Randomly entering Power Save mode

Question

I have an XPS 420, running Vista with a GeForce 8800 GTX.   The problem... when my computer goes into sleep mode, hitting my keyboard or moving my mouse does not wake it up. What makes the issue worse is when I play a video game (i've played 3 different games all experiencing the same problem) my computer will go into powersave mode randomly. It makes me think that this might be a video card or a power supply issue.   Just to be clear, This machine is 2 weeks old. I had a precision M90 prior which was hooked up to my monitor and I never experienced this problem. (i'm just ruling out that it's a problem with my monitor).   So what I've tried so far is changed my power setting to 'Balanced', 'Power saver' and 'High Performance' all the while keeping the display and sleep settings to 'Never' and 'Never'.   I also went into 'change advanced power settings' and made sure most related settings were set to 'Never'.   I also went to my device manager - 'keyboards' and 'mice and other pointing devices', went into Properties>Power Management and changed settings to 'Allow this device to wake the computer'.   I've also installed all dell and vista related updates.   The problem also occurs in both ports of the video card. Also, powering the monitor off and on or unplugging it doesn't help.   I've Installed Bios Version A03 and problem persists.   Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

winnieB · Answer

sounds like a wierd vista flaw, cus it sound like you have all your bases covered.

mitsurugi000 · Answer

ugh... Figured it out. For some reason I thought I had the most updated nvidia driver (which I didn't). now it works like a charm.

mitsurugi000 · Answer

Well, I spoke too soon... After working and playing a game after about 5 hours the problem reappeared. I tried to restart and it automatically went into power save mode once again.

Boston616 · Answer

I am having the same issue, I think. I have a XPS 420 with the ATI 2600 XT (Soon to be replaced with GeForce). I will leave my computer running, go to bed, and in the morning I can't do anything to wake it up. I have to press and hold the power button on the front to force shutdown. I don't think my machine is going into power save mode though as the power light on the XPS doesn't flash like it's in power save mode but like it's on. Also, sometimes I can get the machine to beep if I press random buttons on the keyboard. I was hoping a new graphics card might resolve my issue.   Does it go into power save mode while you are in the middle of a game? I haven't had that happen yet.

winnieB · Answer

both of you need to report the problem to tech support, it sounds like a bios issue perhaps you should both just call tech support and see what they say, they may want to replace the motherboard.

XPS 410
Intel C2D E6700 2.66
2 GB @ 667mzh (2 dimms)
Dual 80GB Raptors @ 10,000 RPM in RAID 0 (silenced)
320GB hdd
160GB hdd
NVIDIA 7900GS Zalman VF-900cu
ATI TV Wonder 650 HD
Diamond 24-bit 7.1 surround, w/ dolby digital live
2407 Monitor
LG 42" 1080p
logitech G7 mouse, G15 keyboard

----------------------------------"GAME ON"-------------------------------

Philljc · Answer

This is hillarious. I had the exact same problem in every single detail, with a 8800GTX. http://www.dellcommunity.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=Tech_Talk_XPS&message.id=22519#M22519 Your card is broken, You need tech support to bring you a new one. I am 100% sure, as like I said I had the EXACT same problems. New drivers helped a few times, and there are sometimes when it wont go into sleep after a game, but 80% of the time it would.

VOR · Answer

I have a 720 Red QX6850 Dual 512 NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT with 4 G of RAM and have almost the same problems, although mine seems to occur only when it goes into power save.  ONly had it 6 days and have had 5 Blue Screen shut down that requires pushing in the power button to shut down.

VOR · Answer

I have the BIOS that came with the system.  Have made no changes in the system since I received it.

winnieB · Answer

VOR wrote:

I have a 720 Red QX6850 Dual 512 NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT with 4 G of RAM and have almost the same problems, although mine seems to occur only when it goes into power save. ONly had it 6 days and have had 5 Blue Screen shut down that requires pushing in the power button to shut down.

do you have the most current bios?

winnieB · Answer

give that a try and see what happens.

XPS 410
Intel C2D E6700 2.66
2 GB @ 667mzh (2 dimms)
Dual 80GB Raptors @ 10,000 RPM in RAID 0 (silenced)
320GB hdd
160GB hdd
NVIDIA 7900GS Zalman VF-900cu
ATI TV Wonder 650 HD
Diamond 24-bit 7.1 surround, w/ dolby digital live
2407 Monitor
LG 42" 1080p
logitech G7 mouse, G15 keyboard

----------------------------------"GAME ON"-------------------------------

Locked Topics – Desktops General

Randomly entering Power Save mode

Was this post helpful?