After a Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005-based computer enters Away mode, nothing happens when you press the Sleep button on the USB keyboard (908188)

SYMPTOMS

After a Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005-based computer enters Away mode, nothing happens when you press the Sleep button on the USB keyboard. Additionally, the system idle timer is not reset. Therefore, the computer may eventually enter the S1 or S3 state of Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) standby. (The computer enters standby after the interval that you specified on the Power Schemes tab of the Power Options dialog box.) The computer may enter standby even though you have pressed the Sleep button while the system is in Away mode.

CAUSE

When the computer is in Away mode, input from devices such as keyboards, mouse devices, or the remote is filtered to make sure that errant keystrokes are not processed. For example, when you press the Sleep button while the computer is in Away mode, the following events occur:

The Away mode driver captures the Sleep command from the USB keyboard. Therefore, the computer does not immediately resume from Away mode or enter standby.
Because the Away mode driver captures the Sleep command, the system idle timer does not receive the command from the keyboard.
Because the system idle timer does not receive the Sleep command, the system idle timer is not reset.
Because the system idle timer is not reset, the computer may eventually enter the S1 or S3 state of ACPI standby.

Note Other events can reset the system idle timer. These events include the following:

Paging operations
When Windows Update examines the system state
Event logging
Network detection, such as Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) or Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA)
Third-party services, such as an antivirus program
Scheduled tasks

MORE INFORMATION

Away mode is not installed as part of Update Rollup 2 for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005. This feature is available only if the Away mode component was preinstalled by an OEM or by a system builder on a new Media Center computer that supports this technology.

Media Center Technical Support

Because Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition was included with your hardware device or system, the hardware manufacturer provides technical support and assistance for this software. Your manufacturer may have customized the installation with unique components such as specific device drivers and optional settings to maximize the performance of that manufacturer's hardware. If you require technical help with Windows XP Media Center Edition, contact your manufacturer directly because the manufacturer is best qualified to support the software that the manufacturer has installed on the hardware.

You can also visit the Windows XP Media Center Edition product information Web site at the following Microsoft Web site: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/mediacenter/

For more information about Away mode, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

902437 Description of the new Away mode for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005