control panel> hardware and sound>power options>choose a power plan> set everything to NEVER then apply and exit.

[Cokane]

Thank you very much for the reply, but, as I continued tinkering I managed to fix it... I think!

 

I was fooling around getting very frustrated so I decided to do an extensive clean of the PC. I took the GFX card out, and was surprised to find quite big clumps of dust in and around the GFX fan. When the card was inside the PC I just couldn't see these because of the angle the card is at when seated. After cleaning these out with the help of a hoover, and giving the CPU fan a good clean also I tried my games again, and CIV 5 ran for around 3 hours with no problems last night.

 

So, if it appears again, I will look at what you have said, but as of this moment its a fixed problem and hopefully it will stay that way. Thanks again

[Dalo Harkin]

Im glad you got it sorted, so after all it wasnt going to sleep the GPU was shutting down due to overheating :)

 

For the future dont use vacuum cleaners as they generate static, use cans of compressed air :)

 

Glad its ok though