Windows 7: Hang after sleep. Can't find a solution that works

I have an Acer AX1301-U1312 PC. It is running Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit that came pre-installed. Whenever it goes to sleep and I wake it up by moving the mouse it hangs. I can see the desktop and I can't still move the cursor but I can't click on anything. It takes 10 or 20 mins to unfreeze so I can use it again. I have tried disableing shuting off the hard disk but it didn't help. I have S3 sleep mode enabled in my BIOS as well. (What is S3 sleep mode anyway?) Any help would be great.

Does this happen every time, and has it always happened? Or did this start sometime after you purchased the machine?

It seems to happen after its been asleep for a long period of time. If its only been alseep for like 4 or 5 mins than it doesnt do it. Its always happened.

Does it seem to always come back, and have you timed the return from sleep? I'm very interested if the resume time is exactly (or very close to) the same every time when the hang occurs. This can give us some insight as to what's happening.

Its probably a borked OEM installation of Windows 7. I would suggest doing a clean install of Windows 7 to clear this issue.

Slasher

I would suggest backing up everything on your hard drive NOW!!!! I had this exact same problem tried everything, including reinstalling Windows, which worked for a while. What i didn't realise is that my hard drive was on it's way out. I have since bought a new hard drive, re-installed Windows and the problem has gone.

If it is not your hard drive at fault i would recommend getting rid of any custom desktop background you are using and use a default Windows one instead as sometimes using a custom one can cause hanging issues.

@justinlee - Wut?

@sega dude - Clean re-install Windows 7 from a Retail copy. Could you tell me the manufacturer of your HDD? You can use Speccy Speccy - System Information - Free Download to find it.

Slasher

What do you mean, 'Wut?' What is unclear about what i wrote?

Well, not really, its just your points aren't really... valid. Yes, the OP should be backing up, but you (or we) haven't even confirmed if his issue is with the HDD, so you shouldn't scare him and tell him to remove all data immediately off the HDD... Only after we have confirmed this we should tell him to do so. Also, I have never seen backgrounds giving any issue to Windows 7, except when picking a full color background, which makes the log-in take longer than normal.

Slasher

1. I did not tell him to 'remove all data immediately off the HDD'. What i told him to do was back it up just in case it is the HDD at fault. As i am sure you would agree a weekly backup is something everyone should do even if the system is functioning perfectly.

2. As for the background giving an issue you may not have seen it but it was something that affected my system before my Windows re-installation. When i had a custom desktop background Windows 7 would freeze after 10-15mins. Upon replacing the custom background with a Windows default one the problem no longer occurred. As i am sure you are aware Windows OS can be very temperamental at times and what affects one person may not affect another dependant on other software, drivers installed etc..

3. Your advice was to do a clean install of Windows 7 in which case he would need to back up the entire HDD anyway to save his files, software etc.

I gave the best advice i thought at the time, which is what this forum is for.