The issue with the default time limit is that it interrupts what you’re doing even when your PC is being used. You could be playing music while you’re in bed, watching Netflix on the couch, or setting Steam to download large games overnight. Windows doesn’t care! To fix this issue we sought out a new application called Stand-Bye.

Downloading and Installing Stand-Bye

Stand-Bye is an application developed by a team of three, devoted to providing a better solution to Windows’ standby problem. To download Stand-Bye, simply follow the link provided and click “Download The Installer.”

Once you’ve downloaded the Installer, find the .msi file in your download folder (“C:\Users[YOUR USERNAME]\Downloads” by default!), and double-click to open it. At this point all you really need to do is keep hitting “Next” and enabling UAC when prompted. Once you’ve installed the application, you can finally start using it!

Basic Settings and Thresholds

The first screen you see after launching Stand-Bye exposes most of its features: the ability to set usage thresholds, to cancel standby when sound is playing, and its own standby timer. Now, the standby timer is self-explanatory. While sound is playing, it applies to more than might be immediately apparent, though: it means that music, movies and games alike will all prevent standby from being activated. Presentation mode disables standby functions entirely until you turn it back off. The thresholds are interesting. Your average usage indicates what your computer is typically using and is provided as a baseline to measure your usage threshold. Regardless, I’d recommend disabling the CPU and RAM thresholds, since consuming media will mean sound is playing. HDD threshold is fine to leave as is, but network threshold should be adjusted in accordance to your Internet speeds. For instance, I have a 100mbps connection, and running a Steam download overnight can use a significant amount of that bandwidth. Setting a higher network threshold in accordance with your Internet connection speed (I recommend about 60% of your total) will ensure that your downloads aren’t interrupted overnight. To learn more about your connection speed, use a site like Speedtest!

Advanced Settings and Exception Processes

The advanced settings for Stand-Bye are actually simple. There’s an option to launch it with Windows (which I recommend enabling if you want to keep this running regularly) and simple options for updates and system notifications/messages. “Always on top,” for those unfamiliar, will place your Stand-Bye window above all applications. I don’t know why you’d want to do this, but the option is there.

This is a more advanced one. Enabling an exception process will prevent your computer from going into standby while it’s running. I personally don’t have a usage for this, since the program’s typical functions prevent interruptions of large downloads or media viewing, but if something you’re doing doesn’t meet that criteria, you could enable it here. You can also opt to not use the thresholds and just individually add processes you don’t want interrupted (like Steam) here. I don’t feel like that’s a good solution, though, so only mess with this option if you know exactly what you’re doing.

Conclusion

What do you think? Any experience with the application? Any alternatives? Comment below and let us know!