New ASUS PN53 mini PC doesn't support sleep!?

blickbox · Aug 9, 2023

So I bought a GEEKOM AS 6, which is basically a rebranded Asus PN53.

Incredibly, the computer does not seem to support sleep.

It seems "Modern standby" is enabled, and when I put the computer to sleep, it basically just turns off the monitors. The fans are still running at lowest RPM, and the computer draws 10 watts of power.

Output from powercfg is below. I checked the BIOS, and the only power related options I can find, is "CEC/ERP Ready" and the various choices does not seem to have any effect.

Have anyone heard of a brand spanking new PC that does not support being put sleep!?

Code:

C:\Windows\System32>powercfg -a
The following sleep states are available on this system:
    Standby (S0 Low Power Idle) Network Connected
    Hibernate
    Fast Startup

The following sleep states are not available on this system:
    Standby (S1)
        The system firmware does not support this standby state.
        This standby state is disabled when S0 low power idle is supported.

    Standby (S2)
        The system firmware does not support this standby state.
        This standby state is disabled when S0 low power idle is supported.

    Standby (S3)
        The system firmware does not support this standby state.
        This standby state is disabled when S0 low power idle is supported.

    Hybrid Sleep
        Standby (S3) is not available.
        The hypervisor does not support this standby state.

NOTE: If I disable S0 in registry, it still says "firmware does not support..", and I literally lose the sleep choice in the power down menu.

Flashorn · Aug 9, 2023

If the firmware doesn't support sleep, I would suggest you verify their Forums to see if there
is a firmware update or if this is the way it was meant to be.

Geekom Forum

Beekom AS6 Ryezen 9 - Sleep mode issues

Hi everyone, Just brought a new Beekom AS6 Ryzen9 Mini PC and everything was going well, except when the system goes into sleep mode or I put it on sleep mode manually, the system never wakes up. All I can see is the power light flashing (slow white flash, which means it's gone to sleep mode...

community.geekompc.com

swbrains · Sep 15, 2023

I have the same issue with this computer. I just bought it and set it up, but now it won't sleep. Same thing -- it doesn't even appear to support normal standby/sleep mode. It's always on with the fans/drive light running, even though the monitor shuts off when I issue a sleep command manually.

Have you found any resolution?

Fabler2 · Sep 15, 2023

There's a long thread about it here,

Disable Modern Standby in Windows 10 and Windows 11 Tutorial

swbrains · Sep 15, 2023

Thanks. I saw that and tried the registry entries suggested, but then I lose the Sleep option altogether. It disappears from the Shutdown menu and issuing a manual sleep command (rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,SetSuspendState 0,1,0) does nothing, so I removed the registry settings and Sleep is at least back on the menu.
When I run powercfg /a, it tells me it doesn't support any sleep states other than S0 and Hibernate. I don't want to use hibernate due to how slow it is to wake, and from what I've read, S0 (Modern Standby) doesn't allow Task Scheduler to wake the PC. Since I do nightly backups via Task Scheduler, that's out of the question.
Someone in another thread said that the Task Scheduler issue is indeed a thing with S0, and if you want to run TS processes, you have to go into Windows Settings->Power and set "Sleep after" to never. The monitor will turn off and, if S0 is enabled, it will use a lower-power mode over time while no activity is occurring and will still honor Task Scheduler requests, but it won't actually put the computer into a "sleep" mode (blinking power light and no fans). I guess I'll have to try that.
Right now, when I leave the computer for any amount of time past the "sleep after" (i.e. 5 minutes), it wakes but I have no keyboard or mouse, and have to shut it down via the power button and restart it, so I guess I have bigger fish to fry.

TechnoMage2021 · Sep 15, 2023

Just a friendly tip, from a very old and very retired Computer Tech.

There have been hundreds of Threads started in many forums concerning problems with sleep, and/or Hibernate.
Seems like they are problems for a lot of computer users.

So to just play it safe, during the setup of any new Windows Install, I go into Power Options, in the Control Panel, and totally disable any and every options to put the computer to Sleep.
Then I run a little script to disable Hibernate. That also gets rid of that humongous Hiperfil.sys file in the root directory.

Now, with those two things out of the way, I have a great running PC. I turn it ON when I want to use it, and OFF when I'm done with it.

SAFE and never Sorry!

blickbox · Oct 10, 2023

swbrains said:
I have the same issue with this computer. I just bought it and set it up, but now it won't sleep. Same thing -- it doesn't even appear to support normal standby/sleep mode. It's always on with the fans/drive light running, even though the monitor shuts off when I issue a sleep command manually.

Have you found any resolution?

No, I have not found any solution, I'm using hibernate, which takes almost 2 minutes to turn off, and about 20 seconds to start :-(

This garbage of a PC does not seem to support being put to sleep. I was not even aware it was legal to sell computer today that does not support sleep, considering all laws about power conservation. Out of the box, this PC uses 10 watts of power and makes fan noise when it's at sleep.

@TechnoMage2021 and @Fabler2 : The problem here is not disabling modern sleep. The problem is that it does literally not support S3 sleep, as you can see in my first post. So disabling modern sleep, disables sleep completely.

swbrains · Oct 10, 2023

So my research in the meantime seems to indicate that modern standby actually is a "power saving" mode. In fact, that's all it is -- not a "sleep" mode, per se, but still power saving. Even though it starts with the processor and fans fully active, my understanding is that it moves through stages of increasing power savings as more inactive time passes.

The biggest issue I've found is that modern standby does not allow Windows Task Scheduler to wake the device up for processes to be run like S3 sleep did. This seems to be a glaring misstep with either the way Windows handles modern standby or the way modern standby was designed to work. I can't imagine I'm the only one who relies on overnight tasks to run, such as backups, that require the PC to wake from sleep on a schedule. I have confirmed that my backups cannot run from Task Scheduler when modern sleep is active. I've had to resort to disabling modern sleep so now the PC never actually sleeps or goes into any type of power-saving mode, which is the opposite of what modern standby was intended to do -- save power. In order to have Task Scheduler continue working, I actually have to have the PC active at all times. Only the monitor is configured to turn off with inactivity at this point. It seems like not only a waste of electricity, but also more wear on the PC components over time, as they never really power down now.

I've read that the design intent of modern standby was to make waking the PC even faster -- more like a smartphone. Apparently S3's 3-second wake time was too slow compared to a cell phone's instant wake time, so modern standby was supposed to accomplish faster recovery time. I never though the 3-second wake time was that problematic. At least it allowed my backups to run overnight...

blickbox · Nov 6, 2023

swbrains said:
Even though it starts with the processor and fans fully active, my understanding is that it moves through stages of increasing power savings as more inactive time passes.

But does it ever actually turn off the fans and go to sleep?

In my case I have not been able to get it to turn off. I have had the monitors randomly turn on again, which made me suspected that when it's in this type of standby, it's more likely to have some processes "disturb it", since it's not actually off.

swbrains · Nov 6, 2023

blickbox said:
But does it ever actually turn off the fans and go to sleep?

In my case I have not been able to get it to turn off. I have had the monitors randomly turn on again, which made me suspected that when it's in this type of standby, it's more likely to have some processes "disturb it", since it's not actually off.

My understanding is that while this is not a "sleep" mode, modern standby does eventually reach a level of inactivity that is so "low" that it prevents certain processes -- like Task Scheduler -- from occurring when it reaches that level. I'm not sure offhand if the fans ever turn off when it reaches the deepest level of inactivity, but I don't think I had ever seen the power light blinking like it would normally in an actual sleep mode. I do know that modern standby, at some point during it's progression into a deeper level of inactivity, prevents at least Task Scheduler from running, so there may be other processes that are unable to run at this level as well.

The Pool Man · Nov 12, 2023

blickbox said:
Have anyone heard of a brand spanking new PC that does not support being put sleep!?

Yup. The Beelink Sei12. Similar scenario. In my situation you can put it to sleep but it doesn't support awakening unless you push the power button. (No power to USB while asleep.)

transmaster · Nov 13, 2023

It is threads like this that gives me pause in purchasing any of these mini pc's. As I have said elsewhere I would get the ASUS ExpertCenter PN52. I have used nothing but ASUS motherboards for years. The reviews alway talk about gaming. I am not a gamer this computer would be used to control my Amatuer Radio Station. As for the sleep issue I never turn my computers off they run 24/7 I let them manage their power state.

The Pool Man · Nov 13, 2023

transmaster said:
It is threads like this that gives me pause in purchasing any of these mini pc's. As I have said elsewhere I would get the ASUS ExpertCenter PN52. I have used nothing but ASUS motherboards for years. The reviews alway talk about gaming. I am not a gamer this computer would be used to control my Amatuer Radio Station. As for the sleep issue I never turn my computers off they run 24/7 I let them manage their power state.

Hey, if you're in America I could sell you my Asus Expertcenter Mini Tower. It's designed to let anyone inside it easily to do whatever they like, lol. It's 10th Gen Intel i5 with 12GBs of RAM.

transmaster · Nov 14, 2023

The Pool Man said:
Hey, if you're in America I could sell you my Asus Expertcenter Mini Tower. It's designed to let anyone inside it easily to do whatever they like, lol. It's 10th Gen Intel i5 with 12GBs of RAM.

I am in no hurry. The Lenovo mini PC is doing just fine.