Posting this in case someone else runs into this headache.
A couple of weeks ago, my Windows 11 laptop started acting weird. Every time it went to sleep and I tried waking it up, the system would freeze. The screen lit up, the cursor moved, but the keyboard was unresponsive and no apps would launch. I had to force shut down every single time.
Naturally, I assumed it was a software bug. So I tried the usual:
Updated Windows
Reinstalled graphics and chipset drivers
Ran sfc /scannow and DISM
Changed power plans and disabled Fast Startup
Nothing worked.
I even rolled back the last Windows update, thinking that was the culprit — still no luck. Then I stumbled on a random forum comment (bless that person) mentioning a similar issue caused by Modern Standby / S0 mode in BIOS.
I booted into BIOS and saw that Modern Standby (S0 low power idle) was enabled by default on my system. I disabled it, saved and rebooted.
Result? No more freezing after wake. System runs perfectly now.
Moral of the story: Sometimes it’s not Windows — it’s your hardware config trying to play too nicely with features you don’t actually need.
Hope this helps someone. Took me 3 days to figure it out.
