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Windows API: Prevent Computer Going To Sleep

How to prevent a Windows PC from going to sleep and then how to restore its ability to sleep again; written in C/C++.

Ever needed to prevent a Windows computer from going to sleep? Just a single line of code will do it, but use it wisely because many users do not like apps that prevent their PC from going to sleep.

#include <windows.h>

// This sets the appropriate flags to prevent the system going into sleep mode; this is useful if making a screen saver that processes data in the background and can't have the computer sleep
SetThreadExecutionState(ES_CONTINUOUS | ES_SYSTEM_REQUIRED | ES_AWAYMODE_REQUIRED);

After an application no longer needs the computer to be awake, restore its ability to sleep with this line of code:

#include <windows.h>

// This allows the system to sleep normally
SetThreadExecutionState(ES_CONTINUOUS);

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