Laptop won't wake from sleep, or drains in sleep

Won't wake up

1. Press the power button briefly. Don't hold it. Opening the lid or pressing a key doesn't always wake a laptop.
2. Power light on but the screen is black? Press Windows + Ctrl + Shift + B to restart the display.
3. Nothing works? Hold the power button for 10 seconds to force it off, then turn it on again.

Stop it happening again

• Update the BIOS and graphics driver with your maker's tool (article 66). This fixes most sleep problems.
• Turn off Fast Startup (see article 37).
• Let the keyboard and mouse wake it: in Device Manager, open the keyboard or mouse, select Properties > Power Management, and tick Allow this device to wake the computer.

Battery drains while asleep

Many modern laptops stay partly awake in sleep to receive emails and updates, which uses battery.

• Use Hibernate when the laptop will be off for hours or in a bag. To add it to the power menu, open Control Panel > Power Options > Choose what the power buttons do, select Change settings that are currently unavailable, and tick Hibernate.
• See what's using power: right-click Start, select Terminal (Admin) and run powercfg /sleepstudy. It saves a report showing what was active during sleep.
• See what woke it: run powercfg /lastwake.
• Turn off wake timers: search for Edit power plan > Change advanced power settings > Sleep > Allow wake timers, and choose Disable.
• Turn off USB charging when off in the BIOS, if your laptop has it.

Never put a sleeping laptop in a closed bag. It can overheat. Shut it down or hibernate it first.