m15x: Sleep states

Okay. So a plethora of problems with the m15x have been fixed... now, can we get something that actually makes the sleep-states work?

I hate having to restart everytime I forget to turn off the 'sleep after x minutes' in my power options... PLUS, waking from a sleep-state is much faster than starting the computer.

Mine has never worked, the graphics never come on... I have no idea where the fault lies, but the BIOS is aware the system didn't come back online. If it were online, I would have to hold the power button for 3-5 seconds to shut down the system, instead, my system will shutdown on a mere touch to the power button after "waking up" from a sleep state.

Recently, I was working with an E8400 (same manufacturing process and features of the Penryn T9300, with slightly different clock speeds), a P5Q mobo from asus, and a full matching system. The system wouldn't suspend either... UNTIL I ENABLED THE POWER STATES IN THE BIOS.

Until I did that, the behavior was nearly Identical to what I see on my m15x... though, after getting it to work, and come back online after the sleep-state, the harddrive didn't come back online and the OS crashed, but that's besides the point. My point is, that to use these states, it's a simple BIOS switch. A Switch we can't get to.

So I ask, for your support, in petitioning AW for an updated BIOS, one with lower latency, one with Sleep and Hibernate modes that function reliably, on a consistent level. one that may even give us access to options and features we're currently unable to even see! AN ADVANCED BIOS!

... or at least one that WORKS.

Who's with me?

 

I found if you use the fn+f1 which is labeled suspend, you don't have any touch problems.

 

it's not touch, for me, my system has NEVER woken up from sleep, and rarely wakes up from hibernate.

the system simply doesn't come back on.

oh, the lights come up, the fans go on, but the system doesn't start.

 

AFAIK, that's a vista bug. there are many variants of this. I have this same problem and tried to debug it, but I am not a kernel developer so all in vain.

I have workaround this problem by turning off the Power Key's action, Led close action, and sleep key action. I set them all to do nothing, you might want to set them to hibernate as well.

 

Mystik, I have the exact, EXACT same problem as you. My system has never woken from sleep. It sometimes wakes from hibernate. Light go on, screen doesn't. I have reinstalled my vista twice. I reinstalled vista 32bit once i got the laptop becuase of the issue, and recently i've upgraded to x64, and the problem has never been fixed.

 

Ubuntu 8.04 suffers from this same issue as well (though, It might be better at handling hibernate)

It's not OS specific... unless the 2.6 Kernel is REALLY that bad at sleep/resume.

 

Hibernate will get as far as "hiberfil.sys" or some such nonsense... then fail, which tells me HIBERNATE is a Vista-specific problem, not so much Sleep.

 

I never had this problem with XP, but Vista never worked for me. Strange I never sleeped in Ubuntu

 

I have the exact same sleep mode problem, but it is not consistent. Sometimes it works fine, but I can't figure out in what circumstances.

 

I just used my 15GB Partition to install XP Pro SP2. After some tinkering to get it to recognise the devices on the system (thus ensuring all of them are capable), I had the system suspend under integrated graphics. When the system woke up, it turned on for about a second, then gave up, and rebooted. No error or startup dialog was given (eg. to boot into safe mode)...

So yeah. I'm on the m15x with the T9300 and the X36 BIOS

 

That's strange..I never had a problem with sleep with my m15x. I am running Vista 64-bit.

 

Just came across this KB and it got a fix as well along with workarounds.


Worth trying I guess. KB Article, Vista has some known issues with Sleep & Hibernation and seen more frequently on Mobile Systems. Click on the link on top of the page to Download the Fix for it and see if that resolves your problem.

I still havent tried it as I do not have access to my m15x... I am missing you

 

Hmmm, I've also never had this sort of problem with sleep mode..

Oh and what happened to your m15x findvikas?

 

Luckily nothing actually happened but since I am traveling this week.. so not have access to it... probably on sunday I will be back...

 

Whew, I thought something happened to our resident expert's m15x

Why didn't you just bring it along with you?

 

Official trip and got another one with me... an ultra portable..

 

oh, what kind? i'm looking for a good one...

 

its vaio VGN series, 11"

 

oh. slightly out of my price range

 

I love MS its company property...

 

findvikas, i tried the fix you posted, but it says it doesn't apply to my system, even though i downloaded the vista x64 one. any ideas?

 

Sleep mode would be great if it worked...

 

Sorry all to revive an old topic. I too seem to be having this sleep issue. My computer refused to come out of sleep mode every single time. I did a search and this was the only topic that is most recent. Does anyone else have any new info on this? I have tried putting the laptop in sleep mode from integrated and dedicated graphics, and neither made a difference. I am loving my M15x so far, but this for some reason is kind of bothering me. I do have to step away from my laptop and just close the screen (from habit). I hate to reboot every single time. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

I havn't encountered anything new. I always disable sleep as one of the first things done on a fresh install (whether it's an XP, Vista, or Linux install)

 

weird, usually that means either there is a problem with your bios or your video card driver...hm...

 

Wondering if anyone with the new 180 drivers from nvidia can chime in and state if they are still having sleep issues? I just got this laptop yesterday and really do not want to send it in for repairs. I also noticed some problems with my lcd panel not being flush against the top of the laptop, but that is another topic for another day..hehe.

 

Bumping with an update.....

Interesting development. I re-installed the 1gig of memory stock I got from Alienware..and guess what.. my computer works out of sleep instantly. What is so special about the memory that would make my computer work from sleep?? Would any of the tech gurus be kind enough to chime in and share your thoughts? Thanks!


Update: Spoke with Kevin from Roswell... you can definitely tell the difference in service when dealing with them. He told me that there was some problems with certain memory modules in responding to sleep mode. He is going to be helping me with my return for the cosmetic problems and I had to order some memory directly from Alienware with the promise that if the memory does not work, I can return it and he will fully refund my money. Roswell is absolutely wonderful. Thanks Kevin! If the memory works.. I am probably selling my Crucial memory for $30 bucks if anyone is interested. (shameless sales plug) I hope this helps!

 

Have you tried the hotfix findvikas posted on page 2 of this thread?
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929734

Edit: And nice! Glad to hear you've sorted things out with Roswell. Good luck with the new memory!

 

Hi Oceanus!

I requested that specific hotfix and have not received it yet from Microsoft. I also attempted to apply the other hotfixes dealing with the sleep issues that was from SP1..and I got an error that tells me that it is not applicable for my machine or something like that. **depressing sigh**... not sure what else to do.

 

This doesn't explain my problem... I have a 4GB kit from Alienware (stock installed) that I've reseated at least once, and has always done well besides the sleep issue.

I'm thinking mine has more to do with my GFX though... I bought my m15x just before the big nvidia faulty chip thing, so that might be giving me problems... No idea though, my 8700M GT works otherwise. I probably won't try sleep again until I upgrade to a 9800M GT.

 

Eh, not too sure if this is relevant, but apparently other people are having problems with sleep mode when they added RAM.

http://www.vistax64.com/vista-general/73136-vista-will-not-wake-up-sleep-mode.html

 

Ok.. I finally received the Hotfix from microsoft and the error I get when I try to run this or any other hotfix, I get the error "The update does not apply to your system". I am really starting to scratch my head on this one. If anyone has anymore suggestions, I am definitely open to it. Thanks again everyone.

 

Do you know the KB number or Bug number for this hotfix... can you send the mail to me.. (PM me) I will look for it. It seem you might be installing a patch which is already installed, does not match the build number of your system or is written for different architechture (x86 or x64)

I am not aware of any fix for this, but if you can share the mail or any further info. I could check that internally.

EDIT: Nevermind, read the thread now.. you were talking about same hotfix I shared. That is for 32bit Vista.. hope you are on 32bit Vista with Sp1... are you ?

 

Hmm, SP2 Beta is out for Vista. Perhaps they've included another hotfix to fix that issue. I'll be testing it out to see if it helps resolve the issue.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/dd262148.aspx

 

Please keep us posted Oceanus... the thought of spending $90 through alienware for ram is just a swift kick in the ...*sings soprano*.

I sure am. Have not had the guts to go 64 just yet...but the more and more I read your thread, the more and more I am intersted in doing it!


I re-installed the crucial ram this evening..and guess what, sleep issues again... i am still floored about how it may could be the memory. I will keep everyone posted once I receive my Alienware memory on Monday!

 

Please do. I doubt installing memory from Alienware would resolve the issue but it's worth a shot, especially when you have the assurance that you would receive your money back if it did not fix it.

Thank you for your efforts Bubbamel. This will definitely be a learning experience.

 

I think it's more of a memory quantity problem, on certain systems with more than 2GB of memory, well, they have sleep issues. no idea why.

I can say that I've never seen my system recover from sleep in any operating system... in fact, the only time it would, is when I immediately powered it back on (within 5 seconds of sleeping)... that was in Vista.

 

Hmm.. sounds interesting. I am going to try installing both ram chips see if it works..if it doesn't, I will install just one. That would stink if it was dependent on the amount and not the type of ram chips. I guess we shall see for mine in a few days.

 

Awright... now change the order of RAM... permutation and combination..

Boot with any single ram from crucial in both slots one by one... then do the same with next ram.. see what happens.

 

that's a lot of work...

 

Wow I am going to be getting a workout tomorrow...hehe.

I think I saw on my fed ex delivery notification that I should get my ram tomorrow.. that is interesting. Hopefully I will be home when the fed ex person comes in. I will try to have some info by Sunday since I will be out most of the day tomorrow. I plan to keep you all posted. Thanks again for the help and suggestions!

 

I know that a lot of work... but only way to confirm that RAM is causing it.. I do not have the stock ram as I was greedy and sold it for $50... awesome deal for just 512x2 RAM

 

Hi all, here is an update so far. Well, believe it or not, I put in the ram that Alienware sent me and guess what, sleep state now works great... I have tried doing the quick method of closing the lid and a minute or two later opening it. I have also tried the 2 hour method and that worked great as well. I am at a total loss for words. I will try to play around with the Crucial ram later and try the combinations.

Mystic, if it helps any, the ram Alienware sent me was Elpida 5300/667. Is that what you have in your system? Do you think Alienware would send you new modules to swap and see if that is the problem?

 

Thank you for the update Bubbamel! I would have never guessed the type of RAM would affect the sleep state. This will certainly be some valuable information for diagnosing sleep related issues later on.

 

thought id chip in with my experience here! i had also been experiencing difficulties with sleep and hibernation. i have 4GB of stock ram installed, and the turbo memory and had also suffered the problem of lights on, power running, but no display when resuming from sleep. i downloaded and installed the reent beta sp2 x86 version, and hadnt thought about trying the sleep function out. i have now just tried it, by both pressing the power button, and also closing the lid, and both times, yes, it has worked fine. laptop powers back up and im back to my desktop in a matter of seconds. only small niggle was alien sense sitting on "initialising" for long enough to make my type my password in and bypas facial recog.but just maybe, sp2 has sorted this issue. has anyone else downloaded and tried it. on a side topic concerning sp2, one trhead i read had someone saying that they had a noticeable increase in os speed and response since installing sp2, i have to say i cant notice any difference really, only that sleep now appears to be working!!

 

Service packs are usually bunch of hotfixes in one pack and normally you dont much of difference in performance or new features. I am glad if they fixed it with sp2, there were couple of active bugs going on around the sleep issue.

 

Mine is Netlist. Strange that they'd swap RAM types in the system...

Pic:

 

m15x, stock netlist 4GB dual channel kit, Vista x64 SP2 Beta, sleep fail.

 

Well, I was talking to Mystik about this and it seems we were able to get it down to the hardware itself. We managed to get it down to two things:

OS Architecture: dsproduction was able to resolve his sleep issues with SP2 Beta in x86, while Mystik was not in x64. If Bubbamel was willing, we can further test this out by having him install SP2 Beta with his non-AW stock RAM to make a more conclusive answer. (Don't feel like I'm dragging you into this Bubbamel-- if you don't have the time or would not like to test it, it's okay. )

Hardware Manufacturer: I'm able to sleep perfectly fine in Vista x64 SP1 with 4GB of GSKILL RAM, while Mystik is not. Bubbamel's test with the stock AW RAM they sent him recently also confirms this.

Also note that the stock RAM they use right now (the one they sent Bubbamel) is different compared to the stock RAM that they sent Mystik awhile back.

 

Hi all! Just wanted to re-iterate that when i had called about this issue, I was told that they have been sending out this specific ram for those who have been having the sleep issue. I am glad my issue has been fixed, but very surprised it seems to be a hardware issue, at least in my case. I have not done the crucial ram combo since I have not been home and been tending to a family emergency. I will report back once I have tried the combination of the crucial ram per findvikas request.


Oceanus, I will be more than happy to help if it will help anyone else on the forums. Don't worry, you are not dragging me into it, I will be more than willing.