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Computer turns itself on

by kubli_khan / May 1, 2004 6:49 PM PDT

I am having a problem with one of my computer systems: out of the blue it is turning itself on. I have traced the problem to the network, if I remove the network cable the computer doesn't turn itself on anymore. At first I thought it was the "wake-on-lan" feature, but I checked the bios and this feature is disabled. Also, I was under the impression that this can only be activated with a specially formed packet, and neither me nor my wife is using this feature(it is a small home network). So unless some malicious user is doing this I don't think this is the case. Sometimes I would have all my systems off, come home from work and the system would be on. Othertimes I would turn the router on/off or unplug the system from the router and the system would turn on. Today, I discovered the system turns itself on whenever I play a streaming real audio file on another system. It is like some unintended remote power on feature.
I am already using my spare network card, the previous network card had an unrelated problem. I don't remember when this problem started happening exactly, this system was in mothballs for awhile and is not my primary system. My current theory is that it is a bug in the system/nic bios or some kind of hardware bug. I was wondering if anyone else has run into this problem before or has a suggestion to fix the problem.
System specs:
MB: ASUS K7V Award Bios Revision 1007 Beta 001-A
NIC: Realtek RTL8139
Router: Linksys BEFSR41

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12 total posts

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Re:Computer turns itself on

by Michael Geist / May 1, 2004 9:21 PM PDT

In reply to: Computer turns itself on

I might try resetting the Bios to its default values, then check your WOL feature.

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Re:Re:Computer turns itself on

by kubli_khan / May 2, 2004 5:28 AM PDT

In reply to: Re:Computer turns itself on

That worked!! Or at least the .RAM file doesn't turn the sysem on anymore. Thanx

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Re:Computer turns itself on

by Sewa / May 4, 2004 8:14 PM PDT

In reply to: Computer turns itself on

I noticed sometime this year that when there was fluctuation in the electricity supply or the power went off and was eventually restored the computer turns itself on. In the part of the world that I come from we do not always have electricity. Thsi could be a cause.

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This is also because of BIOS setting

by Ray Harinec / September 23, 2004 10:46 AM PDT

In reply to: Re:Computer turns itself on

in the Power Management section. You probably have "restart on power restore" or some similar worded option enabled.

I intentionally have that enabled so that the system automatically boots when I turn the surge protector ON. The computer thinks that power was lost when I turned the power off by the surge protector switch.

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Re: Computer turns itself on

by mikec101 / June 26, 2004 3:19 PM PDT

In reply to: Computer turns itself on

I've got the same problem as kubli_khan. Pulling the network cable stops my Micron/AMD from turning on and booting to the logon screen by itself.

Anyone ever come up with a possible solution?

Thanks

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I think that you posted this

by Ray Harinec / September 23, 2004 10:41 AM PDT

In reply to: Re: Computer turns itself on

before. I saw no sign that you ever came back to check replies.

Go into your BIOS, in the Power Management section set the option to user define, and then do not enable any of the options. Removing the network cable seems to make it obvious that WOL [wake on LAN] is enabled.

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Re: Computer turns itself on

by deco1 / September 23, 2004 10:15 AM PDT

In reply to: Computer turns itself on

my computer is turning itself on at 0100 every morning. I disconnect the web and it still turned on..the only way to stop it is to pull the plug, but as soon as I plug it back in, the computer is on. I think it had something to do with microsoft pack 2..I tried to install it and got the dreaded blue screen..took computer to a tec and got that fixed, but ever since it is turning on....trying to get help from Dell, but still waiting

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Go into your BIOS

by Ray Harinec / September 23, 2004 10:48 AM PDT

In reply to: Re: Computer turns itself on

yours obviously has an option to have the sysrtem turn on at a set time [you can set for a different time] Simply disable that option.

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Dell Desktop turning on at 12 midnight every night.

by angellettingo / April 6, 2008 6:22 AM PDT

In reply to: Go into your BIOS

Computer turns itself on every night at midnight and i have no idea why. How do i fix it. If i need to uncheck something please tell me where to go to uncheck it. step by step if you can.
Thanks.

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Re: computer turns itself on at 12 midnight.

by Kees Bakker / April 6, 2008 6:30 AM PDT

In reply to: Dell Desktop turning on at 12 midnight every night.

The easy solution: turn off totally (either a mechanical power switch somewhere on the back or disconnect from the mains).
The somewhat more difficult solution: go into the BIOS setup and see if you can find a setting to wake up at ... or wake up on ... Then change that.

How to get into the BIOS depends on the the the make and model of the machine. Usually it's a key like del or esc or F1 or F10 early during the boot. Most PC's show something on the screen like "press del to enter setup". Some mention it only in the user guide that comes with it, and some don't even do that so you have to ask the tech support or look at the makers website or ask here, providing full details.

Hope this helps.

Kees

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(NT) Did you check the BIOS settings?

by R. Proffitt Forum moderator / April 6, 2008 6:35 AM PDT

In reply to: Dell Desktop turning on at 12 midnight every night.

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