Thinkpads Forum

I have run the Lenovo system updater (including a new BIOS), and possibly since this update (I cannot think of anything else I might have screwed up) the screen of my X61s stays dark (non-illuminated) when resuming from sleep.

Actually it's even more wicked: if I put the laptop to sleep by closing the lid, the hard disk etc will resume after opening the cover but the screen stays black. If I then put the laptop again to sleep by pressing Fn-F4, yet keep the lid open, everything resumes just fine (including the screen) upon awakening (by touching the Fn key).

Does anybody know what may cause this problem? Should I downgrade the BIOS? This is making me go entirely insane...

I've noticed this issue on many Vista computers, not just laptops. The only workaround seems to be going back to sleep and waking up again.

I can't really understand if there is display driver or operating system itself to blaim... However it occurs much more often on Intel based computers, so i guess i know where to point my finger...

...but it worked just fine until last week, and I had Vista on it since half-year. Hence it cannot be a general OS issue. Maybe the video driver was updated as well - i will need to check on that.

no love guys? Am I really the only one in the world with this problem?

aag wrote:no love guys? Am I really the only one in the world with this problem?

Try disabling Hybrid Sleep to see if that makes any difference.

Also try enabling WoL (Wake-on-LAN).

Hybrid sleep disabled.
WOL enabled.

Today it refused to start up display after several retries so i had to force a restart...

How do I disable hybrid sleep? I have Vista Business. I have the same problem. Am wondering whether this is specific to Vista, or XP would be better. This is so bad, that I'm considering downgrading.

kennyschiff wrote:How do I disable hybrid sleep? I have Vista Business. I have the same problem....snip

Microsoft wrote: 1. Open Power Options by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Maintenance, and then clicking Power Options.

2. On the Select a power plan page, click Change plan settings under the selected plan.

3. On the Change settings for the plan page, click Change advanced power settings.

4. On the Advanced settings tab, expand Sleep, expand Allow hybrid sleep, click On battery or Plugged in (or both), click the arrow, and then click Off.

5. Click OK, and then click Save changes.

Also consider looking at the following:

The screen may be black or the menu screen may be unresponsive in Windows Media Center in Windows Vista.

This seems not to be the issue, as the display doesn't even start up. Usually you can see the brightness change, when backlight lits up, but in this case not.

Strangely i experienced it one day while resuming in dock and the external display powered up just fine...

I've noticed this as well. LCD stays off. This all started after a load of Lenevo updates I installed last week.

I am amazed not so many others are experiencing the same problem..

I TOO am experiencing the same problem. Not always, but already happened about 3 or 4 times before. when resuming screen stays black and I can't shut down (tried Win shortcut but didn't work probably due to some msgs that I should have confirmed before shut down).

Anyway, I had to put to Stand By and then just put out the battery. As once the problem occurs, nothing I do can bring it back to normal. I guess another soluttion is probably to keep an ext. LCD display (though not the best option!).

Really looking for solutions.

This is Windows Vista issue, I found the following tip on Microsoft techNet:

a poster from TechNet wrote:Same happens w/ my 32 bit system. Found a work around:

1) put vista in sleep mode using the "sleep button"

2) wake it up

3) keep fingers crossed

Worked twice for me so far ...

Black Screen after Resume from Sleep / Hibernate.

More complaining on another forum:

Vista Laptop blank screen after lid close.

Even more about similar issue(s) on another blog:

Windows Vista Crashes, BSODs, and System Failures on Hibernate, Resume, and Wake.

I suggest that consider saying "Hasta La Vista" to Windows Vista if this problem is beyond tolerable range:

Downgrading from Windows Vista to Windows XP.

I am positively sure that this is not a generic Vista issue. I have been running Vista successfully for the past 6 months on this X61s without any problems.

10 days ago I ran the Lenovo update, and that's when the problem surfaced. Therefore, I have all reason to believe that the Lenovo update of last week is the culprit. Is there a way to (1) determine what has been installed, and (2) to remove the latest upgrades?

btw, hybrid sleep was always off. I switched it on for a try, and this didn't help either.

...and yes, the workaround is to put the computer back to sleep with Fn-F4, then re-awaken it by touching Fn. This way the screen comes up nicely again every time. It's cumbersome and shouldnt be needed though...

aag wrote:snip.....10 days ago I ran the Lenovo update, and that's when the problem surfaced. Therefore, I have all reason to believe that the Lenovo update of last week is the culprit. Is there a way to (1) determine what has been installed, and (2) to remove the latest upgrades?

Open ThinkVantage System Update and go to Installation History, to remove updates locate them in the Control Panel of Windows, you may note that you might be required to install previous versions of those updates to make your hardware work properly. Look under C:\Program Files\Lenovo for previous versions or under C:\SWTOOLS for factory installed versions.

FYI, Windows Vista also updates your machine regularly.

Dear ryengineer and colleagues

I have downgraded the BIOS (which was the only Lenovo installation that was performed and may have caused the black screen) from version 1.10 down to 1.08.

Unfortunately, i regret to report that this manipulation did not restore the function of the screen upon awakening.

At this stage I feel quite out of luck...

I've got exactly the same problem with my X61. Didn't seem to be a problem until I downloaded and installed the latest version of the video drivers. I thought it was related to the UltraBase - specifically, once I have undocked the laptop, and then sleep, then resume, then sleep again - THEN it won't light up the screen. It's quite consistent like this...

Thinking of trying a video driver downgrade to see if it resolves it.

I do not even have an Ultrabase, so it cannot (only) be ascribed to that.

I note that all posters appear to be European - could it be a region-specific issue of some kind?

see this issue a lot on our company T61's / X61's. (XP SP2) I have spoken with Lenovo about this but they have as yet not been able to give me an answer.
I have tried many solutions - the ltest being to disable hardware DEP from the BIOS ( Security - memory protection - dep disable). This seems to have some good signs (although I am not keen on teh solution). Microsoft also offers a few patches for this issue - have tried them too..
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/923232
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/889673

I remember encountering such problem, some time ago.

Recently, even when the machine comes back with a black and blank screen, a mouse click can bring the login screen back.

However, there are so many Lenovo and Microsoft updates installed in the past month and so, and I don't know which one, or which ones, which may possibly cause the change.

I have the same problem as well.

I own X61 running Windows Vista Business. Once I retrive from the sleep mode, the screen still stays black. But I know the system is awake and running since as soon as I login through the Finger Print or PW, I see that all my apps are up and running (like WiFi, messenger, etc.).

I usually try to hit on a key or a move the trackball for the screen to display my login access.

I was thinking this was a builtin feature to save battery life r something like that.

...but my problem is that the screen does not come up after hitting any key or moving the trackpoint. the only way to resuscitate it, in my case, is to put it to sleep again via Fn-F4, that is without closing the lid, and then re-awakening it. it appears that the "stuck black screen" problem is triggered only by closing the lid.

aag wrote:...and yes, the workaround is to put the computer back to sleep with Fn-F4, then re-awaken it by touching Fn. This way the screen comes up nicely again every time. It's cumbersome and shouldnt be needed though...

I've found that's no more effective than waking/sleeping through any other method.

The screen almost always turns on by the 3rd try regardless of the method I use.

Count me too! I have the same issue....

I installed the lenovo updates AND Vista service pack 1 on Tuesday and I am now experiencing the black screen on wake problem... The "second try trick" does seem to work to if you allow it a few seconds to boot and then close the lid let it go back to sleep and then reopen.. Upon that second reopen it the screen is active... It is a BS work around though.. I broke my number one rule never install all the updates at the same time..

Wow! I fixed it.
This link helped me a lot: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/930091
I have an external USB keybaord/mouse which I connect sometimes to various USB ports on my X61. So what I did - I connected it to every port and turned off the checkbox mentioned above for every connection. (3 times actually).

Anastasius wrote:Wow! I fixed it.
This link helped me a lot: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/930091
I have an external USB keybaord/mouse which I connect sometimes to various USB ports on my X61. So what I did - I connected it to every port and turned off the checkbox mentioned above for every connection. (3 times actually).

That is about the system hanging, a different problem. The problem in this thread is about the system not hanging but the display staying off.

novasource
No. I guess that Microsoft meant "black screen" by saying "hanging". I had an issue, when computer screen stayed black after waking up and laptop seemed working (blinking HDD LED, sounds etc.). And it was becoming stable after switching it to sleep mode and back.

And this Microsoft article helped me! Just try it... But you have to switch off power saving for every USB port. I had to plug the mouse secuentially to every port and turning off the checkbox 3 times. And after then the issue has gone, even if the mouse is not plugged in (I was experiencing the problem even if the mouse was off).

Anastasius wrote:Wow! I fixed it.
This link helped me a lot: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/930091
I have an external USB keybaord/mouse which I connect sometimes to various USB ports on my X61. So what I did - I connected it to every port and turned off the checkbox mentioned above for every connection. (3 times actually).

Can anyone confirm that this is a fix?