Computer turns itself on

  • Thread starter Thread starter Tom
  • Start date Start date
T

Tom

Had 6 strangeevents during the last two weeks. I come into
work and the computer is already booted up. No one has
turned it on and the two programs I have set to auto start
are not open. The computer is password protected.

I check each night and make sure I hit the Shut Down
versus restart choice when shutting down.

Do I have poltergeists or what?

Any ideas?
 
In
Tom said:
Had 6 strangeevents during the last two weeks. I come into
work and the computer is already booted up. No one has
turned it on and the two programs I have set to auto start
are not open. The computer is password protected.

I check each night and make sure I hit the Shut Down
versus restart choice when shutting down.

Do I have poltergeists or what?

Any ideas?
Click to expand...

some PC's have the ability to be set to "wake" at certain times
or events or to "wake" when a special signal is received via the
LAN card (settable in the BIOS)
 
It's either that, or it's Satan. Or perhaps you have your keyboard set to
boot up via the keyboard, and you have possums walking on it at night.
Although I doubt this is the case, also check to see if you have any tasks
with "wake the computer" enabled.

Ray at work
 
this problem is not possum specific as anyone familiar with archy the
cockroach knows thanks to good old don marquis

just leave the password near the keyboard overnight and you will know
for sure archy is involved if you find a text file onscreen with some
vers libre in all lower case

for more information crawl over to donmarquis dot com
 
I've checked the networking card settings, keyboard
settings and made sure the sleep mode is turned off.

Have not added anything recently to the computer, only
microsoft and Norton AV updates.

Can't seem to figure it out.

Thanks

Tom
 
Huh?
-----Original Message-----
this problem is not possum specific as anyone familiar with archy the
cockroach knows thanks to good old don marquis

just leave the password near the keyboard overnight and you will know
for sure archy is involved if you find a text file onscreen with some
vers libre in all lower case

for more information crawl over to donmarquis dot com



.
Click to expand...
 
First check the Bios to see if there is an option to turn on the computer,
Also check to see what the the setting are for if there is a loss of power.
The only things that can turn on your computer are Bios settings, Wake on
Lan, Keyborad, or a faulty switch. I have yet to see an applacation that
will run when the computer is shut down.
 
I just checked system and here's my results on settings:

Auto Power On - - - DISABLED
Remote Wake - - - OFF
Low Power Mode - - - DISABLED
AC Power Recovery - - - OFF
Fast Boot - - - ON
Suspend Mode - - - S3

I'm running W2k on a Dell Zeon processor.

Poltergeists or ? ? ?

Thanks

Tom
 
In (e-mail address removed)
I just checked system and here's my results on settings:

Auto Power On - - - DISABLED
Remote Wake - - - OFF
Low Power Mode - - - DISABLED
AC Power Recovery - - - OFF
Fast Boot - - - ON
Suspend Mode - - - S3

I'm running W2k on a Dell Zeon processor.

Poltergeists or ? ? ?

Thanks

Tom
Click to expand...

is this PC connected to a LAN or to a modem? If so try
disconnecting these items overnight after shutdown to eliminate
the wake on event (ring) or wake on lan that could be happening.
 
Hoe do I determine if there's a wake on LAN setting. The
computer is connected to a network.

Also, get this event at early in the AM:

Event Type: Information
Event Source: SceCli
Event Category: None
Event ID: 1704
Date: 11/4/2003
Time: 1:38:55 AM
User: N/A
Computer: TGLOWKA
Description:
Security policy in the Group policy objects are applied
successfully.


What's this about?
 
It sounds like poltergeists to me seeing as how autostarting programs are
not starting.... change your password and lock the door and see if it
happens. Also, see if there is a pattern in when the startups are
occuring... You can check the system log in the Event Viewer for Event
6005 - "The Event Log service was started"

I don't think that event would be able to cause your computer to boot by
itself. Your hard disk is off and Windows is not running after you shut
down. Therefore, no group policy would cause your computer to turn on.

Could be a faulty switch. I don't even know of a great way to test this
possibility because if you unplug the switch from the motherboard, you can't
turn the PC on (maybe by somehow "hotwiring" it).

Your BIOS settings look OK to me. You should update your BIOS to the latest
version. You can obtain instructions on how to do this from the PC
manufacturers website... or if you built the PC yourself or you know what
model of motherboard you have, you can check out this website for more info:

http://thetechnozone.com/pcbuyersguide/hardware/motherboards/How_to_Update_Your_BIOS.html

Hopefully this advice helps!

Jon Webb
 
Back
Top