Windows 7: Sleep mode activated when PC not idle - why?

OK, I've read all about Windows 7 sleep mode and (think) I understand everything I've read.

What I have not seen in my research and do not understand is why my PC enters sleep mode when it is not idle!

For example, I start a disk backup to an external drive, close the lid on my laptop (yes, I have set the sleep setting "do nothing" when the lid is closed), and then leave the computer to "do it's thing". The backup normally takes at least 15 minutes to run. However, my Windows 7 enters sleep mode within minutes while the backup job is running. Why?

This same problem occurs no matter what program I'm running - backup, video conversion, defrag, etc etc.

It seems that if I'm not using the mouse or keyboard, sleep mode is activated no matter what is currently running on my PC.

Yes, I want to utilize the Windows 7 sleep mode feature. No, I don't want sleep mode activated while my computer is busy running a job!



Can a resident 7F guru enlighten me? What am I missing?

Thx, Rob

Sleep is set up to activate at a specific time, when you press a button or when you close your laptop. You can check to see what exactly it is doing by typing in POWERCFG.CPL in the Start Menu or browsing to Control Panel > Power Options. Once there you can click on Change Advanced Power Options to further define the options.

Sleep mode is NOT activated at a certain time.
It is activated when you prompt it to, by clicking the sleep button, or leaving it idle.
IDLE means no MOUSE or KEYBOARD input, but not that the programs are still running. Windows cannot determine what programs that are running mean that it is not idle.

Thank you for the reply. However, your post does not answer my question - to wit: Why does my computer enter sleep mode when it is not idle?

Look at my post: The computer determines when your computer is idle. It is considered IDLE when there is no MOUSE/KEYBOARD input for X minutes.

Thanks for the reply. Your statement "IDLE means no MOUSE or KEYBOARD input" may be true (as defined by Microsoft).

However, "Idle" should mean "the processor is not executing any instructions and therefore not performing any work - it is thus in a 'wait-state'". This was/is true in the mainframe world but apparently not true in the PC world.

This is all very unfortunate since I cannot use the "sleep mode" feature at all if I want my PC to perform useful tasks while I'm "away" doing other activities. If this is true, it is ridiculous and outrageous.

I'm assuming this problem can be "worked-around" by using some sort of scripting to disable/enable sleep mode while in the interim running one or more programs.

Any comments or suggestions are welcome.

Please explain how this statement makes sense - "Windows cannot determine what programs that are running mean that it is not idle".

Windows is an OS. Therefore, it "knows" if programs are running (ie, the processor is executing instructions). If the processor is executing instructions, it is not idle.

If the user explicitly initiates a program that is actively running, why can't Windows determine that means the PC is not idle?

I know a computer will sleep while MSE is running a scan. Certain functions aren't considered as keeping the computer "active". What backup program are you using?

Computers have background process that run. For example, press CTRL+SHIFT+ESC and go to the Processes tab. There will be many processes, even though you might have no programs running at the moment. Trying to end all of them will crash your computer. Alas, your computer cannot distinguish whether a program counts as idle or not.

Set sleep to start in an hour or 2, if plugged in. Hopefully your jobs will be done by then. Problem solved.

If it`s going to sleep in mere minutes then that`s what you MUST have it set to. Just change it.