Published 2023-01-30 by TechNet New England
A laptop that does not wake from sleep can usually be fixed with a power reset or driver update. Here are the steps for both platforms. ## Windows ### Force Restart If the screen is completely black and nothing responds: 1. Press and hold the **power button** for 10 seconds until the laptop turns off. 2. Wait 10 seconds. 3. Press the power button to turn it on. 4. Your work may be lost if it was not saved before sleep. ### Fix: Update Display and Power Drivers 1. Open **Device Manager**. 2. Expand **Display adapters**. Right-click your graphics adapter > **Update driver**. 3. Expand **System devices**. Look for power management related entries and update them. ### Fix: Disable Hybrid Sleep 1. Open **Control Panel > Power Options**. 2. Click **Change plan settings** next to your active plan. 3. Click **Change advanced power settings**. 4. Expand **Sleep > Allow hybrid sleep**. 5. Set to **Off**. ### Fix: Prevent USB from Waking Sometimes USB devices wake the laptop partially but not fully. 1. In Device Manager, expand **Universal Serial Bus controllers**. 2. Right-click each USB Root Hub > **Properties > Power Management**. 3. Uncheck **Allow this device to wake the computer**. ## Mac ### Force Restart If the screen stays black: 1. Press and hold the **power button** for 10 seconds. 2. Wait 10 seconds. 3. Press the power button to restart. ### Fix: Reset SMC (Intel Macs) 1. Shut down the Mac. 2. Hold **Shift + Control + Option** and the power button for 10 seconds. 3. Release all keys and press the power button. Apple Silicon Macs do not have a manual SMC reset. A normal restart handles it. ### Fix: Reset NVRAM (Intel Macs) 1. Shut down the Mac. 2. Turn on and immediately hold **Option + Command + P + R** for 20 seconds. ### Fix: Check Display Settings If the laptop wakes (you hear sounds, keyboard backlight turns on) but the screen stays dark: Try pressing the brightness keys (F1/F2). Try closing and reopening the lid. Connect an external monitor to check if the display signal is routing externally. ## When to Contact IT If the laptop consistently fails to wake from sleep, the issue may be a BIOS/firmware problem, a failing display, or a driver conflict that requires IT attention.