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Q: Why do you recommend to change some BIOS settings when using WakeMeUp! ? |
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A:
WakeMeUp! is unable
to resume a PC from StandBy mode if it has RTC Alarm
feature enabled in system BIOS. Please turn it OFF if
you want WakeMeUp! to be able to resume your computer
from S1/S3 sleep mode.
You want your PC to work like a very advanced alarm
clock (mp3,multiple alarms...). Right? But does a
standard stand-alone alarm clock produce any noise
when it's idle. It does not. But most our computers
produce the annoying noise when they are running and
there's still some noise from them even when they
are in StandBy Mode. Why is it so? There're two basic
StandBy Modes (also known as Sleep Modes). They are
S1 and S3. In S1 your computer consumes less power
because HDDs and some other devices are powered off,
but CPU is still running and it requires its fan to
rotate. In S3 mode it's only RAM (system memory) that
remains powered. So, there is no noise at all. The
reamaining text of this article describes how to switch
to S3.
First of all you should find out if there is any noise coming out of your PC when you switch it to StandBy mode. To do so, press Start -> Turn Off Computer -> StandBy. If StandBy button is not active, then there can be the following reasons:
- Sometimes, when you install Windows with S3 Mode enabled, it decides your system doesn't support ACPI at all (or like that) . The only solution is to re-install windows with StandBy Mode switched to S1. The information on how to switch between these modes is given below.
- ACPI is not enabled in BIOS -> Power management menu. Enable it. The information on how to get to this menu is given below.
- And the last reason is the most unpleasant. You mainboard doesn't support ACPI. Your PC should be rather old (<1998) if this is so.
The following section describes how to make necessary changes to system BIOS.
Print this article, then save your work and reboot the PC. When BIOS POST (Power On Self-Test) begins your screen should look like this. |
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BIOS POST. Click to enlarge. |
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There must be a message like "Press DEL to enter SETUP" on this screen. Press the button mentioned there (In this case and in most cases it is DEL or DELETE). You may press it several times to ensure that the system got your input. If your BIOS settings are password-protected, enter a valid password to proceed. If everything's OK the following BIOS Main Menu appears. The list of items and their names may be different.
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BIOS Main Menu. Click to enlarge. |
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Use UP/DOWN/LEFT/RIGHT arrow keys on your keyboard to navigate through items. Select "Power Management Setup" item and press <Enter>. A screen like the following will appear.
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Power Management Setup. Click to enlarge. |
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Ensure that "ACPI function" (or "ACPI", "ACPI support") is set to "Enabled". If no, navigate to the "ACPI function" item, press <Enter> and in a pop-up menu select "Enabled" by UP/DOWN arrow keys. Press <Enter> to leave this pop-up menu and save changes.
"ACPI Suspend Type" (or like that) must be set to S3(STR) or S3. The possible values are: S1,S3 and S1&S3. To do so, navigate to "ACPI Suspend Type" item, press <Enter> and in a pop-up menu that will appear select "S3(STR)". Press <Enter> to leave this pop-up menu and save changes. This operation is illustrated on the following picture.
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Setting ACPI Suspend Type to S3. Click to enlarge. |
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To save the changes you've just made, press <F10> key. The following dialog will appear
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Save Settings Dialog. Click to enlarge. |
Press <Y>, then <Enter> . That's it. |
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