ACPI Power states - Force G3/S6 from Windows. (vs mechanical)

[B00kWyrm]

Here's a puzzler... at least for me.

Can I force a G3/S6 power state from the Windows 7 OS?

Here is why...
When I shut down my laptop I want NOTHING to re-wake it,
except the mechanical on-button to boot..
It makes me nervous when it can wake itself.

I am running Windows 7 Home Premium (fully updated SP1)
On a Dell Vostro 3550, with the A12 BIOS.
(i3-2310, 8gb, Samsung 830 series ssd as boot drive - my own upgrade, not original)
This is a laptop used for personal use, at home.

I seem to have proven that
the Windows shut-down is to s5/g2,
allowing LAN (for example) to cause it to reboot.

AND, using the power-button (mechanical off) at the log-in screen
causes a "Windows did not shut down properly" on next boot.

When I leave LAN unplugged it seems not to reboot,
but when I leave it, it will always reboot, in a matter of seconds, to a matter of hours later.

What else have I done?
Well...

a. Bios... there is no "Wake on LAN" to disable.,
though that seems to be what usually triggers it
(I have not proven it is the only trigger, but... When the LAN cable is connected it is likely to restart itself)
Wake from USB has been disabled - No effect.

b. Device Manager -> Properties ->Power Management (all devices checked individually)
Check "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power"
unCheck " Allow this device to wake the computer".

c. ->Network adapters -> Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller -> Properties ->Advanced ->
Disable "Wake on pattern match"
Disable "Wake on magic packet"
Disable "Shutdown Wake-On-Lan"

d. Start Button -> Search -> cmd ->Right Click -> Run as administrator.
a. powercfg.exe /lastwake - No Results found
b. powercfg.exe /devicequery wake_armed - No Results found

e. check the Power Options (in Control Panel)
->power options -> advanced settings -> Sleep -> Allow wake timers
-> On battery: Disable!
-> Plugged in: Disable!

-> power buttons and lid -> power button action
-> On battery: Shut down
-> Plugged in: Shut down

-> Lid close action
-> On battery: Shut down
-> Plugged in: Shut down

f. Check in Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Task Scheduler
program updaters are disabled (Garmin, Google, Adobe, etc).
(also Windows updates are not automatic!)

g. Disable the Windows Customer Experience Improvement Program

h. Check Event Viewer... What is calling during the night?
Media Center! -> Disable Media Center. (not using anyway!)

I am at a loss what else to do,
short of registry edits to force s6 vs s5 (if this even can be done) .
Any help?
Thanks in advance!

 

[gbhall]

You don't much mention having poked around in the bios, which is where most power settings originate. It remains an awful fact that MS power saving settings always have been, are now, and probably always will be, a total and utter mess. Especially on portables.

It is possibly understandable (I don't say forgivable) because the functionality is fundamentally split between the OS and the bios (which MS has no control over). Although there are supposed to be standards - you mention G5 and S6 yourself - the fact is those standards do not get finalised until long after manufacturers have been churning out kit corresponding to their own idea of what the standard might end up being. Only point 3 below solves that one - sometimes.

In short, you may never get fully compliant action on power settings, but........some sensible suggestions are:
(1) Create a new, personal power policy, and give it a personal name. Do this while logged in as your major user, and if you have more than one normal user, create a new one for each user. This often works, but only until the next major MS update.
(2) If the above fails to work for you, you can do no better than full shut down each time from the screen start button, and will have to live with that. It's very easy to add a desktop icon to make this simple
(3) FOR EXPERTS ONLY. Update the motherboard bios to the latest available. Never attempt this without complete knowledge as it is very easy to end up with an expensive door-stop.

 

[B00kWyrm]

Thanks gbhall!
Pretty much what I concluded must be the case...

You don't much mention having poked around in the bios, which is where most power settings originate.

I thought I had covered the bios (point 1), indicating what I could
and what I could not do with this bios, on this machine.
Thanks again.