Power options interface not enforcing 60 second limit set by the kernel

Applies To: Windows 7

This article details a known power options issue with Windows® 7 where the kernel does not adhere to the minimum allowed time that is set by the user in the Group Policy Management Console for hibernation and sleep timeouts.

Symptoms

When a user creates a power policy setting by using the Group Policy Management Console (gpedit.msc), which establishes a sleep or hibernation timeout of less than 60 seconds, the kernel does not accept this change, and it sets the timeout to 60 seconds.

Cause

A known issue exists, which allows the power policy settings to be changed by the user to values below the 60 second threshold even though these setting will not be used by the kernel. The kernel has a fixed minimum values of 60 seconds for sleep and hibernation timeouts.

Resolution

Ensure that sleep and hibernation timeouts are set at the minimum 60 seconds.