It sure is annoying when Windows 7 randomly turns on from Hibernation or Sleep Power saving modes for no obvious reason. It recently happen to my Windows 7 Home Premium Computer after I did a repair install of Windows 7. When I turn on hibernate or sleep mode. My PC hibernated for about 20 minutes and automatically turned on by itself “When almost everything was not on like the Fans, lights, keyboard and mouse. But, suddenly out of no where my PC starts to turn on by it self which was freaky since I was not expecting it.
To trouble shoot the problem, I first scanned my computer for viruses, spyware, and malware with Avast 5, Trend Micro Online virus + malware + spyware scanner,  Spybot, Malwarebytes, SuperAntiSpyware, A2free, and Spyware Terminator. My results for all the security programs said my computer is not infected with any viruses, spyware, malware, etc. My PC was perfectly clean.
Next, I open up Task Manager to see if I have any weird processes and I couldn’t find any.
I decided to disable some un-needed services in Services.msc by following the Service guide found at http://www.blackviper.com/Windows_7/servicecfg.htm which is an awesome site!
I uninstalled my firewall and disable Windows Firewall to see if it is the firewall which is causing the random wakes from Hibernation and Sleep mode.
I also disable remote desktop and remote registry for Windows since I never used it.
IÂ restarted my computer and put my PC in hibernation mode to see if this fixed my random wake up problem.
In Power Management advance options for my Power Scheme, I made sure wake on schedule task was disabled.
Wake on LAN is also disable in my BIOS or CMOS settings.
I’m also positive it is not a power problem since I replaced my power supply with a Cooler Master 460W power supply which is a pretty good PSU by a reputable brand unlike some OEM PSU which come stock with certain brands of PC desktop computers.
I did not try a “System restore” since I made some changes like my repair install of Windows 7 I don’t want to reverse, but you can try it.
I also did not look in Windows Event viewer in control panel since it is not very user friendly and kind of a hassle to use.
None of the solutions I listed above work for me in solving random wake up problems with hibernation. Hit the link below to learn how I fixed. it.
I uninstalled Avast 5 antivirus and replaced it with Comodo Internet Security Antivirus and Firewall, and now Windows 7 Home Premium does not randomly wake up from hibernation or sleep. It only wakes from hibernation when I “manually” turn on the computer by pushing the “ON button”
The same thing happen last month when I installed Anti-Vir antivirus on Windows 7, so I installed Avast 5 instead and the problem went away till I did a repair install of Windows 7 which caused Avast 5 to wake up Windows 7.
My best guest why some antiviruses make Windows 7 wake up from hibernation while others do not is the Antivirus company released an update which causes Windows 7 to be buggy, or doing a repair install on Windows 7 breaks Windows 7 hibernation option, and the antivirus causing Windows 7 to wake up.
When doing a repair install of Windows 7, I recommend uninstalling your anti-virus, and other security software. When your Windows 7 repair install is done, you should reinstall your security software like anti-viruses, anti-spyware, and other security software.
I’m also guessing Windows Updates and Service packs can cause random wake ups from Hibernations and sleep power saving modes since Windows Updates and Service Packs can make some very big changes to Windows depending on what they fix or modify on Windows.
If it is not your antivirus, you can go into Windows 7 MSconfig’s Start up tab and manually disable one program at a time. Restart your computer then put your PC in hibernate or sleep Power saving mode. After your computer stop randomly waking up from sleep, you will know which program is causing Windows to wake up from sleep or hibernation by it self.
Alternatively, you can use Task Manager and the System Tray to turn off one program at a time and put your into hibernation or sleep mode.
You can also use Add/remove programs to uninstall programs which are running.
RANT on randomly Waking up from Hibernation in Windows 7.
I’m very disappointed that running Avast 5 and Microsoft after a repair install of Windows would cause Windows to randomly wake from hibernation or sleep. Weirdly, when I installed Anti-vir I did not do a repair install and it still made Windows 7 wake up from hibernation.
What really puzzles me is why can’t Microsoft diagnostic programs warn me that my PC started randomly while being hibernated or put to sleep and give a solution on how to fix my random wake up problem. But, Windows can detect when my PC shut down improperly during shutdown.
I’m guessing Windows 7 or Anti-vir just does not work good on my computer. Windows 7 was the first Windows Operating System I used Hibernation for since Windows Vista Hibernation was too slow, and when I used XP my boot speeds were fast enough I did not need hibernation.
I wonder if I’m just unlucky or the people who test Windows 7 or Anti-vir, Avast for bugs overlooked this bug. Well, I’m glad my Computer been free of RANDOM wake ups from hibernation for two days now. If I get a random wake up again. I will update this post, but since I been free of random wake ups from sleep and hibernation for about 3 whole days. I think I fixed the problem for good.
I thought about reinstalling Avast 5, but I did not like the Green notification box and robotic female voice when a new update was installed.
I picked Comodo Firewall and Antivirus since it has a built-in sandbox program, and I just need to use one installer to install both a firewall and antivirus. I disabled Windows built-in firewall since running two firewalls can cause problems. Plus, I just use MS as my operating system, and office suite programs since I love third party software made by Comodo, 7-zip, Pinnacle, Paragon, CCleaner, BleachBit, Glary Utilities, Sun, Foobar, VLC, Gom player, Crawler, Spybot, MalwareBytes, SuperAntiSpyware, Google, TrueCrypt, Spywareblaster, Trend micro, Keepass, Irfanview, Filezilla, Classic shell, Stardock, Gimp, Tux Paint, Paragon, Piriform, ImgBurn, CPU-Z, Speedfan, CDBurnerXP, Auslogic, Toniart, Pidgin, Art Rage  Free Download Manager, Utorrent, Eraser, Audacity, foxit, Opera, Avant Browser and many more better then the default Windows, Windows Live, and Microsoft products which I can find on Download.com or Sourceforge.net . If you want a list of Great Free Software visit http://johnsonyip.com/wordpress/free-software/ this list is regularly updated when ever I find something worth adding to the list.
I only use Windows Explorer, Notepad, MS Paint Windows Live Movie Maker, Windows Live Messenger, and command prompt on a regular basis.
I’m glad I been free of Random Wake up from Hibernation after I uninstalled Avast 5 since nothing is more annoying then watching TV or gaming on my Xbox 360 and suddenly my PC wakes up by itself causing me to crash my virtual Nissan Skyline in Forza 2, and I lose the race. : (
GREAT post, and great reflection of what a pain in the neck, and lower regions, this is.
New machine, windows 7 64 bit, 1 month old, hibernated FINE !
then, all of a sudden, 8/22/10, sunday, did a backup,and microsoft installed some updtates,and all hell broke loose, can’t hibernate, screwed up my disk encryptionn,etc etc.
I can now sleep slightly, but NOT hibernate.
this is nuts
went thropugh same steps you did…..
maybe one day it will fix itself.
Hi,
I’m surprise Microsoft Windows 7 development team did not fix this problem, or catch it during Beta testing. If you are using a third party firewall and antispyware/malware, you can also try uninstalling and reinstalling the firewall and antimalware software.
I think if Hybrid sleep is enabled in Windows Advance power management system then Hibernate will be disabled. I might write a post on turning hibernation on in the future. You can also read my post on Turning on Hibernate from the command prompt to see if my past help you get hibernate back. Basicly, all you do is type powercfg.exe /hibernate on in the Command prompt window and press enter to turn on Hibernate from the command prompt.
Thanks for the comment!
HERE IS THE SOLUTION
So im having this same problem. I am running BitDefender Internet Security. I think i figured out what is happening. BitDefender is set to scan my computer for viruses if the computer is inactive for a certain amount of time. When i go into sleep this timer then becomes active and turns on the computer to scan. I see two ways to solve this.
1: turn off your auto scanner or change the time it scans at
2: disable allow timed events to wake computer from sleep. To do this, go to you control panel and open power options. then click change plan settings on whichever plan you currently have selected. now click change advanced power settings. click the + next to sleep and you will see a option called allow wake timers. click the + on that and set it to disabled.
I am trying this now as we speak to see if it solves the issue, but by theory this should solve it.
Good luck, Glen with your fix. Computers are being so complicated where we have to change so many settings just to make it to work the way we want these days.
You should of used Avast! 4.8. It is much better.
Avast 4.8 is my favorite version of Avast. It is the best free Anti-Virus I ever used.
Go and check that your computer is not automatically installing updates, that was my problem.
Indeed, Bennet, Windows Update and program updates can be the cause of these waking problems from sleep and hibernate.
Scheduled tasks in Anti-virus, Task Scheduler, and background programs like system maintenance programs can also be the problem.
We’ve just launched a software solution for this problem – small utility called BackToSleep will monitor power events of your computer and will send it to sleep mode if it awakes from sleep or hibernate. It is unique on the market and will protect your computer in any case of awakening – software, hardware or even accidental press of a power button.
Visit website: http://p-sci.com/backtosleep/ to download free fully functional trial.
These solutions only work as long as M$ doesn’t find a way around them. Right now Windows has a stranglehold on the PC market, and things will always run terribly (like they have for the last 25 years) until people stop buying their products. Think that’s going to happen? Then expect to read articles just like this one, in 25 years. M$ business plan is about selling the same product again and again. If their product ever works, their business is over.
You won’t ever fix windows and make it run stably. The reason it appeals to so many people is that it appears to install easily. THAT’S IT.
I agree Windows never seem to work the way I want it to work, and I experience problems with all versions of Windows I tried, so I usually end up trying to figure things out myself, or reading articles like this one to make Windows work.
Linux based operating systems like Ubuntu, Linux Mint, and Puppy Linux are pretty easy to use, and install, but I feel people are too used to Windows as the easiest operating system for newbies which is not always true since Windows Update, Antivirus, and other Windows programs can be more complicated to use since they don’t always work, and crash a lot.