Suspended N Time Xbox Game Bar Widget is an Xbox Game Bar widget that allows you to pause and resume games — even titles that do not support pausing natively. It’s especially useful when you need to temporarily freeze a game or application to free CPU and GPU resources for another task, without closing anything.
Suspended N Time uses low-level Windows kernel APIs:
- NtSuspendProcess()
- NtResumeProcess()
These API calls freeze and unfreeze the game (and all its child processes) directly in memory.
When a game is suspended, its resources usage:
- CPU usage: 0%
- GPU usage: 0%
- RAM usage: unchanged
If enough applications are suspended to exceed physical RAM, Windows will move their pages to disk — standard virtual memory behavior.
Suspend before Sleep: Detects when going to low power (S0ix) mode and suspend foreground game process. Many gaming laptops/desktops keep games running in the background when entering S0ix/Modern Standby → wasting battery or causing heat. Automatically suspending prevents:
- High idle power usage
- GPU/CPU burn during sleep transitions Running the game when the user doesn’t intend to
Suspend on focus change: Detects when user switches away from the game and suspend game process automatically. Many players want to alt-tab and stop CPU/GPU burn instantly. It also makes it easier switching to other games or back to the game launcher.
Suspended N Time can apply an enhanced power profile optimized for Modern Standby (S0ix):
- Disables wake timers
- Enables disconnected standby (Wi-Fi and mobile radios off)
- Maximizes PCI Express power savings
- Allows CPU to idle down to 0%
Re-Sleep acts as a safety net against Windows modern sleep random wakeups that can be triggerd by OEM BIOS, or by drivers from Silicon vendors.
- Re-Sleep listens to Windows Kernel Power events for entering, exiting modern sleep, and the wakeup causes for exiting low power mode.
- Re-Sleep automatically returns the device back to Modern Standby (S0ix) if it wakes unexpectedly.
- If the system wakes without the user pressing the power button, it immediately returns back to low power S0ix.
💡 If you use Hibernate, you do not need Re-Sleep — leave it disabled.
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Suspended N Time is now officially available on the Microsoft Store!
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It should be compatiable with any Windows PC. However, I have only tested on the following hardware combinations:
- Desktop PC with AMD 7950X3D and Nvidia RTX GPU
- Handheld PC: MSI Claw 8 AI+ A2VM with Intel Lunar Lake.
- Laptop PC: AMD HX 370 with Nvidia 4070
Found a bug and want it fixed? Have an idea for a new feature? Please open an issue in the tracker.
Suspended N Time have drawn some inspiration and learnings for use cases from:
- Merrit/nyrna
- XBox Quick Resume
- Decky Load Steam Deck Plugin Pause Game
❗ You cannot use Alt+Tab / Task Switcher to switch to a suspended game Suspended processes cannot respond to compositor signals. Because of this, Windows cannot complete the switch to a suspended window. Solution To switch back to a game:
- Resume the game first from the Game Bar widget.
- Then Alt+Tab or Task Switcher will work normally.
❗ Windows may show “Not Responding – Wait or End Process?” This is expected. When suspended, a game cannot respond to system messages, so Windows assumes it is frozen. Solution Simply resume the game — the dialog will disappear immediately.
❗ Can't close suspended game” This is expected. When suspended, a game cannot respond to terminate or close signal. Solution Simply resume the game first— then close it after.
❗ System utilities or OEM tools may appear in the game list Examples: Armoury Crate Windows dialogue popups OEM overlays Internal Windows processes Do not suspend these. If a non-game appears, report the process name and it will be added to the ignore list.
❗ Re-Sleep may not work reliably when games are suspended Windows broadcasts a “prepare for low-power mode” signal before entering sleep. Suspended games cannot respond with acknowledgment, which can prevent or delay automatic sleep.
❗ Display may turn off after resuming a game If the PC wakes from sleep and you later resume a suspended game, the game may process a previously queued “low-power mode” signal. This can cause Windows to briefly re-enter display sleep.