How do I stop my computer from going to sleep or turning the screen off?
You'll be able to: Adjust screen timeout and sleep settings so your computer stays awake
- Risk
- Safe to try
- Windows
- Windows 11 · Windows 10
Filed under Computer basics
The steps
- 1
Hold the Win key and press I to open Settings. The Windows Settings window opens on your screen.
The Windows Settings window showing the System category.
Screenshot on the way. The steps above are complete without it.
- 2
Click System in the left menu, then click Power & battery (or Power & sleep on Windows 10). A page of power management options appears.
- 3
Click Screen and sleep to expand the timer controls. Dropdown boxes appear showing timer limits such as 3 minutes, 5 minutes, or 10 minutes.
The Screen and sleep controls with duration dropdown menus.
Screenshot on the way. The steps above are complete without it.
What is the difference between Screen off and Sleep?
Screen off simply dims the display to save power while your background downloads, music, and tasks continue running. Sleep puts the entire computer into a low-power pause where active tasks are frozen.
- 4
Change the dropdown next to When plugged in, put my device to sleep after to a longer time (such as 30 minutes, 1 hour, or Never). The new time limit is saved instantly. You can close the window.
It looks different on my screen
On Windows 10, the page shows two simple dropdown lists side-by-side labelled Screen and Sleep in the main area of the window without needing to click an expandable dropdown.
Did this work?