How do I stop my D400 Home Server for going into S3 sleep mode?

[tluxon]

My D400 Home Server keeps going into S3 sleep mode regardless of my Lights Out settings - even if I have it disabled.  How do I make sure the Server stays awake all the time so it can be accessed whenever needed?

[Serge1410]

hey tluxon,

might i suggest this link : http://www.exoid.com/s3-standby-done-right

[tluxon]

All our PC's that are always on are set to go into S3 sleep mode, and it does save a lot of power while being easy to wake them up.  Unfortunately, I don't have any way of accessing the BIOS settings with the D400, since there's no provision for a display until it has completed its bootup procedure and is accessible over the home network.

Using the Lights Out utility, I've been able to keep the server on most of the times it's really needed.  I'd just like a way to make certain that it would be awake or be able to be awakened at any time that it might be needed.

[topmahof Community Moderator]

Have you tried using the easy access utility and task manager to turn s3 sleep off?

[tluxon]

I thought the S3 sleep mode could only be configured in the BIOS. I do have the Advanced Admin Console installed and I regularly Remote Desktop in, but I haven't seen any other way to affect the sleep mode.

The only processes showing in task manager are:
ctfmon.exe, taskmgr.exe, HomeServerConsole.exe, rdpclip.exe, csrss.exe, and winlogon.exe. None of those strike me as being tied to the S3 sleep mode.

[topmahof Community Moderator]

You're probably right about the bios.  Here's your hardware and maintenance manual.  Look on page 21.  There is a way to connect a monitor and keyboard and access the setup, but it's a little involved.  

http://consumerdl.lenovo.com.cn/UserFiles/UserGuide/en/User%27s%20guides%20and%20manuals/D400/IdeaCe...

[Adacis]

Hello,

maybe i misunderstood you, but I don't think it is a bios option. My D400 is always on, except i press the power button, and I configured nothing special.

Have you checked the power options in the control panel on your d400? You have to login with Remote-Desktop.

[tluxon]

Funny thing - I haven't noticed the problem at all for the past couple days.  When I first set up the Lights Out schedule, I found the D400 was going into S3 sleep even when I had told Lights Out to keep it on.  Maybe it just took awhile to synch up or something...

All the power options are set to Always On.

Some people may not be aware that using Remote Desktop to manage the Server is virtually eliminated if the add-in "Advanced Admin Console" is installed.  The Advanced Admin Console provides access to pretty much everything you'd otherwise need to Remote Desktop for - but from right inside the standard Home Server Console.  Microsoft lists this add-in among the most popular Add-ins for WHS and you can get it directly from the developer at http://www.home-server-addins.com/software.  It is recommended for advanced users only, but anybody who's already Remote Desktop-ing in has at least as much opportunity to mess things up on their WHS.

[topmahof Community Moderator]

It probably figured that you were going to tear into it and hook keyboards and monitors up to it and it decided to act right.

Let's see if it keeps acting right.

Dave

[tluxon · Accepted solution]

I read more about the Lights Out add-in and now I'm pretty convinced I had it configured in such a way that the server was simply confused.  Also, I found out that getting the server out of hibernation was dependent on client PC's also having the Lights Out Client installed in order to wake the server up.  I haven't had a problem with it being awake since simplifying the configuration and installing the client software on the other PC's.

Thanks for your patience with my learning curve.