# Acer notebook won't sleep + restarts not shutdown



## laser132217 (Jul 15, 2016)

Hi, I've been trying to set up my old Acer Aspire Timeline X pc as a Plex media server. I noticed that the laptop immediately wakes from sleep. When idle it'll eventually go into sleep mode and then immediately wake again. This is confirmed from the event viewer log but the reason for wake is listed as unknown.

Running powercfg -requests from the command line indicated Legacy Kernel Caller preventing sleep mode but I can't figure out what the root cause is. I have just clean installed Windows 10 and even after that the PC won't sleep. I've tried disabling network drivers etc but no luck. I have also noticed that when I opt to shutdown from the Windows 10 start menu, the PC shutsdown but then immediately boots again. So it's restarting not shutting down. Don't know if the two are related?

If anyone can offer any advice I'd appreciate it. It'll make a good media server PC but I don't want it running all the time. Thanks in advance.


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## DavisMcCarn (Aug 17, 2005)

I need the exact model number in order to help, OK?


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## laser132217 (Jul 15, 2016)

Thanks for the reply. It's a Aspire 4820T.


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## DavisMcCarn (Aug 17, 2005)

Its in the form of TimelineX _*4820T*_-6645 and the last 4 digits let me find your support page and the specs!


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## laser132217 (Jul 15, 2016)

Apologies! Attached is an image of the back...


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## DavisMcCarn (Aug 17, 2005)

The full model number is *4820T*-_*353G25*_ MNKS and it is on the white strip at the bottom of your pic.

The latest BIOS for that model is from April 2011 and is version 1.25. Have you installed it? http://global-download.acer.com/GDF...1000&Step1=NOTEBOOK&Step2=ASPIRE&Step3=ASPIRE 4820T&OS=ALL&LC=en&BC=ACER&SC=PA_6

Since the BIOS programs all of the hardware's timing before the PC even boots, it could easily solve your problem.


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## laser132217 (Jul 15, 2016)

DavisMcCarn said:


> The full model number is *4820T*-_*353G25*_ MNKS and it is on the white strip at the bottom of your pic.
> 
> The latest BIOS for that model is from April 2011 and is version 1.25. Have you installed it? http://global-download.acer.com/GDF...1000&Step1=NOTEBOOK&Step2=ASPIRE&Step3=ASPIRE 4820T&OS=ALL&LC=en&BC=ACER&SC=PA_6
> 
> Since the BIOS programs all of the hardware's timing before the PC even boots, it could easily solve your problem.


Thank you for the support. I've updated the BIOS and while the machine sounds like it's running a lot smoother (far less fan use than before), the log in Event viewer is still suggesting it is only sleeping for about 4 seconds before waking again. Perhaps this is just one of those things I'll have to get used to!


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## DavisMcCarn (Aug 17, 2005)

"Event viewer is still suggesting it is only sleeping for about 4 seconds before waking again" That usually happens when something tells it to wake up or refuses to go to sleep.
First; though, does it shutdown now?


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## laser132217 (Jul 15, 2016)

No, the shutdown issues are persisting... Quite a few reports of similar problems when clean installing Windows 10 on the Acer forums. Solution for many seems to be rolling back Intel Management Engine driver so going to try that. Will report back.


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## DavisMcCarn (Aug 17, 2005)

What I found said that; but, also said that disabling fast startup worked better. If you change it, you have to restart once (not shut down) or it won't stick: http://www.howtogeek.com/243901/the-pros-and-cons-of-windows-10s-fast-startup-mode/


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## laser132217 (Jul 15, 2016)

That hasn't solved the problem unfortunately as shown by the screenshot. Thank you for your continued support.


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## DavisMcCarn (Aug 17, 2005)

So you turned off fast startup, instantly restarted, went back and checked that it had stayed unchecked, and the PC still won't shutdown?


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## laser132217 (Jul 15, 2016)

DavisMcCarn said:


> So you turned off fast startup, instantly restarted, went back and checked that it had stayed unchecked, and the PC still won't shutdown?


 That's correct. I followed those instructions to the letter and it still just shutsdown and then immediately restarts.


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## DavisMcCarn (Aug 17, 2005)

Go to the device manager, expand the system devices section, right-click the Intel Management Engine (yada), and choose disable. Windows will probably say it needs to reboot so do so and then test.


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## laser132217 (Jul 15, 2016)

DavisMcCarn said:


> Go to the device manager, expand the system devices section, right-click the Intel Management Engine (yada), and choose disable. Windows will probably say it needs to reboot so do so and then test.


IMEI disabled (wasn't prompted to restart though). Shut down and sleep problems still persisting.


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## laser132217 (Jul 15, 2016)

laser132217 said:


> IMEI disabled (wasn't prompted to restart though). Shut down and sleep problems still persisting.


Hang on... we may have made some progress on the sleep problem. Just doing a few tests. Will post back shortly.


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## laser132217 (Jul 15, 2016)

False alarm. So disabling IMEI did nothing so I tried uninstalling from Device Manager and then testing... At first it seemed to sleep ok (fans cycled down, couldn't hear HD) but after closer inspection they were still running just very quietly. Event Viewer log suggests the problem is persisting. Argh!


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## DavisMcCarn (Aug 17, 2005)

The other problem that pops is that you probably have a hybrid video. It uses the Intel HD until it thinks you are asking more than it can do then switches to the ATI/AMD.
In the device manager, do you have two display adapters listed?


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## laser132217 (Jul 15, 2016)

No just Intel(R) HD Graphics.


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## laser132217 (Jul 15, 2016)

Just noticed that Hibernate doesn't work either in the start menu. Screen goes black, the BIOS screen then comes up then I arrive at the log in screen.


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## DavisMcCarn (Aug 17, 2005)

Is anything else, at all, plugged into the laptop?


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## laser132217 (Jul 15, 2016)

DavisMcCarn said:


> Is anything else, at all, plugged into the laptop?


No, absolutely nothing. I think I'll take it into a local repair shop today and see what they have to say... I'll report back. Thanks for your efforts.


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## DavisMcCarn (Aug 17, 2005)

Unless they are extremely good, I don't think they'll be able to fix it (After 40 years of doing this, I'm almost to the point of saying that PC just plain hates Windows 10)
But; I think you should try this:
In an elevated CMD window, type *Powercfg -requestsoverride Driver "Legacy Kernel Caller" System*<enter> which goes back to your initial post and may just work.
The other item I found was this:
http://winaero.com/blog/fix-windows-8-1-hangs-or-freezes/#dpt


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## laser132217 (Jul 15, 2016)

I think you might be right!! The powercfg override hasn't resolved the problem... Legacy Kernel Caller hasn't been showing up in the past 24 hours when I run powercfg -requests so not sure what that was all about. 

I guess I can try updating drivers as the article suggests... although there are so many on the Acer website, I wouldn't be sure where to start? Any suggestions? 

I'm wondering whether I should save myself some hassle and just purchase a Windows 7 license? I literally only need the PC to be a Plex Media server so aren't bothered about all the bells and whistles in Windows 10. Could downgrading solve the problem?


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## DavisMcCarn (Aug 17, 2005)

Unless it got wiped out by careless scraping, there is a windows product key sticker on the laptop, somewhere. On a lot of that vintage PC's, they put it underneath the battery.
Windows 8 embeds it in the BIOS.
Pay attention to the version (Home Premium, etc.) if you find it and write it down; but, you can get a reinstall DVD or USB from here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows7


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## laser132217 (Jul 15, 2016)

So quick update... I decided I'd wasted far too much time already on trying to fix this so bit the bullet and took it to a professional. After 2 days of troubleshooting it (including clean installing various different OSs on both the notebooks hard drive and a completely separate hard drive) the guy believes the problem lies in the BIOS. He's sent it off to the engineer to be looked at but he's confident it isn't a software issue. 

Will report back on Monday when I should know more.


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