Knowledge Base

How to troubleshoot hibernation and standby issues in Windows XP

Article ID: 907477

Article Last Modified on 10/14/2005

APPLIES TO

Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Microsoft Windows XP Professional

INTRODUCTION

This article describes how to troubleshoot hibernation and standby issues in Microsoft Windows XP. You may experience abnormal behavior when a computer enters or leaves hibernation or standby. This behavior may be caused by one of the following issues:

Outdated system firmware
Peripheral firmware
Incompatible drivers
Hardware that does not correctly support hibernation and standby

This article also discusses how to determine whether a Windows XP-based computer supports Advanced Power Management (APM) features, such as hibernation or standby.

MORE INFORMATION

Hibernation and standby are very low power states where all system content and data is stored in the computer's memory. During hibernation and standby, most of the system's components are turned off. If you put the computer in hibernation or on standby, you can conserve significant power. The computer can very quickly restart and retrieve its previous state.

However, when a computer enters or leaves hibernation or standby, one or more of the following issues may occur:

You receive an error message that is similar to the following:

Unable to enter Standby mode.
The system cannot resume from hibernation or from standby.
After the system resumes from hibernation or from standby, the computer works abnormally. You may notice audio, mouse control, or video distortion problems.
When a computer enters or leaves hibernation or standby, you receive a Stop message that is similar to the following:

0x0000009F: DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE

These issues may occur if one or more of the following conditions are true:

The hardware does not correctly support hibernation and standby.

Older hardware may not be Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI)-compliant or may predate ACPI.
The system is currently using a VGA video driver.

VGA drivers supply the basic video functionality. However, VGA drivers do not support the power management functionality.
The system firmware (BIOS) is out of date.

If you do not upgrade the system firmware to the latest version, problems may occur, especially for ACPI-compliant systems. For x86-based systems that are equipped with an APM-based (non-ACPI) BIOS, you can disable APM temporarily until you can obtain a firmware update. This configuration can eliminate startup problems, such as instability and Stop errors.

Note If you disable APM, a computer cannot enter hibernation or standby.

For more information about troubleshooting APM-related Stop errors, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

237673 How to troubleshoot Stop error messages after enabling Advanced Power Management
The peripheral firmware is out of date.

Peripherals are typically packaged with diagnostic software that lets you verify the firmware version that is installed. Visit the manufacturer's Web site to determine whether the peripheral firmware requires an upgrade. Firmware updates for various devices that include SCSI adaptors, modems, CD and DVD-ROM drives, or video cards, may be available. If you find updates for several devices, install them one at a time to determine the effect of each update.
You are using outdated driver files that do not support power management.

The outdated driver files may cause incompatibility problems. This behavior prevents a computer from entering or leaving hibernation and standby. Make sure that you install the latest updates for the operating system to all the devices, especially audio devices and video devices. Audio devices must have drivers that use Windows Driver Model (WDM) architecture exclusively.
You are using incompatible software that installs components that interfere with power management or do not support power management.

How to resume from a failed hibernation or from a failed standby

If the computer cannot return to regular operation after the computer enters hibernation or standby, try the following methods:

Let Windows XP delete restoration data if corruption is found.

When you put a computer in hibernation or on standby, Windows XP saves all system content to the system drive\Hiberfil.sys file before the system shuts down. The Ntldr file examines the integrity of the Hiberfil.sys file. If the Hiberfil.sys file is damaged, you may receive an error message that is similar to the following:

Delete restoration data and proceed to system boot menu.

When you press ENTER to confirm the error message, Windows XP deletes the Hiberfil.sys file and performs a regular startup.

Note system drive is a placeholder for the drive where Windows is installed.
Disconnect any devices that you plugged in after you put the computer in hibernation or on standby.

Try not to plug in devices when the computer is in hibernation or on standby. For best results, resume the computer first, and then plug in peripherals, such as universal serial bus (USB) devices.
Restart the computer.

By default, ACPI-compliant systems are configured to shut down when the power button is pressed and released. If the system does not shut down after a short time, press and hold the power button until the system turns off. The system usually turns off in approximately four seconds.

Some older systems have a reset button. If the computer does not restart when you press the reset button, press the power button to turn off the computer.

Note Inappropriate shutdown operations may cause unsaved data to be lost. Windows XP can detect whether an incorrect shutdown has occurred. If Window XP detects an incorrect shutdown, it starts the Autochk.exe file to correct any file system problems during the startup process.

For more information about the Autochk.exe file and the Chkdsk.exe file, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

831426 Chkdsk.exe or Autochk.exe starts when you try to shut down or restart your computer

Note After you restart the computer, you may want to run the Crash Analysis tool. This tool can help determine whether a driver is the cause of a problem. Drivers are the primary causes for hibernation and standby issues.

For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

310414 How to configure and use error reporting in Windows XP

For more information, visit the following Microsoft Web sites:

Microsoft Online Crash Analysis

https://oca.microsoft.com/en/Welcome.aspx

Microsoft Update

http://update.microsoft.com/microsoftupdate/v6/default.aspx

Windows Update

http://update.microsoft.com/windowsupdate/v6/default.aspx

How to avoid hibernation and standby issues

To avoid hibernation and standby issues, follow these practices:

Do not make major changes to the computer's state after you put the computer in hibernation or on standby.

For example, if you put an undocked portable computer in hibernation or on standby, do not resume the computer when it is docked. Computers that are not ACPI-compliant may be more sensitive to this kind of state change.

Do not force hibernation or standby when you are running certain applications.

Some applications do not respond well if you put the computer in hibernation or on standby when these applications are running. Applications such as CD and DVD burning software and system backup utilities may run incorrectly if hibernation or standby is forced. CD and DVD media may become unusable. Backup data may become corrupted. Always wait until these applications have completed their data gathering and recording tasks before you put the computer in hibernation or on standby.

How to determine whether a computer is using ACPI features

Hibernation and standby require a system BIOS that supports ACPI or the former Advanced Power Management (APM) specification. To avoid problems, review system documentation or see the manufacturer's Web site for information about how to determine whether the firmware is compliant and up to date. Updated firmware is especially important when you use the ACPI functionality.

To determine whether a computer is using ACPI features, follow these steps:

Click Start, click Run, type devmgmt.msc, and then click OK.
In the Device Manager window, expand Computer, and then verify whether you can see the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) PC option. If you can see it, the computer is using the ACPI functionality.

How to determine whether a computer supports hibernation and standby features

Click Start, click Run, type powercfg.cpl, and then click OK.
In the Power Options Properties dialog box, verify that a Hibernate tab exists. If the tab exists, click the Hibernate tab, click to select the Enable hibernation check box, and then click Apply.
In the Power buttons section, verify that the Standby option and the Hibernate option appear in the drop-down list on the Advanced tab.

Note If a Hibernate tab exists and you click to clear the Enable hibernation check box on the Hibernate tab, the Hibernate option will not appear in the down-down list on the Advanced tab.

If both the Standby option and the Hibernate option do not appear, either the computer does not support these features or the power management features are disabled in the BIOS. Contact the system manufacturer for information about the BIOS settings.

For more information about how to use the standby and hibernate features, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

308535 Description of the different Advanced Power Management states

302414 Unable to use power management features

815304 The computer does not resume from hibernation or does not Wake-on-LAN from standby

822827 Computer stops responding after you put it into hibernation, and then resume it from hibernation many times

Keywords: kbtshoot kbprb KB907477

Microsoft KB Archive/907477

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