S3 Standby/Sleep not even available but S1 and S4 are?

[btsterli]

I am testing Windows 7 RC on an old Dell Optiplex GX260 with a 3.06 Ghz CPU and about 1.5 GB RAM. So far I've been very impressed at how well it runs on this old box! My biggest challenge has been getting S3 Standby (Sleep) to work. Unlike most posts I've found on the net, my challenge is that S3 isn't even available. Note that S3 worked fine under XP. When I type "powercfg /a" it tells me that S1 and S4 are available but for S3 it says:

"The system firmware may support this standby state, but it does not work properly."



Some things I've tried:

• I have the latest BIOS offered from Dell (A09- hasn't been offered for many years)
• Definitely made sure the S3 option is set in the BIOS (in fact, didn't make any BIOS changes from the settings that work fine under XP)
• Tried various Intel Chipset Drivers (845G) that I could find although it appears this driver has not been offered for a very long time (not surprisingly). I can get the old XP drivers from Intel to install and work fine but it doesn't alleviate the S3 option not being offered.
• Tried stripping the computer down to bare bones hardware without any PCI and other various peripherals attached (exception being the Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse plugged into the USB port)
• Tried various clean installs (not upgrades)
• The only thing that might be slightly less common is that I installed Windows 7 from a USB key rather than a DVD. I can't imagine this could trigger the issue but figured it was worth mentioning.

I think it's great that the powercfg tool tries to tell you why a particular sleep state is not available but I'd love to know what triggers the code to spit out the statement that the firmware does not work properly? Is it getting confused by something? Is the 'check' for S3 more rigid now than in XP?

Any tips or suggestions for next debugging steps would be greatly appreciated.

 

[btsterli]

Another Really Clean Install Attempt

I suspected the following wouldn't make a difference but I wanted to try just to be absolutely sure. I did a complete reinstall again but this time from DVD (vs USB key) and this time without any peripherals or PCI devices installed except a PS2 keyboard and a USB mouse. Unfortunately I get the exact same error message when I use the "powercfg /a" command: The system firmware may support this standby state, but it does not work properly

I would assume that "system firmware" means the BIOS. I just wonder what Windows doesn't like about it enough to say that it doesn't work properly despite the fact that it worked in XP.

 

[mzee 80]

Standby/Sleep

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Reading some of the other posts makes me realise what an ignoramus I am in these matters hence an even greater need for assistance![/FONT]
Ever since installing Windows 7 on a dual boot basis as an alternative to my Windows XP installation I have experienced problems with the standby function, or rather awaking from sleep mode. The implications are rather more serious with Windows 7 there being no standby function as such and there appears to be no way of waking the computer from sleep mode other than to do a hard re-boot by removing the source of power as currently it will not respond to either the mouse or keyboard or even the power button.
Regarding the the Windows XP installation recovery from standby mode is now effected by use of the power button (as opposed to user of either the mouse or keyboard hitherto) which restores Windows XP without however re-booting as in the case of Windows 7 installation.
I have noted references in forum posts that the installation of Windows 7 effects one's bios settings but this being unknown area to me I would wish to be better informed before attempting to make any modifications there n order to effect a solution.
Currently on accessing the America Megatrends bios under Power the drop down menu indicates against Suspense mode - S3 only followed by ACPI support - No and finally ACPI APICS Support as being enabled
Frankly the foregoing references are meaningless to me but hopefully may suggest the source of the problem to someone better informed. All assistance towards finding a remedy would e appreciated.

 

[johnhoh]

I can get the old XP drivers from Intel to install and work fine but it doesn't alleviate the S3 option not being offered.

Windows 7 will at times report a driver to be working properly, when it isn't. Unless you can find vista drivers instead of XP, I am betting on this being a driver issue. This means that this problem would also happen in vista if it was loaded on your machine

 

[btsterli]

I can get the old XP drivers from Intel to install and work fine but it doesn't alleviate the S3 option not being offered.

Windows 7 will at times report a driver to be working properly, when it isn't. Unless you can find vista drivers instead of XP, I am betting on this being a driver issue. This means that this problem would also happen in vista if it was loaded on your machine

Thanks Johnhoh. That's pretty much my guess too. Unfortunately that chipset (845G) seems to be on the threshold where Intel did not provide Vista drivers. In another slightly newer Dell box (GX270 vs GX260), the chipset is 865G and there are vista drivers and standby/sleep works. I wonder if it's possible to trick the 865G drivers into working for an 845G box via clever .inf manipulation? I'm a computer guy but almost no experience in the driver/.inf space so this may be a pipe dream.