Waking from standby to record

[uglyned]

Hello!

 

I just Windows XP SP3 and have it set to stand by after 15 mins of inactivity. On the whole this works - when I'm finished watching TV I just close DVBViewer and Windows and the Recording Service decide between them when to shut down.

 

When I switch the PC on myself everything works fine - a script runs to reinitialise the iMon display and I can run DVBViewer well.

 

However, if the PC turns itself on to make a recording and I come into the room half way through the recording and turn on the TV, it doesn't pick up the TV output no matter what I try, just a black screen. It's probably because the TV isn't switched on when the PC wakes up so some kind of HDMI output isn't initialised.

 

I just wondered if anyone has a way around this if anyone else has come across it? Also do later versions of Windows handle this better?

 

Thanks for any suggestions!

[CX23882-19]

Have you tried the MCE Standby Tool (MST)? It has an option to wake monitors after resume from standby. You might also want to play with the HDMIOn.exe utility in conjunction with Hibernate Trigger, if MST doesn't work?

 

Perhaps Vista will do what you want, but not intentionally, simply because it doesn't work as intended. When Vista/Win7 wakes from sleep for an automated task, the monitor is supposed to remain off (but it should wake immediately with user-input) but in Vista this is completely broken and you just get a black blanking screen with the monitor on.

Edited August 20, 2009 by CX23882-19

[uglyned]

Thanks for such a helpful reply.

 

I now know that resume from standby is different depending on whether it's user or application invoked.

 

I want to set my PC up so that resume as invoked by an application does the same as resume by user. Simply because I might walk in and want to watch TV while the PC is recording a programme that it woke itself up for.

 

Looks like MST might be the solution. Not sure if hibernate trigger runs when the PC wakes itself up as I have that configured to reset my iMon display and the display doesn't come on when the PC wakes itself up.

 

Thanks again.

[uglyned]

Quick update - I installed the MST but couldn't find any options about waking monitors when resuming from standby.

 

HDMIOn.exe works great when the monitor is already on - switches it off and on again without fail. Even mapped it to a button on my RC. However, when the system has woken itself up, HDMIon has no effect whatsoever.

 

Still got the same problem - you don't have any other ideas do you?

[CX23882-19]

You have to look in their forum for the latest builds of MST. I think the latest one is in the Windows 7 thread and is 0.9.098. That version has an option on the Debug tab - Wake monitor/TV at resume.

[uglyned]

Thanks, I'll look into that.

 

Mean time I think I've fixed it, with some help from you.

 

I can't believe I didn't figure this earlier but never mind. I couldn't work out why this didn't seem to be happening to anyone else. But then realised - I don't have a mouse or keyboard plugged into my HTPC. And after reading a very good wiki article on the GBPVR site I realised that only a mouse or keyboard (and possibly NIC) can revive Windows from its automatically resumed state. And I didn't have either so while for any other user it was just a case of 'oh it's asleep, move a mouse, there we go it's fine' for me it was 'it's totally unresponsive'.

 

There was a solution in MST. Under devices I could select which devices can wake Windows up - and it allowed me to select both my remote controls. Now all I have to do when Windows is in automatic resume state is press my 'launch DVBVoewer' button and everything comes to life.

 

Thanks again.