Questions:

A description of my current problem follows these two questions, and
additional information which *may* be of interest is below my signature.

I. Can anybody explain how my system could have lost its ability to recover
from "automatic standby"? If you don't want to explain this yourself, can
you refer me to an on-line explanation?

II. I discovered Herman van Eijk's "MCE Standby Tool," which is discussed
at:

http://www.xs4all.nl/~hveijk/mst/indexe.htm


and in this thread at The Green Button:


http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/1/2...howThread.aspx


and in this thread at the UK AVForums site:

http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=344643


Van Eijk seems to be credible and his tool seems to be intended to correct
problems such as I'm experiencing. His tool is designed for the Media
Center Edition, but he explains that it's also suitable for XP's Home
Edition. Should I install his software in an attempt to correct my system's
apparent malfunction?

Background Details:

I've made heavy use of my current OEM system unit since shortly after it was
assembled by Gateway on 12-24-02. (System details are below my signature.)
I assume this low-end system unit is nearing the end of its service life.
It was only purchased as a stop-gap unit, and it's limited. I plan to
replace it with my first Do It Yourself unit, but I haven't begun to build
the replacement system yet. I decided to replace the Gateway system's
original power supply to increase the chance that I can continue to operate
the aging Gateway unit while I'm building my new system. My new PSU is a PC
Power &
Cooling "Silencer" 470ATX:

http://www.pcpower.com/power-supply/...r-470-atx.html

I'm still operating the OEM copy of Windows XP's Home Edition which was
first installed by Gateway. (I've accepted all relevant Windows Update hot
fixes. I installed SP2 in 4-05. I used Gateway's installation disk to
reinstall the OS after I reformatted my internal hard drive in 10-05.)

I set my system to enter Standby automatically throughout the day in order
to reduce its use of electricity. I was also
manually putting the system into a state of hibernation each night by
holding the keyboard Shift key down, then left-clicking the Windows Start
button, then the "Turn Off Computer" option, and then the Standby/Hibernate
button in the "Turn Off
Computer" dialogue. I then manually flipped off the power switches of my
DSL modem, my speakers, and my monitor.

I was using these settings on the "Power Schemes" tab of Windows XP Home's
"Power Options Properties" dialogue before I recently installed my
replacement PSU. They may not have been optimal, but they worked:

1. Monitor off after 15 minutes
2. HDD off after 2 hours
3. System Standby after 45 minutes
4. System Hibernate never.

I assume these "Power Scheme" settings only control *automatic*
"power-state changes." I assume they have no effect on
*manual* "power-state changes." (Typically, this isn't explained on the
dialogue, or in its contextual help texts. There seems to be an overall
"word shortage" throughout the "PC Realm"...) The "never" setting for
system hibernation didn't preclude my putting the system into hibernation
each night.

I explained in my prior thread in these groups ("Please Explain Power
Schemes in XP Home's Power Options Props") that I didn't seem to understand
these settings or the roles of the various hardware components in system
power management, but my system always previously entered and left Standby
and Hibernation without error.

I think I'd set the system to leave Standby when the mouse was moved, but I
can't find any such mouse setting now. The "recover when the mouse is moved
or when any keyboard key is pressed" option may be offered by XP's Home
Edition by default, and no user setting may be required. (The Microsoft
Optical Wheel Mouse's USB cable is plugged into the mouse port through a
USB-plug-to-mouse-port adapter, in order to save USB2 ports for other
devices.)

I replaced the original power supply unit last Saturday. The system's
Standby/Hibernation behavior never varied until the PSU was changed. From
that point forward the system seemed to *continue* to *enter* Standby
automatically. It also continued to leave Standby in response to mouse
movement, but, instead of returning to its former state, it *rebooted.*

I can use Hibernation now as I previously used Standby but I'd prefer to
restore the normal automatic Standby function if that's possible. My system
is automatically entering hibernation now, and it's recovering to its
previous state from hibernation when I push the system unit's physical power
button in. (The system doesn't leave hibernation in response to mouse
movement now.)

I'm using these settings now:

1. Monitor off after 10 minutes,
2. system hibernate after 30 minutes,
3. hard drive off after 45 minutes, and
4. system standby never, because my system doesn't seem to be able to
recover its prior state from standby.

Thanks for any help you can offer.

Jeff Hook, NJ, USA (Extensive *OPTIONAL* information is below: )


Equipment Details:

Current System Unit:

Gateway300S system in a Pinta Desktop Mid-Tower Case, assembled on 12-24-02
MoBo/Systemboard: Intel Desktop Board D845GRG, Bus Clock: 100 MHz
Processor: Socket 478 2 GHz Intel Celeron, L1 Data Cache: 8 KB, L2 Cache:
128 KB, Bus Speed: 400 MHz
Chipset: Intel 845G chipset family; Memory Controller: 82845G/GE/GL/GV,
I/O Controller: 82801DB (ICH4), Integrated Graphics: Intel 82845G graphics
controller

Drives:
Hitachi 48x/24/48x RW CD Drive
Iomega 100 MB Zip Drive
Panasonic 1.44 Diskette drive
Western Digital Caviar Enhanced IDE 80 GB HDD

RAM: 512 MB as two Crucial 256MB DDR266 PC2100 CL 2.5 non-parity DIMMs
Original PSU: Newton Power Ltd. Model NPS 160CB-1A, Max. Output 160 Watts
New PSU: PC Power & Cooling 470ATX, Max. Output 520 Watts
Audio and graphics are both integrated. The only installed PCI card is for
an unused 56K modem.


Installation of Replacement PSU:

I laid out two anti-static keyboard mats side-by-side on my work table and I
set the open system unit on those mats, on its right side. The cables of
the two mats were clipped to a cast iron steam radiator. While I handled
the contents of the system unit I wore an anti-static wrist strap on each
wrist. (The straps' cables were clipped to the steel of the case frame.)

I took careful note of the OEM cabling of the system unit components before
I detached any connections, and I recorded all of those connections on paper
so I could restore them with the new PSU's cables. I don't think I did any
physical damage during my removal of the OEM PSU or during my installation
of the replacement unit.

The ATX form factor PC Power & Cooling PSU fit the PSU space in the Gateway
mid-tower case
correctly.

The original PSU and the new PSU both used continuous wiring, rather than
modular wires. The MoBo's main PSU socket is a 20-wire type. The original
PSU's main MoBo cable bundle ended in a 20-wire plug, but the main MoBo
cable of the new PSU ended in a 24-pin plug. Typically, the minimal printed
instructions which were provided with the new PSU didn't provide any
guidance, but the retail package included a 24-wire to 20-wire adapter,
which was about 3" long. I installed this to connect the new 24-wire bundle
to the MoBo's 20-wire socket. I tucked the extra cable out of the way
between the Zip drive and the Diskette drive, so it wouldn't obstruct the
air flow inside the system unit case.

I hooked the top three drives to a common 3-plug wire bundle, using the
first molex plug off the PSU for the CDRW drive, the second molex plug for
the Zip drive, and the final plug, a diskette drive plug, for the diskette
drive.

I used the first molex plug off the PSU on a second 3-plug wire bundle for
the HDD, wrapping the unused wire with the two additional plugs around the
frame of an unused drive bay, and securing the unused wire with a
plastic-wrapped wire tie.

The second plug on a 2-plug IDE ribbon cable had previously been plugged
into the HDD, by Gateway. That left extra cable in the path of the airflow
from the intake vent at the bottom of the system unit's front panel. I
unplugged the HDD and used the first of those two plugs on that IDE cable.
I then fed the unused end of that cable through another space in the frame
of the unused bottom drive bay, to improve the airflow in the system unit's
case.

I made no other wiring/data cable changes.

JLH

On the face of it, it sounds like the two power supplies respond
differently to the motherboard signal. Is it possible to acquire a
direct replacement for the original? Otherwise maybe changing the
"Standby" from "S1" to S3" or vice versa in the BIOS may effect a
difference.

Jeffrey L. Hook wrote:

Thanks, Bob, for your contribution.

I know very little about hardware, so I may worry about unexpected results
which may *NOT* indicate any problems. I'm beginning to suspect I
over-reacted to this situation, but I'd appreciate being reassured, so
please add your comments if you wish! "Too much is not enough!"

I now suspect Bob I's diagnosis may be correct. He also suggested that I
could consider changing my BIOS settings, but I'm beginning to wonder if my
system's inability to restore its prior state upon leaving standby really
*IS* a problem. Am I correct?

My system reboots upon leaving standby, instead of restoring its prior
state, with respect to which files were open, etc. My system *does* enter
hibernation automatically during the course of the day, as I've now set it
to do, and I can also manually put it into a state of hibernation each
night, as I always did previously, before I installed a new PSU.
Hibernation seems to be qualitatively superior to standby anyway, because
it's unaffected by any system power loss, due to its use of the hiberfil.sys
file. It also saves more energy/reduces more power plant emissions, due to
its *complete* shut-down of system power, which cuts power below the
"trickle" current which is maintained during standby, in order to preserve
data in RAM

This is my second recent thread in these groups. My first thread was
"Please Explain Power Schemes in XP Home's Power Options Props." I've now
read the excellent Fred Langa Information Week Magazine article about
"Sleep States" which Leonard Grey submitted in my first thread. It's "To
Sleep, Perchance To Hibernate..." at:


http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20020927S0028


Fred offers comprehensive but succinct explanations of all basic "sleep
states" from S0 through S5. I highly recommend his text to any other PC
users who also lack hardware knowledge. Fred supplements his own
explanations of these states by providing links to authoritative sources of
additional information, such as the Advanced Configuration and Power
Interface Consortium, at:

http://www.acpi.info/index.html


Microsoft's ACPI pages, at:


http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/default.mspx


and Intel's ACPI pages, at:


http://www.intel.com/technology/iapc/acpi/


He also provides some old Google Web search-response sets which still look
good now.

These are Fred's comments about S1 through S3, which Bob I mentioned. I'll
also add some of Fred's comments about S4, which is the full "hibernation"
state

+++++++++++

....S1 is the simplest energy-saving state, often used in older systems whose
drivers or hardware won't behave well with more sophisticated levels of
power management. A system at the S1 power level simply shuts down the hard
drive(s) and monitor, but leaves everything else running normally. Different
vendors call S1 by different names, but sleep or standby are perhaps the
most common.

S2 offers greater power savings because it not only powers down the monitor
and drives, it also cuts power to the CPU and its cache. Confusingly, this
level also is sometimes called sleep or standby.

S3 is a deeper power-savings mode that shuts down almost everything except
for the barest trickle of power needed to keep the contents of RAM from
fading away and to listen for a wake-up action. In a way, you can think of
S3 as a "suspend to RAM" state. In fact, many vendors do refer to S3 as
"suspend" mode, but others (alas) may call it standby, sleep, instant on, on
now, and the like.

Note that, although states S1, S2, and S3 all save energy compared with a
full-on PC, they still need at least a trickle of electricity to enable the
PC to watch for a wake-up event, and to preserve the contents of RAM. That's
a key point: If your PC loses power while it's in mode S1, S2, or S3, any
information held in RAM--for example, open and unsaved documents or
files--will be lost or damaged.

Level S4 is fundamentally different from levels S1 to S3. It's hibernation,
where the system stops all activity, just as if you had shut it off. But S4
is also different from the simple power-off of level S5 because, before
powering down, the S4 hibernation system writes the contents of RAM and some
CPU settings to a special file on your hard drive (often called something
like "hiberfil.sys"). Because the PC is truly off--drawing NO power--it
can't watch for a key press or mouse movement to wake up; you usually have
to hit the power switch to bring the system out of hibernation. But when the
PC awakens from hibernation, it doesn't have to go through a full reboot.
Instead, it reads the contents of the hibernation file back into memory, and
thus restores itself to the exact same condition it was in when hibernation
started. Although this takes longer than waking from a sleep or standby or
suspend mode, it's usually much faster than a full boot. Plus, because the
PC is truly off during hibernation, there's nothing live in RAM, so a power
failure will have no effect on the system because all the normally volatile
information in the system is safely stored in the hibernation file on your
hard drive...

+++++++++++


Jeff Hook, NJ, USA