Windows 7: laptop hangs intermittently when I close the lid

Hi guys and gals,

I've had my gateway laptop for a little over a year, and I've been to this site off and on during that whole time. Now I think I have a problem that might need active help

I usually close the lid and the computer goes to sleep or hibernates, but for the past few weeks I occasionally (~10% of the time) get a hung computer (dark screen, no buttons do anything, except sometimes the play,stop,next, eject buttons blink, and occasionally eject the CD drive {my laptop is a gateway ID49, and has these touch sensitive buttons near the top right, no matter})



anyway, I ran sfc/ scannow in safemode, but it didn't find anything. Should I try it in non-safemode? do I need to run it three times?

The computer hasn't BSOD'd, it just hangs up, locks up, or crashes...

What else should I try?

Thanks,

Val

Hey.

No, you do not need to run a SFC\ Scan now 3 times.

If i read your post right, You don't shut your laptop down, you simply close the lid, Letting it go into "Standby mode " so when you return, you can just open the lid, And off you go.

How often does the laptop get shut down properly?.

What is the model of your gateway laptop?

Yes, I close the lid to suspend. Usually I restart/shutdown about once per week, but since the system locks up so often these past few weeks, it star ts up new about once per day...

My laptop is an ID49C 04h. It's a cheapo but hasn't given me any trouble for 14 months..

Thanks,

Val

If you have the laptop set to Sleep when the lid is closed, then you have a Sleep issue to troubleshoot: Sleep Mode Problems

This is almost always the Display driver, so update it or try another until Sleep performs correctly.

Is this the original factory preinstalled Windows 7, as most tech enthusiasts would never run such a corrupt bloated install but instead get the superior Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7 to enjoy Windows 7's native performance.

You should always shut down daily, to allow updates, and memory cache cleaning.

Actually if you use hibernate then you'll know exactly when to Shut Down because Updates requiring it will be cued on your Shut Down button, or more likely you'll be prompted from the System Tray to restart.

I average shutting down once every three days, but hibernate about a dozen times in between.

I will run through those steps in sleep mode problems thoroughly, but a quick glance showed my settings for sleep/hibernation were fine (am I allowed to sleep after t= 10 minutes, and hibernate after 30?)

Is there a specific post to follow on how to update display drivers? I went through a windows driver updates, but it says I have up to date drivers. I remember checking a few months ago whether there were new ones, and intel has much more recent updates on its site, but gateway/acer hasn't published anything new since ~1.5 years. Is there a way to use intel's updated 'intel(R) HD graphics' drivers or must I stick with gateway's: Gateway Support - Downloads & Support Documents - Notebook / ID Series / ID49C (I'm not sure that link works, but I typed gateway support into google, notebook ID series, ID49c to get there) The link shows drivers from either 2010 or 2011...

Thanks for your help!

Val

I would try all drivers until you find one which allows it to sleep and hibernate correctly. Those settings should work. To test them you can set Sleep for 1 minute and Hibernate for 2. Be sure to set them back afterward.

Besides the sleep troubleshooting steps I posted, if nothing else works I would use the tool which the pros use for Gathering a Startup, Shutdown, Sleep, Hibernate, or Reboot Trace - Windows 7 Forums

Okay, it seems that the driver for the ViewSonic external monitor I'm working on was causing the issue. Thanks for the headsup on the those drivers being the usual suspects. Is there a way to automatically check all the drivers for updates? is that what windowsUpdate for?

I will try suspending a few more times and will then mark this topic as solved...

I'm also intrigued by the clean crapware free install. I may do that some time in the future.

thanks for all your help!

Val