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XP SP3 hangs when going into Standby

Hi experts,

I have a freshly installed XP Pro SP3 that SOMETIMES hangs when going into standby. It remains stuck at the "Preparing to standby" screen, but I can still move the mouse pointer around. Unfortunately the only way of getting it out of this state is by hard resetting the PC.

There are no USB devices attached to it except for keyboard and mouse.

Thanks in advance for any hints!
J

pablovr

Check with Event Viewer the system/application logs for problems reported there, and post them here.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315410/en-us

How to View Application Log Events in Event Viewer
To view events in the Application Log of Event Viewer: 1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click Administrative Tools, then double-click Event Viewer.

NOTE: Alternatively, you can start Event Viewer by starting the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) program that contains the Event Viewer snap-in.
3. Click to expand Event Viewer (if it is not already expanded).
4. Click Application.

The events that are logged in the Application Log are displayed in the right details pane.
5. To view more details about a specific event, double-click the event that you want to view.
6. To copy the details of the event, click the Copy button, open a new document using the program in which you want to paste the event (for example, Microsoft Word), and then click Paste on the Edit menu.
7. To view the description of the previous or next event, click the up or down arrow.

pablovr

What did you do to the system, between when it worked, and when it didn't?

pablovr

You might want to take a look here...

Standby & Hibernate Issues in Windows XP
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_standby.htm

By the way, which brand/model is your pc?
I ask this because once I saw a similar problem with a SONY VAIO, and the problem was that there was some operating system update missing to install, which should be downloaded from the SONY website.

jiiins2

ASKER

Thanks for the replies. I'll check the logs later, when at home.

I just reformatted the PC because of other issues and installed the bare minimum (Office, antivirus,...). The problem appeared from day 0.

There is no brand, it's a custom made PC. On another partition it runs XP SP 3 without any problems... with many applications installed.

I'll post the logs later.

Thanks,
J

jiiins2

ASKER

HI Pablov, I checked the link you posted but nothing applies to my situation. Furthermore, there is nothing suspicious in any of the logs (no significant warnings or errors).

Any other ideas?

Thanks!
J

jiiins2

ASKER

I just found out that the same happens with hibernation: the system remains stuck with "preparing to hibernate"...

Help! I feel I'm back to Windows 3.11 :(

Merete

It's probably a program such as Norton not releasing the system.
Hanging on standbye could be a screensaver activated
wrong power settings incompatible with this buggy xpsp3 itself.
Did you have any of these problems prior to sp3?
I'd look into what software is running
open your task manager and look at what's running prior

maybe you answered yourself>> On another partition it runs XP SP 3 without any problems

so what drive letter is associated with partition that you are logged into?
Is it C drive?

jiiins2

ASKER

It's the C drive. I use ESET32 as antivirus, no screensaver. This is a fresh install, so I don't know if prior to SP3 there were any problems. I'm not sure, but there seem to be a link with Outlook: when it's not running, it seems that I have fewer standby hangs. But maybe it's just coincidence...
How can I find out if the power settings are correct?

Here is the hardware configuration:
Asus P5K Deluxe
Intel Core2 CPU 6600 @ 2.40GHz
2GB RAM
ATI Radeon X1050

Thanks,
J

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Merete

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Merete

I just remembered reading this
XP SP3 Win32_Processor Class Labels Intel Core 2 Duo CPUs Incorrectly
http://news.softpedia.com/news/XP-SP3-Win32-Processor-Class-Labels-Intel-Core-2-Duo-CPUs-Incorectly-90201.shtml

http://techtalk.pcpitstop.com/2008/05/25/pitstop-news-flash-sp3-still-no-go-flash-xp-sp3-still-not-ready-news-flash-do-not-install/

And this one
Install SP3 in Safe Mode. To do this, we can avoid third-party programs conflict and make sure the installation can be performed completely.
http://blogs.pcworld.com/tipsandtweaks/archives/006934.html

jiiins2

ASKER

Hi Merete, thank you very much for your help. At the end I removed SP3 and things are back to normal... it's amazing how many people have big problems with it! I would have never thought of this possibility.

Thanks again, you made my day!
J

Merete

You are most welcome. Thank you!!