Windows 7 forum: My computer has fallen asleep and it won't wake up!

Try throwing a bucket of cold water in its face.

My grandson is a computer geek and he said NEVER put any computer in hibernate mode b/c it messes with something that causes it not to wake up when you need it. I'm not sure why hibernate is even on a computer but don't do it. Also, if you keep shutting it down manually, you WILL ruin the on/off switch b/c it happened to a friend of mine. You should always shut your P.C. down properly to avoid damage.

We have a Toshiba Satellite laptop that we bought in 12/2009. Right before it was 1 year old and still under warranty, this started happening to us as well. We immediately called Toshiba whi suggested ultimately that we re-image the computer ocmpletely and to call them back when we were ready after saving all perosnal documents. After reading (google is great) and playing we figured out how to disable the hibernation. Since we are almost always on this computer, didn't really find a need for it. It shouldn't happen though. Interesting that another Toshiba owner has the same issues though. We have severl friends who recommended Toshiba and never had this issue with theirs.

Turn off the hibernation mode.

But then why is there even a hibernate/sleep mode? If the mode exists...it should work. Period. And that is the question. The question wasnt whether the mode should be used, but why it wont wake up. So your answer was simple...but worthless.

Answers like this annoy me.

The first thing I would do is go into the Power Options settings in Control Panel, and turn OFF hibernation. Do NOT use hibernation at all. The second thing is this: do NOT run your laptop all the time. Somefolks leave there laptops on all day long, this IS a BIG mistake! Laptops by nature, run hotter than a tower PC, so leaving it running is a good way to build up too much heat, and shorten the life of your laptop. Unless you have the money to blow on a new laptop every year, and don't mind having to transfer your data and pictures to a new laptop in the process, than leave it on whenever you want. Cooling pads help, but it is still not good to leave them on too much. The best thing to do is turn off all the power saving features, and turn off the laptop via the Windows GUI, when ever you aren't working on it.

Laptops DO run hotter, period!
I am a IT technician, and have been working with towers, and laptops for many years now. Yes the components may use less energy, but even the best designed laptop is going to get hotter then a tower when left on for the same length of time. Get a clue about what you are talking about.

The market wants these i7 quad core hot air machines. Someday it till get better but you see folk making a beeline to what they think is the fastest machines only to find themselves with hot laptops.

There are well designed dual code i7 laptops but folk are not interested.
Bob

Do you have a USB cord connected, or do you have a SD card inserted in the machine? I had a desktop that would shut down randomly and I didn't have the slightest idea what it could be after extensive checks. It turns out it was a bad USB port. I had attached a camera to the computer and when I removed the camera I left the USB cord attached and this was the cause. Once I removed the cord the problem was solved and I could confirm this was the issue because I can still re-create the problem by attaching a USB cord to that one port.

I have had problems with hibernate in the past also. I would suggest trying sleep mode in lieu of hibernate. Also, as this maybe a sign of a potentially bigger problem, backup all of your important files when you get a chance. That way, if turning off hibernate doesn't fix the problem, you can re-format your hard-drive and see if that helps.

Good luck.

About 3 years of NVIDIA's chip production was defective, eventually failing from thermal stress. Most AMD notebooks used to use NVIDIA chipsets so they were hit hard but Intel notebooks with dedicated NVIDIA GPUs have the same problem. You likely have a chipset in the defective GeForce 6100 to 7150 series. Almost all current AMD notebooks use reliable ATI GPUs.

I recommend selling the notebook as broken and putting the money towards a new notebook with an ATI GPU.

As a computer tech in most cases i disable hibernation, because I have found it seldom works as it is supposed to for pc or laptop.
Each manufacturer has thier own methodology in regards to hibernation where MS has 1 methodology, & often the user has no idea of either method.
Simply iput, if hibernation works you lucked out. Often the problem can be a minor incompatability in the video card or other device that stops the machine from waking clean, or it could be something connected via USB.
One thing I often find is people will let the laptop go into hibernation & assume they have switched it off & then they will turn the mains power off, next thing they try to turn the laptop on in the morning & the fun begins.
Over night the battery has run down, & the laptop has powered off uncleanly.
Or the user puts the laptop in his/her bag & poof cooked laptop - in hibernation it is still generating heat.
so for safety I generally advise set the machine to always on, but have the screen power off if you need, then just touching the machine will wake it, so there is no confusion.

Hibernation is when the computer is turned completely off and memory is saved on the harddrive. You should press the powerbutton and read the data into memory again to continue.
Suspend is when the screen, harddrive and other things is shut off, and the computer is ready to work when the mouse, keyboard or the laptop cover is opened.
In the answers there is many mistakes regarding to this.

disable the hibernate feature its not needed