Noise

If you cannot shut down your computer for whatever reason, but you'd like to go give it a breather from time to time, allowing it to go into sleep mode could shave off a coin or two from the bill. The best interval for a computer to enter sleep mode appears to be around 20 minutes of inactivity. There are not many downsides to pushing the machine into sleep mode after a brief idle time, yet some programs could glitch out if left running during this process.

The best solution to get away with a fast sleep mode while having the security of not losing or corrupting data is represented by tools like Noise. Noise acts similarly to a door stopper, preventing the system from going to sleep as long as it runs. It won't save your life in any way, but it can reduce a bit of stress by removing the need to manually adjust the sleep mode timer whenever that is required.

The noise factor is of course metaphorical in this regard. The tool registers and sends a keystroke signal back to the system, tricking it into believing a key was pressed by the user. Achieving that requires close to no UI if you think about it, it's almost like a small automated script. However, you'll get a UI to work with. Use the tray icon to bring it forward.

As you may have noticed, the layout is composed of a single text box and a Quit button. The text works with any character on the keyboard or any combination. As long as the signal is sent on a regular interval, which is sadly unknown, the computer won't fall asleep, so feel free to type anything in.

Noise is an application that can be used as a wedge between your machine and its sleep mode activation. Run it each time you need to keep your PC on, without altering any-power related options.