Solved Can't get a daily Shutdown working in Task Scheduler...

PbSchmidt said:

I disabled S0 and enabled S3

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I've learnt more about S0 Modern standby [S0ix] since then.

I've now got two S0ix computers and I have left S0ix active in both.
- I have not attempted to enable S3 in the newest one.
- In the older one, I could disable S0ix but S3 Sleep did not get enabled by that action.

I have not learnt to tame S0ix and am now quite happy with it. See
Power consumption in S0 Modern standby and S3 Sleep - my post #85 - ElevenForum
Running scripts during S0 Modern standby - my post #86 - ElevenForum

I'd had that older one for five years before I learnt to tame S0ix last Summer so I could, for the very first time, use that computer for timed Task scheduler jobs such as waking me up in the morning with On the sunny side of the street.


All the best,
Denis

I used your CMD to find out what power states I have on an HP 14 Boost laptop (just received w/i last 2 wks, purchased new).
The following sleep states are available on this system:
Standby (S3)
Hibernate
Hybrid Sleep
Fast Startup

So I have S3, which from this discussion is "Yaay." I didn't have to disable SO. However, my TS task to shutdown keeps failing. The "run a program" is set to 'shutdown.exe.' No arguments. If possible, I'd like to make it work on this HP device. I have used it on all other laptops for years and we really like it. Also, I like the challenge of making things work. I'll certainly revert to WiseCleaner shutdown tool if I need to.

I'm testing right now and if it suddenly works everything will shutdown in 3 minutes. I may need to come back to edit this.

Very grateful all of you excellent helpers are here. Many thanks.

Actually, I have changed my mind about S0 Modern standby completely.
I learnt how to tame it.
- When I tested several computers against each other last year, I found that S0 Modern standby [S0ix] used as little power as a comparable computer did in S3 Sleep.
- I also discovered that the way to allow scripts to run during S0 Modern standby was to set the Power options entry Sleep after to Never.

But back to the point.

geogat said:

The "run a program" is set to 'shutdown.exe.' No arguments

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This will just produce its Help file onscreen.
It will not take any action at all.
When I use Shutdown commands, I use these arguments
shutdown.exe /s /t 0 /f
See
Shutdown - SS64
You can save its built-in help file with this command [using a path of your own]
shutdown /? >F:\ScriptingNotes\Shutdown.txt
which is a handy way to guarantee an up-to-date version of any command's Help [shutdown won't be a problem in this regard but help websites still don't even show the heavily re-written Windows 10 netsh command let alone any further changes that Windows 11 might have brought].


All the best,
Denis

Thank you so much, Try3. I will do that this weekend when I go back to wrestling that HP computer. I will report back here. Cheers!

It worked! I'm ecstatic! Without the W10 and W11 forum site, I think most of us MS users would be insane by now. Bless all of you SO much. I bookmarked the info and I'm sure I'll use it again in future.

I'm glad it is all done.
I don't actually understand why there'd be a need to shutdown on a timer but that's your choice.


All the best,
Denis

---

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Hello Try3. It was because the way this device came out of the box, all the lights & fan would stay on all night if I didn't create an auto-shutdown. Otherwise a human would have had to do it manually every night, and we never remember to go in there to do that. Then the sound of the fan and the light would wake one of us in the middle of the night. I would have been just as happy with hibernate or sleep, as long as the task caused the lights & noise to turn off. Also got a Lenovo Thinkpad when we got this HP, and it has Modern Standy going and once it goes to sleep everything is off - no lights, fan, etc. Was hoping this HP had same, but I have discovered although it was sold as 'brand new,' in between HP and me a business made some tweaks to it. Not yet out of my return window and still not sure I should keep it. Lots of complaints from other buyers have been posted.

I am very, very, very suspicious about your HP re-seller.
I do not know what would provoke somebody to set up a power plan that kept the computer on all the time.
What are your power plan settings?


and the Choose what the buttons do settings?




Since our Lenovo's both have S0 Modern standby [S0ix], we can talk about that if you want but I think my post #43 contains everything useful I have to say.


All the best,
Denis

I enjoyed reading everything you'd already posted about the Modern Standby setting and thought about it in terms of my Lenovo ThinkPad. That machine is running very nicely.

This HP Blast 14, however, also has ME feeling highly suspicious. After reading quite a few Amazon reviews of this item that discussed owners suspicions that the machine had been highly tweaked before they got it, even though it is absolutely advertised as brand new, I'm squeamish because I keep feeling as though "something is wrong" but I don't know enough to figure out how to evaluate it.

Here are some screen shots of current power plans. Please bear in mind that while I was chasing the problem of the fan & lights being on all night and my various iterations of Tasks not working, I had changed these setting several times (to no avail). Bottom line being, not sure if these current settings mean much.

Thank you for taking an interest. Very appreciated.

geogat,

In future, do note that you'll get better replies if you post diagrams in your posts rather than posting pdf files which have to be downloaded then opened.

You can post diagrams by clicking on the Insert image button in the post's editing toolbar and then dragging a picture onto it.

There's a file size limit [probably 2MB for picture files, but I cannot find the list at the moment].


For all, here are the OP's pictures:-

Power plan settings


Choose what the buttons do



Denis

With those power plan settings, you should not get the always-on symptoms you described.

If you've only just got this computer, I'd advise telling the seller that you want the problem fixed or you'll return the computer for a full refund.
Sometimes sleep problems can be fixed in a moment but sometimes they defy all analysis so get the seller onto it straight away.

If you want to investigate then I suggest finding out how the computer behaves in Safe mode and how it behaves in a different user account [even if you have to create one for the test].
Boot to Safe Mode - ElevenForumTutorials
Add Local User Account - ElevenForumTutorials
If the results are behaves OK in Safe mode but does not sleep in the other user account [i.e. symptoms the same in another user account] then I would get another copy of the display driver and install it.


Denis

I cannot find any references to
HP 14 Boost laptop
so I do not know what age it is.

If it comes from only the last few years, I am very surprised that it has come with S3 Sleep.
I do wonder if it came with S0 Modern standby [S0ix] and has been converted to S3 Sleep instead.
Many people have done this successfully.
I have not.
- On one computer, I disabled S0ix but S3 Sleep remained disabled.
- On another, an HP laptop last year, I disabled S0ix, it reported that S3 Sleep was enabled but S3 Sleep was totally unusable.

Does this computer have any other faults?


Denis

Greetings Denis and thank you so much for helping me learn about best way to get screenshots posted. I will definitely use that from now on.

And I apologize - I named the laptop in error. "HP 14 R3 Burst" Ad at Amazon claims it is new as of 2023. (Amazon.com) There are quite a few buyer reviews that refer to people being suspicious about the device due to it seeming to have something that doesn't match the original specs of the device, the warranty being over, and the box info being changed.

It has been working well except off & on a web page stalls. I had assumed it was our wifi in that room but then remembered that even with the ancient laptop we had in there previously, that wasn't happening. Then read some buyer comments related to that problem.

I will perform your suggestions and report back. I will be able to work on it on Tuesday. (I still have several weeks in the return window so I have time to try things.)

The first problem I contacted Amazon about was the warranty was expired. Amazon told me to contact the seller, who promptly claimed, "I can't do anything about anything - talk to Amazon." Then (you guessed it) Amazon insisted only the seller could address any need for help. That went on for a bit, upshot being I realized I was on my own and either had to ensure it was an okay device or return it before the window closed. (I was able to get HP to reopen the warranty, so at least that got corrected.)

Again, many thanks for your time and expertise.

Why did you have to get HP to "re-open" the warranty?

Any seller who says, "I can't do anything about anything - talk to Amazon." is a crook.
Personally, that would be enough for me to return the computer for a full refund.

Once you have fully charged the battery, I suggest you check the battery state. Run this command in a Terminal [PS or Cmd prompt] window but with a folder path of your own
PowerCfg /batteryreport /output "F:\SomeFolderOrOther\BatteryReport.html" /Duration 1

The results to note are right near the top


The ratio Full charge capacity / Design capacity will tell you how much the battery has been used on the past.
The example results are for a battery that had been in use for a couple of years. It can still achieve 60% of its original charge capacity which is okay for the amount of use it had had by then.
A new battery should report both parameters as the same or thereabouts i.e. 100%.


Denis

The day I got it I went to register the warranty and the HP webpage (auto-scans the computer, so no user input errors) reported the warranty had expired mid year of 2023. So I went ballistic. That's when I first reached out to Amazon, then the seller, then Amazon etc. No joy from them but I continued reading the many buyer reviews and a couple mentioned this but that instead of returning, they were able to find a place on the HP website where owner uploads a sales invoice and HP restarted the warranty.

I will do the battery report ASA can pry husband off that HP, then report back.

The more discussion we have, the more I'm leaning toward returning this thing. I've found more buyer reviews where buyers who were at least a little savvy were sure the machine had been tweaked by the listed Amazon seller. I do know now that mine had the HDD swapped out for an SSD, which is a good thing, but wondering if more was done under the hood that isn't good.

If I go to
and enter my HP's serial number, it takes me to a page that lists Product specifications including its original hardware & its original OS.
And, at the top of the page, there's a link to warranty details which might also contain useful data.

Is it activated with a digital licence?
Settings, System, Activation.

If it is activated with a digital licence, if it originally came with Windows 11 & if its battery does prove to be more or less unused then that's good.

There is one test that will almost certainly pass and it checks that the computer is ready for Windows 11 Version 24H2, which has slightly enhanced system requirements.
See post #25 here: Microsoft's upcoming change could block off Windows 11 CPU requirements bypass on old PCs
Even my 2016 computer passes the test so your 2022[?] computer ought to.


The always-on symptom remains the primary concern in my opinion.


Denis

What a blessing and great teacher you are, Denis. I will get back on all this tomorrow and report more. I was able to quickly do the battery check and Design & Full Capacity match, so at least that part is good. More soon.

That took longer than expected - sorry, life got in the way of computer fun.

Settings>System>Activation shows "Activated" for warranty.

Battery health report shows Design & Capacity the same, so all good there. It has been plugged in almost this entire past 3 weeks since I got it.

CPU-Z shows I am ready for 24H2.

Used my HP account to Detect, then looked through complete specs. The only thing different was my RAM upgraded to 16GB (from the original specified 4GB on the spec list).

Anything else I should be checking before my return window closes? I'm feeling a lot better now after following your guidance on "things to check," as far as not getting worked up over whether or not I should return it.

Cheers,
G

Try3 said:

Is it activated with a digital licence?
Settings, System, Activation.

Click to expand...

geogat said:

Settings>System>Activation shows "Activated" for warranty.

Click to expand...

I have no idea why you mentioned any warranty in that statement. Accident?
What's important is that it is activated with a digital licence.

geogat said:

Battery health report shows Design & Capacity the same

Click to expand...

Good.

geogat said:

Anything else I should be checking before my return window closes?

Click to expand...

Not that I can think of.
Of course, your report about its the failure to sleep remains a serious issue that almost certainly indicates a hardware problem.


Denis

I think I misunderstood this info from you: "....there's a link to warranty details which might also contain useful data. Is it activated with a digital licence? Settings, System, Activation.

If it is activated with a digital licence, if it originally came with Windows 11 & if its battery does prove to be more or less unused then that's good."

I had navigated to "Settings > System > Activation" and that point showed "Activated." I thought that meant the warranty had been Activated.

What did I misunderstand, please? Obviously I'm thinking the notice "Activated" applied to 'warranty,' but I think that's not what you meant?

And "yikes," I did not realize that the original problem, where it did not go into sleep, indicated a hardware problem. I've re-read all the posts and at this point not understanding what I can do to see if there really is a hardware problem. Pardon me in advance, please, if there is something I'm just not grasping.