nosleep

No Sleep is a simple PowerShell script that prevents a Windows virtual machine (or physical machine) from entering sleep mode. It's useful for ensuring continuous uptime during long-running tasks, testing environments, or remote access sessions.

Features

• Blocks system sleep (S1/S3/S0 idle)
• Logs activity every minute to a rotating log file
• Logging is capped at 10,000 lines to prevent excessive disk usage.
• Configurable as a scheduled task to auto-start at boot
• Requires no external dependencies
• The script uses native Windows APIs via Add-Type to request the system stay awake.
• Compatible with Windows 10/11 and most Windows Server versions.

🔧 Setup Instructions

Step 1: Download the PowerShell Script

1. Open PowerShell as Administrator and run:

   Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://github.com/marksowell/nosleep/raw/main/nosleep.ps1" -OutFile "$env:USERPROFILE\Desktop\nosleep.ps1"

Step 2: Register as a Scheduled Task (Auto-Start at Boot)

1. Open PowerShell as Administrator and run:

   $scriptPath = "$env:USERPROFILE\Desktop\nosleep.ps1"
   $me = "$env:USERDOMAIN\$env:USERNAME"
   $action = New-ScheduledTaskAction -Execute "powershell.exe" -Argument "-WindowStyle Hidden -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File `"$scriptPath`""
   $trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -AtStartup
   $principal = New-ScheduledTaskPrincipal -UserId $me -RunLevel Highest
   
   Unregister-ScheduledTask -TaskName "PreventS1Sleep" -Confirm:$false -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
   Register-ScheduledTask -TaskName "PreventS1Sleep" -Action $action -Trigger $trigger -Principal $principal

Step 3:Start the Script Immediately (No Reboot Required)

1. Start the scheduled task:

   Start-ScheduledTask -TaskName "PreventS1Sleep"

2. Verify it’s working:

   Get-Content -Tail 5 "$env:USERPROFILE\Desktop\nosleep.log"

   Example output:

   2025-05-23 14:02:00 - nosleep.ps1 started successfully — power request set
   2025-05-23 14:03:00 - Preventing sleep (active)

3. (Optional) Get detailed information:

   Get-ScheduledTask -TaskName "PreventS1Sleep" | Get-ScheduledTaskInfo

Removal Instructions

1. Delete the scheduled task:

   Unregister-ScheduledTask -TaskName "PreventS1Sleep" -Confirm:$false

2. Delete the files from your Desktop:

   • nosleep.ps1
   • nosleep.log