No Stand by (Home XP)

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It seems like all I ever post on here are dumb questions. But they always get answered!

I have somehow managed to change some setting so that when I try to put my laptop into stand by, it won’t let me. Normally, there are the three buttons to choose from when shutting down…I only have 2. Any ideas on how to change this back?

Thanks!

Ruth

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You might first check the Power Options selection in Control Panel to see if something has accidently gotten changed. However, I can’t duplicate your problem and I don’t think something in Power Options would cause the Standby button to be greyed out. Please post back after you look. We might have to check further.

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Nope, that’s not it. I checked the Power Options when it first started acting up.

Ruth

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Check out http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q188134

Standby Missing From Windows Shutdown Dialog Box (Q188134)

DaveA I am so far behind, I think I am First
Genealogy....confusing the dead and annoying the living

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This article either:
a) doesn’t work for XP
or
doesn’t work for me

I had standby originally for about 6 months, but it just randomly became grayed out recently. So, I don’t think it’s a BIOS issue. Plus, Dad (SammyB) and I can’t figure out how to get into the BIOS in XP.

Any more suggestions?

Ruth

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Your system’s BIOS doesn’t have anything to do with Win XP, Ruthie. It’s before the OS ever loads. When you first turn on the power or reboot, and the computer puts its first few lines of self-test info on the screen, most computers will ONLY let you into the BIOS at that point. Can’t do it later.

Again, don’t know about yours, but on most PCs a message will be on the screen, only for a couple of seconds, telling you to press DEL, or F1 or F2 to enter SETUP. But remember, you need to be careful in there. Changing a value could do something unexpected or bad.

So, you tried deleting like the article said, and letting Windows “re-discover” your hardware?

Good luck.

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I know what the BIOS is. The problem is how to get into it in XP. When my computer boots, it shows a screen with Compaq on it, a black screen, and then loads XP. It never gives me the option of entering setup. I’ve tried pressing keys to see if it will let me in, but nothing’s worked.

Ruth

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Compaq PCs use the F10 key to enter setup mode. You have to type it at a particular point in the Startup sequence, usually whilst there is a white cursor at the top right hand side of the screen.

Setup mode usually makes use of a diagnostic partition on the hard drive, if you have deleted this partition then you may need to use drastic steps to recover it.

StuartR

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I know what the BIOS is. The problem is how to get into it in XP.

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[/indent]Not to beat a dead horse on the BIOS issue but from reading the thread I think you are misunderstanding what Al was saying. You cannot get to the PC’s BIOS from Windows XP. Nor can you do it from Windows 98, NT, or any other flavor of Windows. The BIOS doesn’t know what Windows is, and doesn’t care – it checks the system’s main functions and passes control on to the OS – in your case, Windows XP.

The BIOS is what you see when you first turn the PC on. In your case, a Compaq logo, in other cases, it can show a memory check and other diagnostic information. Follow Stuart’s advice immediately after turning the PC on. If you see a black XP screen with any graphical things at all, you’ve gone too far. You may not see the prompt to enter setup, but that is usually an option that can be turned on or off in the BIOS – usually to prevent the office mate with a tweaking thumb from noticing, tweaking, and suddenly their PC is .

Sadly, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you will find what you’re looking for either. Try checking Wim’s BIOS page for information on how power management works at this low level.

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Ruthie~

Although the Microsoft link above is for Me & 98, the things to check for are the same. If you’ve never had it, then I would check my BIOS and disable all of the power management there and allow Windows to manage it under your control. This has occurred with my laptop and was resolved in this manner.

If you had it and now you don’t, that would indicate a problem best resolved step-by-step per the link DaveA posted, provided those steps function for XP as well.

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Bruce makes an excellent point I had forgotten about, Ruth. When I first got my laptop and was having trouble with the thing not wanting to “wake back up,” the first thing the Gateway tech told me was to disable power management in the BIOS and let Windows handle it.

If you’re not comfortable with, or have never done, BIOS changes or the hardware stuff in the MS article, you really ought to get some help. Don’t know if you’ve got a local friend or guru or if you’d have to let (get) the laptop manufacturer to walk you through it, but you just need to be careful, especially in the BIOS!

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