Question Windows not turning off the display when it should

[jhsachs]

My computer is configured to turn off the display after ten minutes of inactivity. I've learned to minimize the browser window whenever I want the screen to turn off, because otherwise it usually won't. Apparently many web sites do something that fools Windows into thinking that the computer is in use when it is not.

Occasionally the display never turns off even if every window (not just the browser window) is minimized. Does anyone know why that happens, and how to prevent it?

 

[Ralston18]

Update your post to include full system hardware specs.

What power savings have you configured?

Where did you set/configure the 10 minutes of inactivity to turn off the display?

 

[jhsachs]

The system is a Toshiba Z30 laptop with 16 GB of RAM, operating on a docking station with a separate keyboard, mouse, and two external displays. "Full hardware specs" would probably take a half hour to collect and a page to describe; tell me what else you need to know and I'll get it. The OS is Windows 7 Enterprise.

Power settings are: turn off display after 5 minutes on battery, 10 minutes plugged in; turn off disk after 10 minutes on battery, 20 minutes plugged in; put to sleep after 15 minutes on battery, 30 minutes plugged in. I don't recall a case where this happened while I was running on batteries, but I almost never do that, so it may not be a real difference. Again, I can post additional settings if you tell me what you need.

 

[onespeedbiker]

Here's a link with some fixes to try https://helpdeskgeek.com/windows-7/windows-7-screensaver-and-power-options-not-working/

 

[jhsachs]

onespeedbiker: I looked at the article but found that none of the possibilities applies. Most of them disqualify themselves at a glance: they concern things like "wake on mouse movement" that couldn't possibly cause the problem I'm having.

The one setting that looked promising was "Internet Explorer > JavaScript Timer Frequency." I pursued that until I found that it concerns only Internet Explorer and presumably Edge because it controls a setting that's specific to Microsoft's javaScript engine. I use either of those browsers.

So: Good try but it didn't pan out. The problem is not solved yet.