This is a very strange issue that has happened ever since I built this computer in February. I searched the forums and found somewhat similar issues, but non identical. I have things set like so: screensaver activated after 4 min, and monitor to sleep after 30 minutes. I do not have the hard drives spin down, sleep, hibernate, etc. However, the weird issue relates to when the monitor goes to standby after 30min: If the "active window" when it slept was the desktop itself, then when I return, the system is locked up for as little as 20 seconds, or as long as 20 minutes. I can move the mouse while it is like this (no clicking the buttons, but just moving it works), but using the keyboard renders no response, and if I actually click with the mouse, it stops moving until it catches up. When it catches up, my speaker makes a short BEEP noise, and we're back in action, 100% functional. Anything I clicked while it was frozen catches up as well, so if while it was stuck I clicked the Windows quick key, when its back, the start menu pops up... etc. etc. However, if I happen to leave any window open as the 'active window' when the monitor turns off, it never seems to freeze up. That means it ONLY happens when left on the desktop. As a temporary band-aid solution, I leave any window open when I step away for a prolonged amount of time, but I'm hoping for a more permanent solution. I guess I will post my specs to make things easier: CPU: Intel Core i5 750 2.66GHz Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3 (with an updated BIOS) RAM: OCZ Platinum 4 GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333 GPU: ASUS Radeon HD 5850 (I update the GPU drivers monthly) System HDD: WD Caviar Black 1TB WD1001FALS 32MB Case: Antec Three Hundred Black DVD: LG GH22NS50 SATA 22X/22X DVD-RW PSU: Antec TruePower New 650W Display: ASUS VH242H 23.6" 16:9 LCD OS: Windows 7 Ultimate (64-bit) Thank you in advance to anyone who can help.

If the issue persists in Clean Boot as technocrate suggested, please unplug all unnecessary devices from the computer and then perform the steps below: 1. Click Start, type "devmgmt.msc" (without quotation marks) in the Search bar and press Enter. 2. Expand "Sound, video and game controllers". 3. Right click on your sound card and then click "Properties. 4. In the dropdown menu of Device Usage, please choose "Do not use this device (disable)" and click OK. 5. Please use the same method to disable other dubious hardware such as: internal modem, network card and CD-R drive. Please note some devices such as video adapter are not available to be disabled. Please remember to click Mark as Answer on the post that helps you, and to click Unmark as Answer if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.

I have the same problem, did you ever figure anything out?