Computer wakes from sleep automatically every night

Hi cniggeler,

So if you do a 'powercfg /waketimers' command you don't see the 'StartMenuExperienceHost' item like I show above?  What build/version of Windows 10 are you running?  If it's older than mine (which is totally up to date, except for the newly released 2004 build) then that might explain the differences.

I will look into the 'schtasks' command and see what it shows - thanks for the tip.  In the mean time, I started a new thread about my wake-up from Sleep Mode issue here since mine has this unique 3 hour wake-up repeating schedule - HERE.

I didn't know I had to be a computer trouble-shooter and code tweaker to be able to use my Windows 10 computer like I wish to - LoL.  I never had issues like this with my Windows 7 machine.

Hi @zeeohsix,

It sounds like you have a different item waking up your system late at night! I don't have the waketimer you have on your system, while you do not have a UniversalOrchestratorStart task (I have yet another one scheduled for today at 10:31 am!).

Your theory about "Backup Scan" continuing to reappear (that it may occur on reboot) is interesting; let me know if you find a correlation! I don't reboot my machine that often, so I don't think that's the reason they reappear - instead, I think they are created on-the-fly by some system service.

As regards the StartMenuExperienceHost timer, all I can suggest is to look at schtasks to disable it. There are a number of pages describing that utility, but one that seems on point is here.

Now, if I can just find what fills my TEMP directory with 0-length mat-debug-xxxxx.log logfiles, my transition from Win7 to Win10 would be complete ;-)

cniggeler said:

3. In the left navigation pane, click the arrow (greater-than sign) next to Task Scheduler Library, then the one next to Microsoft, then the one next to Windows, then click UpdateOrchestrator. 
4. In the right pane you will then see, amongst others, "Universal Orchestrator Start". Double click it, then on the Conditions tab,

cniggleler,

My Task Scheduler has no event/task called "Universal Orchestrator Start".  Here's a snap-shot of my UpdateOrchestrator.  I did uncheck the "Wake the computer to run this task" checkbox for 'Backup Scan' which didn't seem to cure the wake-ups, and it magically re-checked that box a few days later - not sure if it resets upon a reboot of the computer or not.  I need to test and see.

Whatever is waking my computer up every 3 hours after it goes to sleep doesn't seem to be associated with anything in UpdateOrchestrator.

This morning I was waiting and watching for it to wake up.  As soon as it woke up by itself, I ran a powercfg /lastwake and powercfg /waketimers commands in DOS and got what's in the snap-shot.  All it tells me is that something woke it up, but gives no useful information on what exactly woke the computer up.  It also shows that the only waketimer is 'StartMenuExperiencHost'.

Anyone know how to determine if 'StartMenuExperienceHost' is what's waking the computer from Sleep Mode every 3 hours, and how to set it to stop the wake-ups?

The "Change active hours" support page article you linked to just makes it sound like Windows will do a "Reboot" after a self installed Update, but only if outside the hours you've scheduled as your "computer use period".  In my case, the only time period Windows Update could reboot my laptop would be between the hours of 3 am and 9 am if the computer is running.  I don't think this setting is what is actually waking up my computer from Sleep Mode.

It seems more like something else like Windows waking up the computer to just look for Updates.  Every time I've woke the computer up the next day, I have never seen any evidence in Windows Updates that shows an Update was installed and the computer was rebooted.  I also leave programs up and running when I put my laptop to sleep - like the program that captures the power level data in the graph I posted earlier.  If Windows actually did install and reboot itself, then I would see that those programs where not running when I wake up the computer myself - I have never seen that happen, so that tells me Windows has never found, installed and rebooted my laptop while it's been in Sleep Mode.

In my case, if Windows is actually looking for Updates every 3 hours after the computer goes into Sleep Mode, then that would explain the time cycle I've shown in my graph.

If something in Task Scheduler wakes up my computer to check for Windows Updates, and Windows happens to find an Update and it's between 3 am and 9 am in my case, then it will do a reboot if the Update requires it.  That's how I read it.

I might still try the PsTool "fix" and see if it works and how long it lasts.  Thanks for the step-by-step instructions.

And yes, it's really a shame that Microsoft has to wake up people's computers while in Sleep Mode.  Do they not realize that people who put their computer in Sleep Mode will most likely be waking them up themselves the next day to use them.  Windows can check for Updates then ... that would be no different than it checking for Updates when millions of people are using their computers.  Let people's computers Sleep if they want them to Sleep !!

I would make more sense for Microsoft to allow people to setup their computer to do automatic night time Updates, and allow Windows to wake their computer up (and allow a Reboot if required) if that's what they really want, instead of waking people's computers up from Sleep Mode when those people DON'T want that to happen.