diff --git a/Projects/Server/Diagnostics/EventLoopProfiler.cs b/Projects/Server/Diagnostics/EventLoopProfiler.cs
index a3fd157f5..615a84afd 100644
--- a/Projects/Server/Diagnostics/EventLoopProfiler.cs
+++ b/Projects/Server/Diagnostics/EventLoopProfiler.cs
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ public enum LoopPhase
     TimerSlice,
     NetworkSlice,
     LoopTasks,
+    WorldSnapshot,
 }
 
 /// <summary>
@@ -42,7 +43,7 @@ public enum LoopPhase
 /// </remarks>
 public static class EventLoopProfiler
 {
-    public const int PhaseCount = 5;
+    public const int PhaseCount = 6;
     private const int RingSize = 900;
     private const long SampleIntervalMs = 1000;
 
diff --git a/Projects/Server/Main.cs b/Projects/Server/Main.cs
index eb95e6d4e..620d67c28 100644
--- a/Projects/Server/Main.cs
+++ b/Projects/Server/Main.cs
@@ -57,6 +57,12 @@ public static class Core
     /// </summary>
     public static int EventLoopIdleWaitMs => _eventLoopIdleWaitMs;
 
+    /// <summary>
+    /// True when idle sleeping was disabled at startup because the host cannot honor short
+    /// waits, overriding whatever <c>server.eventLoopIdleWaitMs</c> was configured to.
+    /// </summary>
+    public static bool IdleSleepUnsupported { get; private set; }
+
     /// <summary>
     /// Whether idle sleeping is currently suspended because the host returned waits late.
     /// </summary>
@@ -129,18 +135,13 @@ public static class Core
             return;
         }
 
-        // Already suspended: extend rather than counting a fresh backoff episode.
-        if (_tickCount - _idleSleepSuspendedUntil < 0)
-        {
-            _idleSleepSuspendedUntil = _tickCount + _currentBackoffMs;
-            return;
-        }
-
-        // A long clean streak resets the escalation. Gated on the count rather than a
+        // A long clean streak resets the escalation, re-arming the ceiling Error so a host that
+        // recovers and later degrades again gets re-reported. Gated on the count rather than a
         // "_lastBackoffAt > 0" sentinel because tick counts are not guaranteed positive.
         if (_consecutiveBackoffs > 0 && _tickCount - _lastBackoffAt > BackoffResetAfterCleanMs)
         {
             _consecutiveBackoffs = 0;
+            _loggedBackoffCeiling = false;
         }
 
         _currentBackoffMs = Math.Min(BackoffBaseMs << Math.Min(_consecutiveBackoffs, BackoffMaxShift), BackoffMaxMs);
@@ -553,11 +554,29 @@ public static class Core
         ServerConfiguration.Load();
 
         // 0 disables idle sleeping entirely (full-core spin, zero scheduling overhead).
-        _eventLoopIdleWaitMs = ServerConfiguration.GetSetting("server.eventLoopIdleWaitMs", 2);
+        var idleWaitMs = ServerConfiguration.GetSetting("server.eventLoopIdleWaitMs", 2);
+        if (idleWaitMs < 0)
+        {
+            logger.Warning(
+                "server.eventLoopIdleWaitMs {Value} is negative; using 0 (idle sleeping disabled)",
+                idleWaitMs
+            );
+        }
+
+        _eventLoopIdleWaitMs = Math.Max(0, idleWaitMs);
 
         // 16ms-budget misses per second before idle sleeping backs off. Raise to tolerate a
         // jittery host; set very high to disable the backoff.
-        _lateWakeThreshold = ServerConfiguration.GetSetting("server.lateWakeThreshold", 1);
+        var lateWakeThreshold = ServerConfiguration.GetSetting("server.lateWakeThreshold", 1);
+        if (lateWakeThreshold < 0)
+        {
+            logger.Warning(
+                "server.lateWakeThreshold {Value} is negative; using 0",
+                lateWakeThreshold
+            );
+        }
+
+        _lateWakeThreshold = Math.Max(0, lateWakeThreshold);
 
         var assemblyPath = Path.Join(BaseDirectory, AssembliesConfiguration);
 
@@ -621,6 +640,7 @@ public static class Core
                 "resolution failed). Idle sleeping is disabled. The loop will spin instead, using a full core."
             );
 
+            IdleSleepUnsupported = true;
             _eventLoopIdleWaitMs = 0;
         }
 
@@ -672,8 +692,10 @@ public static class Core
 
                 if (_performSnapshot)
                 {
+                    EventLoopProfiler.PhaseStart(LoopPhase.WorldSnapshot);
                     // Return value is the offset that can be used to fix timers that should drift
                     World.Snapshot(_snapshotPath);
+                    EventLoopProfiler.PhaseEnd(LoopPhase.WorldSnapshot);
                     _performSnapshot = false;
                 }
 
diff --git a/Projects/Server/Network/NetState/NetState.Network.cs b/Projects/Server/Network/NetState/NetState.Network.cs
index 9cb7b85fb..f69f92076 100644
--- a/Projects/Server/Network/NetState/NetState.Network.cs
+++ b/Projects/Server/Network/NetState/NetState.Network.cs
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ public partial class NetState
     /// </summary>
     internal static bool IsIdle =>
         _throttled.Count == 0 && _throttledPending.Count == 0 &&
-        _flushPending.Count == 0 && _disposed.Count == 0;
+        _flushPending.Count == 0 && _pendingDisconnects.Count == 0 && _disposed.Count == 0;
 
     /// <summary>
     /// Gets the listening addresses that the server is bound to.
diff --git a/Projects/UOContent/Gumps/AdminGump.cs b/Projects/UOContent/Gumps/AdminGump.cs
index 130d031fc..a4fbe0f18 100644
--- a/Projects/UOContent/Gumps/AdminGump.cs
+++ b/Projects/UOContent/Gumps/AdminGump.cs
@@ -227,7 +227,8 @@ namespace Server.Gumps
                     }
                 case AdminGumpPage.Information_Perf:
                     {
-                        var loopStatus = Core.EventLoopIdleWaitMs == 0 ? "Spinning (configured)" :
+                        var loopStatus = Core.IdleSleepUnsupported ? "Spinning - host cannot honor short waits" :
+                            Core.EventLoopIdleWaitMs == 0 ? "Spinning (configured)" :
                             Core.IdleSleepSuspended ? "Sleep suspended - host returning waits late" : "Healthy";
 
                         AddLabel(20, 130, LabelHue, "Event Loop:");
diff --git a/dev-docs/debugging-event-loop.md b/dev-docs/debugging-event-loop.md
index 5c5ea3b63..8b5fdcf36 100644
--- a/dev-docs/debugging-event-loop.md
+++ b/dev-docs/debugging-event-loop.md
@@ -8,7 +8,8 @@ funnel in order; most incidents resolve before the last step. Do not start with
 Every second of the main thread's wall time goes to exactly one of four places:
 
 1. **Work** — the loop's phases: mobile deltas, item deltas, timer callbacks (`Timer.Slice`),
-   network processing (`NetState.Slice`), posted tasks (`LoopContext`).
+   network processing (`NetState.Slice`), posted tasks (`LoopContext`), world snapshots
+   (`WorldSnapshot` — the on-loop portion of a save).
 2. **Sleep** — idle blocking in `NetState.WaitForCompletion`, bounded by the next timer tick and
    `server.eventLoopIdleWaitMs`.
 3. **GC pauses** — land inside whichever phase (or sleep) was running.
@@ -27,7 +28,7 @@ No build changes needed. Three signals exist, all actionable:
 |---|---|---|
 | Startup error: *host cannot honour short waits* | No high-resolution timer and `timeBeginPeriod` failed. Very old or unusual Windows. | Nothing is wrong with the server; it spins and uses a full core. Upgrade the OS or accept the core. |
 | Warning: *host returned a Nms idle wait late* + sleeping suspended | The OS did not reschedule the process promptly after a 1–2ms wait. Shared/burstable vCPU signature. | Move to dedicated CPU, or set `server.eventLoopIdleWaitMs=0` to spin permanently. This is a **host** problem — no amount of server-side change fixes it. |
-| Admin gump → Performance → *Event Loop* | `Healthy` / `Sleep suspended (host)` / `Spinning (configured)` | Same as above. |
+| Admin gump → Performance → *Event Loop* | `Healthy` / `Sleep suspended (host)` / `Spinning (configured)` / `Spinning - host cannot honor short waits` | Same as above; the last verdict is the startup error's state, not a config choice. |
 
 If none of these fired and the shard still feels laggy, the cause is work, GC, or something a
 boot-time signal cannot see. Continue.