kuroappworks

Posted on May 13 • Originally published at kuroappworks.hashnode.dev

[Solved] Windows 11 Failed to Wake from Sleep and Restarts: Fixing a 4-Year-Old Bug with a BIOS Update

#windows #hardware #troubleshooting #amd

Environment

Component	Model / Version
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 5600G
Motherboard	ASUS TUF GAMING X570-PLUS
Graphics Card	ASUS DUAL-RX9060XT-16G
OS	Windows 11

[Conclusion] Summary of the Cause and Solution

For those who want a quick fix, here is the summary of the cause and the solution.
The sleep wake-up failure that had been occurring for years was actually a combination of two independent issues: the "driver" and the "BIOS".

Timing of Occurrence	Cause	Solution
When Windows 11 was first installed	Driver-related (Remnants of `amdkmdag.sys`)	Clean install after completely removing it with AMD Cleanup Utility
After adding the new GPU	BIOS-related (Motherboard firmware bug)	Update BIOS to the latest version using ASUS EZ Flash 3

A clean installation of the driver only provided a "temporary relief." The root cause lay in the motherboard's BIOS. If dump file analysis points to a driver issue, but reinstalling the driver doesn't stop the problem from recurring, updating the BIOS is highly likely the only way to achieve a complete fix.

Timeline of the Issue

4 Years Ago (Initial Windows 11 Installation)

When I migrated to Windows 11 right after its release, my PC started failing to wake from sleep, automatically restarting a few minutes later instead.

I tweaked settings and reinstalled drivers, but nothing worked. Because my work kept getting interrupted by these random reboots, I quickly downgraded (rolled back) to Windows 10 to escape the nightmare.

Around Fall 2025

As the end of support for Windows 10 approached, I gathered my courage and upgraded to Windows 11 once again.

Remembering the nightmare from four years ago, I hesitantly put the PC to sleep. Surprisingly, instead of the post-restart screen, the screen woke up with all my active applications fully restored.
It seemed that over the past 4 years (likely via Windows Updates), the system's behavior had changed. Putting it to "sleep" actually triggered "Hibernation," from which it could restore. While it wasn't a pure sleep wake-up, I compromised and kept using it since my work state was preserved.

Right After Installing the GPU

Wanting to run a local AI, I installed a new graphics card (ASUS DUAL-RX9060XT-16G).

The very next day, when I tried to wake the PC from sleep (hibernation) as usual, the exact same initial symptom from four years ago returned: "failed to wake from sleep -> auto-restart."

Details of the Symptoms

I had my keyboard configured to trigger the wake-up process. The behavior was as follows:

Pressing a key on the keyboard did nothing; the monitor remained completely dark.
After a few minutes passed, the BIOS splash screen suddenly appeared.
The OS would then reboot entirely (losing all pre-sleep work states).

There was no Blue Screen of Death (BSOD); I just found myself at the sign-in screen.

Phase 1: Identifying the Driver as the Cause & Temporary Fix

Step 1: Checking Status with Reliability Monitor and Event Viewer

First, I used "View reliability history" (searchable from the taskbar) to pinpoint the exact date of the error. Then, I checked the Event Viewer for details.

How to check Event Viewer:

Right-click the Start button -> Select "Event Viewer".
From the left tree, select "Windows Logs" -> "System".
Click "Filter Current Log" and check "Critical" and "Error" to narrow down the results.

Main errors identified:

Event ID	Description
41 (Kernel-Power)	Indicates the system rebooted without a clean shutdown first. It doesn't pinpoint the cause but helps identify the exact time of the crash.
1001 (BugCheck)	Recorded when a BSOD occurs. The stop code can be confirmed here.

In the Reliability Monitor, I also found the following error:

LiveKernelEvent 141 (Video Hardware Error): Indicates that the GPU driver stopped responding for a certain period, and Windows attempted to forcibly reset it.

Step 2: Analyzing the Dump File with WinDbg

Since Event Viewer only told me that the "GPU driver crashed," I proceeded to analyze the dump file (.dmp) to find the underlying cause.

Dump file location: C:\Windows\Minidump

Analysis steps:

Install Microsoft's official "WinDbg" (available via Microsoft Store or Windows SDK).
Open the dump file (.dmp) in WinDbg.
Run the analysis command !analyze -v to get the debug log.
Paste the obtained log into a Generative AI for analysis.

Note:
Simply passing the raw debug log to a Generative AI yields highly accurate analysis. Even if you aren't familiar with WinDbg, you can get through this just by copy-pasting the logs.

What the analysis revealed:

BugCheck: 0x000000a0 (INTERNAL_POWER_ERROR)
Parameter 1: 0xf1

0xa0 with Parameter 0xf1 means a failure to transition to Modern Standby (S0 Low Power Idle). It turned out that during the transition to or from sleep, the AMD Radeon graphics driver amdkmdag.sys stopped responding (hung), leading the OS to interpret it as a "fatal power error" and forcibly restart the system.

Step 3: Clean Installation of the Driver

Since the cause was narrowed down to the AMD driver, I performed a clean install using the official "AMD Cleanup Utility".

⚠️ Important Warning:
The AMD Cleanup Utility runs in Safe Mode, which may disconnect your internet. Make sure to download the latest driver installer BEFORE starting this process.

Driver used this time: AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 26.3.1 (WHQL Recommended)

Interestingly, I was already using the latest driver when the issue occurred. The problem wasn't the version itself, but rather incomplete driver remnants left behind by normal uninstallations. Complete removal via the AMD Cleanup Utility and subsequent reinstallation was required.

Clean Installation Steps:

1. Preparation (Download)

Download the latest "AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition" installer from the official AMD website.
Download the "AMD Cleanup Utility" (amdcleanuputility.exe) from the official AMD support page.

2. Removing Current Drivers

Run amdcleanuputility.exe.
A prompt will ask if you want to reboot into Safe Mode. Click "Yes".
The PC will automatically restart and boot into Safe Mode.
Once in Safe Mode, the tool launches automatically. When it asks to remove all AMD drivers and components, click "OK".
The screen may flicker during removal—this is normal.
When it says "AMD Cleanup Utility has successfully completed," click "OK" -> "Yes (Reboot)".

3. Reinstalling the Driver

Once Windows boots normally, run the installer you downloaded earlier.
Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.
Restart the PC one more time just to be safe.

With this fix, the system stopped relying on the "fake sleep" (hibernation) workaround, and the sleep wake-up failure seemed temporarily resolved.

Alternative solutions suggested by GenAI (Not needed in this case)

Based on the dump analysis, the Generative AI also suggested the following workarounds, but they were irrelevant to my environment:

Disabling the integrated graphics (iGPU)
Disabling PCIe Link State Power Management
Disabling Modern Standby (via registry/settings)

These are often BIOS-level settings, which might not exist depending on your motherboard, or might have already been addressed by default.

Phase 2: Recurrence & Identifying the Root Cause

Recurrence After 1 Week

About a week after the driver update, the automatic restart due to sleep wake-up failure happened again.

Narrowing Down Reproduction Conditions

After repeated testing, I identified a specific trigger: The wake-up failure occurred when I put the PC to sleep while leaving an AI model loaded in "Lemonade" (a local server software for running LLMs).

I strongly suspected that entering sleep mode while heavily occupying the GPU VRAM was the trigger.

Re-investigation

I analyzed the dump files with WinDbg again and consulted the GenAI, but it gave the same response as before: "Driver issue (amdkmdag.sys)." No new clues were found there.

I then manually searched Reddit and international forums. There, I found multiple reports stating, "Updating the BIOS fixed the sleep wake-up bug." This raised the possibility of a fundamental flaw in the motherboard's firmware.

Phase 3: Root Cause Resolution via BIOS Update

BIOS Update Procedure

For ASUS motherboards, you can use "ASUS EZ Flash 3" to update the BIOS directly from the BIOS screen without relying on the OS, as long as you have the BIOS image file.

Item	Details
Version Before Update	5031 (2025/04/01)
Version After Update	5044 Beta (2026/02/02)

Steps:

Download the latest BIOS for your motherboard (TUF GAMING X570-PLUS) from the ASUS official website.
Place the BIOS file in the root directory of a FAT-formatted USB flash drive.
Restart the PC and enter the BIOS screen (by pressing the Delete key).
Navigate to "Tool" -> "ASUS EZ Flash 3 Utility".
Select the USB flash drive, choose the BIOS file, and execute the update.
The PC will automatically restart upon completion.

⚠️ Warning:
A failed BIOS update carries the risk of rendering your PC unbootable (bricking). Please ensure the following before proceeding:

Use a UPS or ensure a highly stable power connection to prevent power loss during the update.

Take note of your current BIOS settings just in case.

Results

After the update, I tested putting the PC to sleep while leaving the AI model loaded. It woke up perfectly without any issues. The long-standing bug was finally and completely resolved.

⚠️ Side Effects of BIOS Updates & Workarounds

Updating the BIOS causes the following side effects. I highly recommend preparing for them in advance.

1. Windows Sign-in PIN Gets Reset

After a BIOS update, the PIN used for Windows Hello is cleared.

What to do beforehand:

Ensure you can sign in using your Microsoft account password.
Make sure you have access to your Microsoft account recovery email (a verification code may be sent when logging into the OS).

Note:
In my case, I happened to have my Windows login password safely stored in a custom-built Android app I created for password and account management, so I was able to sign in without any trouble.

2. Passkeys Are Disabled

Because the PIN is reset, any passkeys tied to your PC via Windows Hello (such as for your Google account) will become unusable. Even if you set your PIN back to exactly what it was, they won't recover. You will need to re-register your passkeys for each respective service.

Conclusion

While the WinDbg dump analysis consistently pointed only to a crash in amdkmdag.sys, the breakthrough that led me to suspect the BIOS came from information found on international forums.

The key takeaway from this experience is that sleep-related bugs are surprisingly often caused by the BIOS.
I hope this log helps anyone dealing with the same frustrating issue!

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