Sleepy
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Did this software used to be available at SleepySoftware.com?
Yes, This is the same Sleepy that used to be available from SleepySoftware.com and
Sashazur.com. Nothing has changed, it's just now available exclusively at Iconico.com.
Why does Sleepy say copyright Sashazur, LLC?
Sleepy is distributed exclusively by Iconico, Inc, through Iconico.com,
however Sashazur, LLC
is the original creator of the application and holds the copyright. By
bringing Sleepy into the Iconico fold we've gained exposure for Sleepy,
which Iconico is 100% behind.
Can Sleepy turn on my PC at a specific time?
Sleepy can't do this, but your PC may be able to do it by itself.
It can't because this feature isn't available on all PCs, and on the PCs that do support it, there is no standardized way for programs like Sleepy to access it.
If this feature is available on your PC, it is usually included in its BIOS. On most PCs, you can access BIOS settings when your PC is starting and it shows a message like Press F1 for setup.
Unfortunately, since there are many different BIOSes, we can't give you specific instructions for your PC. Check your PC's manual or the manufacturer's web site for more information.
Warning! Be very careful when changing BIOS setup settings; your PC could become unusable if you make a mistake!
Can Sleepy turn off my PC if it's not being used?
Yes, this can be done with the Sleepy Shut Down Screen Saver, which is part of Sleepy. After you install Sleepy, open the Display control panel, click the Screen Saver tab, and select the Sleepy Shut Down screen saver. Or, open Sleepy Settings, click More Settings, then choose Screen Saver.
What's the difference between the free and pay versions of Sleepy?
There's no difference, it's the same program. When you first install Sleepy, it starts in trial mode; all features are available, but it will only work for 30 days. To use Sleepy longer, you need to register it by entering your registration code. To get a registration code, you need to purchase Sleepy.
What's the difference between the regular and network/LAN versions of Sleepy?
There's no difference, it's the same program. To enable Sleepy's network mode, run C:\Program Files\Sleepy\netset.exe. For more information, see the
Network Setup Reference.
You may also purchase the Sleepy Insider's Guide which includes additional information about LAN deployment and administration.
Does Sleepy include spyware, adware, or other malware?
No. There is no spyware or adware (or any kind of
malware) in Sleepy.
Sleepy does not use 'rootkit' or similar techniques to hide itself. Only documented Windows API calls are used in Sleepy.
Note: Windows Defender (and other 'always on' anti-spyware utilities) may show messages about Sleepy. These messages do not mean that Sleepy is spyware! Click here for more information.
How do I stop my child from tampering with Sleepy?
If you have Windows XP: Open the User Accounts control panel (Start > Control Panel). Create a Limited Account for your child and create passwords for all other accounts (and don't tell your child what they are). This will prevent your child from making changes to Sleepy and most other programs and Windows settings.
We also recommend: (for all versions of Windows including XP...)
• Create a password for Sleepy (open Sleepy Settings, click More Settings, click Password)
• Use Internet Time Source (open Sleepy Settings, click More Settings, click Time Source)
• Block programs that could be used to tamper with Sleepy (open Sleepy Settings, click Advanced, scroll to the end of the Options list and check both Block... options. Click OK and restart your PC)
Note: No program can be guaranteed 100% tamper-proof, but these steps will protect Sleepy in nearly all cases.
How do I install a newer version?
If Sleepy 6.1 or 6.2 is installed, you don't have to do anything; Sleepy will automatically check for and notify you about updates, and allow you to install them automatically. If you turn off this setting, you can still update manually; follow the instructions below for earlier versions.
If an earlier version of Sleepy is installed, you must turn it off, restart your PC, and uninstall it, before you try to install a newer version.
Can Sleepy make my PC hibernate or go into standby?
No, this feature isn't part of Sleepy, because Windows can already do this on its own: Use the Power Options control panel to set up your computer to stand by or hibernate after it hasn't been used for a while.
(There's another reason why Sleepy doesn't offer this capability: While the computer is asleep, it can't run any programs, including Sleepy. This means that you can't use Sleepy to first make your computer go to sleep and then have Sleepy shut it down later).
How do I use Sleepy on my network/LAN?
Using our special Local Area Network Tools. Read the
LAN Features page for full details.
Isn't it better for my PC to leave it on all the time?
Not really. Many people believe that leaving your PC on all the time reduces wear and tear on moving parts. In reality, the PC often shuts down its components (like hard drives) when they're not in use anyway, and having moving parts always moving (even if they aren't starting or stopping) also causes wear.
Use our PC Electricity Cost Estimator to find out how much it costs to run your PC.
Can I use the same registration code on more than one PC?
If you purchased for a single PC, you can actually use your
registration code on more than one PC, but only if all PCs using
Sleepy are only used by one person, and only that person.
I purchased for more than one PC. Am I limited to only install that many times?
No. We don't automatically limit you to only installing or registering a specific number of times -- so if you need to re-install Sleepy, that won't be a problem.
But, we do keep track of how many times Sleepy has been registered with a specific registration code (and from which IP addresses). If we see obvious abuse, we will try to contact you and may deactivate the misused registration code.
Note: Deactivating a registration code does not affect installations of Sleepy that are already registered with that registration code.
How do I register without an Internet connection?
On the registration screen, type your registered name and registration code, then hold down Ctrl and Shift at the same time while clicking OK.
Note: Sleepy will still verify your registration information if/when you connect to the Internet later.
Spyware Warnings about Sleepy
If you use Windows Defender or other anti-spyware software, you may see these messages (or similar) when installing Sleepy or Windows Defender or other anti-spyware software (click to enlarge):
Sleepy is not spyware! But any good anti-spyware software should warn you when a program installs startup items (like Sleepy does). If you see these messages, click "Allow" to ensure that all required Sleepy components are installed correctly.
Spyware warnings about svchost.exe:
This could happen with older versions of Sleepy, because of an error in some less commonly used anti-spyware programs. To fix this,
download and install Sleepy 6.2. You should also consider using a more reliable anti-spyware product such as Windows Defender, Lavasoft Ad-Aware, or Spybot - Search & Destroy.
Sleepy expired too soon (or immediately)
If you have an asian version of Windows (Chinese, Japanese, etc.): This is a known problem with previous versions of Sleepy. To fix this problem, uninstall Sleepy, then download and install Sleepy 6.2.
If Sleepy expired right after you installed it: This could happen if your PC was set to the wrong date. To fix this, you need to enter a valid registration code; contact us to request a temporary registration code.
If Sleepy expired after you registered it:
This could happen if your registration code is invalid, or if a virus damages one of Sleepy's files. Re-install Sleepy and register again. You can contact us to request a temporary registration code.
Sleepy expired at the end of the trial period
You must enter a valid registration code to un-expire Sleepy. To purchase Sleepy and get a registration code. If you don't want to purchase Sleepy, you should uninstall Sleepy to stop seeing expiration messages.
PC doesn't shut down correctly
To diagnose and correct common shut down problems, read the
Solving Problems section of the
Sleepy help file. The help file is also available on your PC if Sleepy is installed.
PC restarts at the wrong time (or restarts continuously)
Virus Alert! Some viruses can cause your PC to restart continuously or shut down unexpectedly. If Sleepy shuts down your PC, it will show a message that looks like one of these:
message 1 message 2 (unless you turned off Sleepy's messages). If you see a different message, or no message, a virus may be involved. To learn more and check for viruses, go to the
Microsoft security site.
Also, is the Sleepy Screen Saver active? If it is, and you have set it to restart your PC, then your PC may restart continuously if you don't use it. To avoid this problem: Windows 95/98/Me PCs should not use the Sleepy Screen Saver restart option (use logoff or shut down instead); Windows NT/2000/XP PCs should not use automatic login (automatic login is enabled and disabled separately from Sleepy).
PC shuts down (or logs off) at the wrong time
Is the Sleepy Screen Saver active? If it is, your PC will shut down (or log you off) if you don't use it. To check which screen saver is active, open the Display control panel and click the Screen Saver tab. If that's not the cause, then open Sleepy Settings and make sure your settings are what you expect.
Can't uninstall Sleepy
Open Start > Programs > Sleepy > Sleepy Settings and turn Sleepy off, and click OK. Then restart the PC. After that, you should be able to uninstall Sleepy.
Computer's clock shows wrong time/date
If your PC's clock shows the wrong time or date after installing Sleepy, do the following:
1. Double-click the time display in the corner of the screen.
2. Click the Time Zone tab and check the time zone. If it's wrong, change it, then click Apply and click OK (if the time zone was correct,
contact us).
3. Open Sleepy Settings, click Options, then click Time Source.
4. In the Time Source dialog, click Advanced.
5. In the Advanced Time Source dialog, click Reset Time Zone.
6. Click OK until all dialogs are removed.
7. Restart your PC and make sure you're connected to the Internet. The clock should show the correct time and date within a few minutes.
Countdown timer is disabled or says it can't be used
Open Sleepy Settings, click Advanced, and scroll down through the options; un-check the Settings option Countdown timer can shut down later. Click OK and restart your PC.
Errors about missing DLL files or ErrorAfxLoadLibrary
If workstation locked at shut down, documents aren't auto-saved
This can occur on Windows NT/2000/XP when the Sleepy Screen Saver shuts down the PC. We currently do not have a solution for this issue. To avoid problems always save your work before locking the workstation (which is a good idea anyway!)
Sleepy can't read the time from the Internet
Your PC may be behind a firewall that's preventing communication with time servers. To confirm this, open Sleepy Settings, click More Settings, click Time Source, click Advanced, and then click Test for all 3 servers. If none of them respond, but you can still get web and email access, then configure your firewall to allow communication over port 123.
Unfortunately, the above fix won't help if your computer connects to the Internet via a proxy server (common on large enterprise networks). In this case, you may be able to work around this if your proxy configuration allows you to create a proxy SMTP server; contact your system administrator for more information.
Checksum error
This can be caused by an incomplete installation of Sleepy, or a virus, or by attempts to tamper with Sleepy.
fix this, open Sleepy Settings, turn Sleepy off, restart your PC, and uninstall Sleepy. Then look in the folder C:\Program Files; if it contains a folder named Sleepy, delete that folder. Finally,
download the latest version of Sleepy (from a reputable web site, like this one) and install it.
After Sleepy logs off, the screen resolution is wrong
This may happen with Windows 95/98/Me. To fix this, when you see the login prompt, click Cancel to login with the default profile. Then change the display properties to the correct settings (right-click on the desktop, choose Properties, then click the Settings tab). From now on, the screen resolution should be correct after Sleepy logs off.
PC restarts or freezes when it's supposed to shut down
A few PCs don't correctly shut down when a program (like Sleepy) requests it. In most cases, this can be solved by changing the PC's settings; check the
Solving Problems section in the Sleepy help file for specific instructions. If you still can't solve the problem, download and run the
shut down test utility; this is a simple program that tries to shut down the PC the same way Sleepy does. If both the utility and Sleepy have the same problem, then Sleepy isn't the cause. However, if the utility works but Sleepy doesn't, then Sleepy may be at fault; if so
contact us.
Problems using batch files to install/update Sleepy
If you use netset.exe /setupwait in your batch file...
• If the batch file gets stuck, this could be due to a bug in builds 401 and earlier. Use netset.exe from the latest update of Sleepy to correct the problem.
• If you also use /enable or /disable options, put them on separate lines, for example:
\\path\netset.exe /setupwait
\\path\netset.exe /enable //folder