The monitors remain active in Windows 10...
The monitors remain active in Windows 10...
I own a tri-monitor configuration (plus an additional one if counting the HDTV in the adjacent room) and I’m facing this bothersome issue where Windows 10 doesn’t let my displays enter sleep mode. I’ve adjusted the settings to schedule shutdown after a specific duration, but it still doesn’t work. Through some research, others reported similar issues linked to certain USB devices blocking Windows from becoming inactive. I removed all USB peripherals and the screens still refuse to power down. This problem started after I installed Windows 10, before fully setting up my programs, and I haven’t experienced it with older versions like Windows 7 or Ubuntu. The command line tests in PowerShell didn’t reveal any restrictions preventing sleep. I’m sure there’s something wrong with Windows 10 itself. Any assistance would be really appreciated. Managing to switch on/off three displays is quite inconvenient.
Yes, I have TeamViewer and other remote desktop tools. I'm also running a video and music player.
In reality, I typically have Teamviewer set up but forgot to reinstall it after a clean install, so that's not the case. There are no other remote desktop tools or media players active. I’m experiencing issues with all programs closed, even after restarting. Sure, some background apps like my K70 RGB keyboard and G502 mouse, Avast, GeForce Experience, etc., are running. Games such as Steam and Origin perform update checks, but I’m unsure how much they operate in the background. I don’t think Corsair software is responsible since I had similar problems before getting the keyboard.
Remove all the software you mentioned and check if your monitors enter sleep mode. This list seems to have caused issues in previous Windows versions, so we can go through each one and test.
It seems a media player was running in the background without my notice. The Dish Anywhere player auto-launched at startup, which was the main issue. I turned it off from starting automatically to help resolve the problem. Still, after closing the window, it keeps running. I need to manually close the icon to stop it. There’s no built-in option in the app to end it instantly, but I’m wondering if closing the window could force a kill. I also considered shutting down all programs, though that might be risky. The Dish app isn’t reliable, so I suspect it’s intentional. Thanks for your help so far!
Great update! The "X" button just initiates a function call in the connected program. If no function is set up, Windows will close it. To change the behavior, you can define a function that replaces the default action—like saving your project or preserving settings before closing. In some cases, the software overrides this by sending a minimize notification to Windows. Unless you adjust the setting, you may not be able to control the process as desired.
I discovered a way! I wrote a script that stops the Dish Player process and linked it to my right Windows key. Now pressing that key closes the app instantly, and after a short delay it fully shuts down and vanishes from my quick start list. The benefit is I can finish tasks quickly without needing to open quick access apps. Just remember to always use the right key and avoid clicking X. This method was easy to set up even though I had no prior scripting experience. I’ll share the instructions if it helps others.
Steps:
1) Open Notepad
2) Type "Taskkill /IM DishAnywherePlayer.exe /F" without quotes on line 1
3) Type "exit" on line 2
4) Save the file with your desired extension (e.g., .bat)
5) Bind it to your preferred key using your keyboard software.
Example: Corsair → actions > create action > launch application from dropdown > run script, browse scripts folder, save to library, select key.
Thanks for the guidance! GoodBytes!