Windows 7 goes to sleep, iTunes stops playing

Not a Windows guy so I'm sure someone can give me a quick answer. I have a new computer in my lab running Win 7 64-bit Home Edition. After about 10 minutes of no activity, the computer goes to sleep and iTunes quits playing. Is there a way to allow the display to sleep but keep iTunes playing through the computer's speakers?

Go to Control Panel, then Power Options, then change the settings to put the monitor asleep but keep the computer on. You can set the the sleep times individually for the computer and monitor.

Thanks for that info. I think the problem is that the speakers are part of the Dell display, so that when the display goes to sleep it shuts down the speakers. Is there any way to shut off the display without shutting off the speakers?

Tony-S wrote in post #15619746
Thanks for that info. I think the problem is that the speakers are part of the Dell display, so that when the display goes to sleep it shuts down the speakers. Is there any way to shut off the display without shutting off the speakers?

Are the speakers actually powered by the monitor? If that's the case you may be stuck (unless the monitor has a setting in its own menus for that) since the monitor may be going to sleep itself once it loses the video signal from the computer.

You can set the power profile to NOT shut down the monitor if you want, then set the screen saver to "blank", which will blank the screen but not shut it off. This is not a good idea if your monitor has a CCFL backlight as it will leave that powered up and impact its life materially; if it's an LED backlight it won't matter much as those are typically 50k hour expected-life units (or more.)

This assumes the monitor actually provides power to the speaker set in it. If the speakers are passive or powered through a separate channel this won't be necessary.

Tony-S wrote in post #15619746
Thanks for that info. I think the problem is that the speakers are part of the Dell display, so that when the display goes to sleep it shuts down the speakers. Is there any way to shut off the display without shutting off the speakers?

Are you sending video and audio both via HDMI or are there separate cables for both?

Either way, this might be your best fix: http://www.amazon.com …&sr=8-2&keywords=speakers

buy a set of external speakers

tickerguy wrote in post #15619865
You can set the power profile to NOT shut down the monitor if you want, then set the screen saver to "blank", which will blank the screen but not shut it off. This is not a good idea if your monitor has a CCFL backlight as it will leave that powered up and impact its life materially; if it's an LED backlight it won't matter much as those are typically 50k hour expected-life units (or more.)

This assumes the monitor actually provides power to the speaker set in it. If the speakers are passive or powered through a separate channel this won't be necessary.

At least LED displays can normally dim down the backlight when the input signal is black. That is the reason for the hugely inflated "dynamic contrast" they constantly inform us about - often while refusing to tell us the static contrast, i.e. the difference between white and black pixels shown at the same time.

But the monitor will still raw more power, since it needs to process the video signal.

While your music is playing try turning off the monitor. Does that kill the sound?

You should be able to have the monitor in standby with audio playing if the designers were at least halfway sane. Double check your power management settings as well, I have seen them annoyingly switch back to power saver modes from time to time.

I don't think this is a PC thing, it's a Dell monitor "feature". I believe that the Soundbar power connector on the monitor shuts down when the monitor enters sleep mode or is shut off. I read somewhere that some Dell systems give an option to dim the monitor instead of putting it to sleep for the screensaver mode. If the one you're using has that feature I'd try it out to see if it solves your problem.