I used to have Vista and if I wanted to make a dvd I could do that and leave the computer for hours. With 8.1 if I walk away from the computer and the screen goes blank and the computer goes to sleep, the disc creation program pauses as well. So I have to sit by the computer write a word document or surf the web etc in order to keep the disc creation going. How do I arrange it so that the background activities continue even when the screen is blank?

You need to check Power Options in Control Panel.

To do this open Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Power Options.

Click on Choose when to turn off the display option present on the left side.

Now from the drop down menu select Never under Turn off the display and Put the computer to sleep.

Click Save changes.

Thank you for that response, yes I realise it will work, yet somehow "never" is very strong. Surely it must be possible for me to have reasonable numbers for the display going blank and the computer going to sleep, but not doing that when the computer is doing something like making a dvd disk. 

You should update your Graphic Card Driver. Visit the website of the Graphic Card manufacturer to download and install the latest driver.

You should also update the motherboard chipset drivers and BIOS. To do this visit the manufacturer of the computer or motherboard and update the same.

Hello

I have gone through all my software and after searching online "Windows has determined that the driver software for your device is up to date"

Hi,

As I know, a DVD burner should be able to prevent the computer from entering into sleep, As S.Sengupta mentioned already, please update the motherboard chipset drivers and BIOS, not just software. To do this, it's recommended to refer to the PC's user manaul and look for information from Motherboard Manufacturer.

Regards

Another thing to consider is the software that you are using to burn the DVD. If the application is not the native burning software, the software may not be providing the appropriate instructions to halt power management of the DVD drive during burning.

As Yolanda Zhu has mentioned, to ensure that the very latest drivers are installed for your devices you will need to check the support channels offered by the computer or device manufacturer. You may also need to update the device firmware, which are the instructions that are installed directly to the device (as opposed to installed in the operating system, which would be drivers) that tell the device how to function. This includes the BIOS of the motherboard and also the firmware for the optical drive.

Brandon
Windows Outreach Team- IT Pro
Windows for IT Pros on TechNet