Computer will sleep, but stays warm & kills battery. Help

Hello everyone.

I recently bought a new Dell Inspiron laptop with Windows 8 (first time 8 user). I am loving the computer so far and don't mind Windows 8. It is not nearly as bad as people have told me, just takes getting used to.

However, I have had a problem when I put my computer to sleep. The screen shuts off and the power button blinks slowly like a slept computer would. However, the computer continues to feel as warm as it does when it is on and running. I also had it unplugged overnight after I put it to sleep, and in the morning, the battery had died, which shouldn't happen when it is asleep. I am far from an expert but I figure that while the computer goes to sleep, some program may still be running to keep using all that power.

How can I fix this problem because I need to transport my laptop around, but don't want to put it in an enclosed case if it stays warm while asleep? Any help people could provide would be greatly appreciated!

Hello DBDx316, and welcome to Eight Forums.

In your situation, it may be best to have your laptop hibernate when you close the lid instead, and to shut down Windows when you are not going to use it for a while. This way it will not use the battery when not plugged in, and will not get warm.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

Thank you for the response Brink. I have been doing that for the time being. However, when I just have to take my laptop from one class to another, I would like to be able to use sleep mode. Do you have any ideas what could be causing my problem and a potential fix?

Do you have the laptop in a bag? If so, that will cause the laptop to stay warn even in sleep mode.

If you are opening and closing the laptop often between classes, it may not have enough time to cool down before the next time you open it. When in sleep mode, there is still some power being used by the laptop, so it will still produce a small amount of heat, and reduce/kill the battery level if not plugged up.

If you like, you could create a couple of shortcuts or context menu using to the tutorial below to make it easier to switch between power plans as needed. This way you could have two power plans set for what you like for sleep and hibernate.

Power Plan - Create Shortcut to Change Power Plan - Windows 7 Help Forums


http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/22673-power-plan-choose-desktop-context-menu-windows.html

Thanks again Brink. I will try those tutorials and will report back next time I sleep the computer.

I have only transported the computer while in sleep mode 1 time so far because classes have not started yet. I put my computer to sleep one night with it being unplugged and the battery was completely dead the next morning (it was just sitting on my desk). Is this normal at all? I know it still uses some battery, but I never had a laptop use that much power to drain the battery overnight while in sleep mode.

You might check the wake source log to see if the laptop may have woken up anytime during when it was supposed to be asleep.
For example, at 3AM for maintenance and updates.