Display won't wake up

[johnwinchester]

It's a brand new notebook.

I've done nothing on it, other than installing Windows updates and creating recovery disks.

• I set the "Turn off display after" option to 1Minute.
• IMPORTANT: I set display brightness all the way to zero, the lowest setting possible, using either the keyboard keys, or the brightness option in Windows.
• Leave the notebook idle for a minute, the display sleeps like it should (the notebook is set to sleep after 30 minutes, it's only the display that sleeps, the notebook is still awake).
• Move the mouse, press keys on the keyboard, the screen does not come back up. The computer is still up and running-i can toggle keyboard backlight On/Off using the keys, but the display won't wake up.
• Press the "Brightness +" button on the keyboard, the display wakes up. This is the only way to wake it up. The other option is to press and hold the power button, force a shut down, and start the computer again.
• This happens ONLY when "brightess" is set to the lowest level. If brightness is set to even one level above the lowest, the issue cannot be reproduced. Moving the mouse or pressing any key on the keyboard will wake the display up in this situation.
• Both Intel HD graphics 5500 and GTX 850M drivers are up to date.
• BIOS is up to date as well.
• Battery/ Plugged in does not make a difference. If the display brightness is set to lowest, the screen will ALWAYS fail to wake up, irrespective of which power source is in use.

What do I do? Please don't tell me it's a minor problem and I have to live with it.

There are so many minor problems with this notebook, and all these are adding up to make it a total piece of cr..

My almost 5 years old probook with a second generation core i3 CPU and no discrete GPU, is better than this brand new 5th generation core i7+GeForce GTX notebook.

I'm beginning to regret this purchase. I should have gotten another probook. Thought the Envy offers a better "bang for the buck", and now i think this was a huge mistake.

Anyway, any idea how i can get this fixed? Looks like a driver problem right? Or is this a hardware problem? Can someone with an Envy notebook try this out and tell me if the issue can be reproduced on their rig? It can't be reproduced on my Probook.

Thanks.

[EmeraldAvenger]

Hi there @johnwinchester,

Thank you for visiting the HP Support Forums and Welcome! This is a great site to get answers and ask questions. I have looked into the issue you are having with Sleep Mode on your Envy 15 K203TX. Here is a document I found called Resolving Problems with Sleep and Hibernate Modes for Windows 8.  I also found a document on Managing Power Options for Windows 8.

Please follow these provided troubleshooting steps and let me know how it goes.

Thank you!

Have a great day!

[johnwinchester]

Thanks!

Well, the computer has no problem going to sleep or waking up from sleep!

The problem happens with the "Turn OFF DISPLAY" option.

If that option is set to one minute, screen brightness is set to LOWEST, and then the computer is left idle for a minute, the screen goes OFF and stays OFF. The computer itself is awake, pressing the backlight keys will turn the keyboard backlight On Off, the power LED is lit up (not blinking), and pressing the "Brightness +" key will bring the display back as well!

Moreover, if the brightness is set to anything above lowest, and then the screen is allowed to sleep, the problem cannot be reproduced. Moving the mouse will wake up the screen.

I tried the power troubleshooter, with brightness set to lowest. It automatically sets my brightless to 50%.

But if I turn the brightness down manually, the display again fails to wake up.

Again, the computer is not sleeping, it's just the display that's sleeping, using the option in the picture attached:

[EmeraldAvenger]

Hi there @johnwinchester,

From what you have described, have you tried looking into the Away Mode or Dim Display Mode option(s)?

Here is a document for Turning Away Mode On/Off and a document for Turning Dim Display Mode On/Off.

See if changing those settings help at all and let me know how that goes.

Look forward to hearing from you,

Have a great day!

[johnwinchester]

Avenger, I tried all your steps, but unfortunately the problem still persists.

Additionally, I uninstalled both the graphics drivers (HD graphics 5500 and GTX 850M), and re-installed them from the HP support website. Didn't help.

Just so we're on the same page, the issue cannot be reproduced if brightness is set at a higher level before the display sleeps, but if i turn brightness all the way down, and then leave the computer idle for a minute to turn display off, the display goes off and doesn't come back on if i move the mouse or press keys on the keyboard. The computer is not sleeping, pressing the backlight key turns the keyboard backlight on and off.

ANOTHER DISCOVERY:

The display actually does wake up on moving the mouse, but the backlight stays off.

If I shine a powerful light on the screen, i can see stuff on the display, but the backlight is off and is completely dark if there's no external light source. Take it to a normally lit room (with no strong light falling directly on the screen) and you won't be able to see anything on the screen, it appears to be sleeping, but in fact- it's not sleeping, it's the backlight thats stuck in OFF.

This is pretty weird. It's as if the backlight fails to turn on if display brightness is set to very low.

looks like a hardware problem doesn't it? 😞

[EmeraldAvenger]

Hi there @johnwinchester,

I am sad to hear that none of the troubleshooting steps have worked so far.

Thank you for the information you had provided on your new discovery. Based on the information you have provided for me, I do have another suggestion to try and solve the issue you are having still with your Display not coming back on after Sleep Mode.

I believe this to be a setting and not a hardware issue. In most cases Hardware issues are "black and white" in metaphoric terms. It is a case of it works, or it doesn't work, there is not normally a grey scale, leaving me to believe it is more an issue with a setting. It is possible that it could be the Adaptive Brightness. Try disabling the Adaptive Brightness and see if that fixes the issue with your display.

Hope this works!

Let me know how this goes. 🙂

[johnwinchester]

Thanks for your reply Avenger 🙂

Well, I called up HP tech support.

The lady took remote control of my notebook and tried numerous things in the registry (regedit).

But the issue could not be solved.

She then arranged for an on-site support engineer to visit my house.

The Engineer showed up right on the next day, and tried the following:-

• Updated ALL drivers, even the ones which were already up to date!
• Checked with my desktop monitor, the issue cannot be reproduced on the external monitor- the external monitor will wake up on moving the mouse, but the notebook monitor stayed dim (no backlight).
• Opened the laptop, took out the display cable, cleaned it with some solution he had, put everything back together- issue not resolved, external monitor wakes up but notebook monitor stayes dimmed.

This is not the only problem I was having with the notebook, the other problems are:

• Battery would stop charging when the notebook is switched OFF, and the charger is turned ON and OFF a couple of times.
• The battery lock doesn't "click" in place, it slides automatically to the "unlock" position, it's loose.
• There's a dead pixel on the display.

He offered me two choices:

1> Replace motherboard (to solve battery not charging issue), replace chassis (to solve the battery lock issue), and replace display panel (to solve the dim display + dead pixel issue).

=======OR=======

2> Return the whole notebook back to HP, and get a new notebook (same model) in exchange.

I picked option 2. We shared a cup of coffee, and the tech left (he was very nice and friendly).

The next day, I got an email from HP, with a PDF attachment, asking me to take my laptop, along with a hard copy of the email, and payment invoice, to the HP store.

HP store took my computer back, but they didn't have a replacement ready, they asked me to come after 7 days to pick up a new notebook (same model).

I really loved my Envy. It's a very nice looking laptop. Hope the replacement I get won't have these weird issues.

I'll update the thread when I get the replacement. Thanks for your help 🙂

[johnwinchester]

HP store couldn't get me the replacement in 7 days.

In fact, I got the replacement today, just a while back.

They couldn't get me an Envy K203TX (the model i returned), I paid $156 extra and upgraded to an Envy K204TX.

This is the same as my old notebook, the only difference is this one's got a touch screen.

To sum it up, the new computer does not have any of the problems I experienced in the old computer

• Screen wakes up every time I move the mouse, no exceptions.
• Battery charges every time i turn the charger on, no exceptions.
• The battery locks tightly in place, no loose fit like my old laptop.

I got two more questions:

1. Does my "3 year extended on-site warranty with accidental damage cover" start from today? Or from the date I purchased the orignal notebook (Envy K203TX).
2. I created a set of recovery DVDs on the old Envy K203TX. Can these disks be used to recover my new K204TX in case disaster strikes? Or should I just throw these disks away and create a fresh set of recovery disks on the new computer?

Thanks 🙂

[EmeraldAvenger · Accepted solution]

Hi @johnwinchester,

I am so glad to hear that you are rid of the problems you were having! The main thing is that you are without problems now.

To answer your 2 questions;

1. To my understanding, if you purchased the HP 3 year extended on-site warranty with accidental damage coverage, then it usually starts from date of purchase. To be sure and verify that I would suggest either going to this Check your Product Warranty website and/or Contact Us.

2. I would suggest creating new Recovery Discs. The old disc's won't be of use to you on your product. You have the opportunity to create new Recovery Discs for the new product with no issues reported. I would not take the chance, I would just out with the old and in with the new.  🙂

I hope this helped! 

Have a great day! 🙂 

[johnwinchester]

Every computer can go bad, what matters is good support when it does.

HP support has been awesome. Granted they took some time to get me a replacement, but this wasn't a big deal for me, i have 2 other computers- most brands would probably just replace failing parts, but HP replaced the whole notebook.

This is extraordinary, kudos to HP support.

Thanks for the link Avenger,

M creating a fresh set of recovery DVDs now 🙂

Issue resolved 🙂