My pooter turns itself on... and its creepin me out 2

[phase]

ok i don't know whether this is a hardware or software problem, i'm leaning towards hardware, because i had the same problem while running Win98 then 2000 Pro then ME... XP is running a treat and i'm rather happy with it, dont'laugh at me, i'm happy so leave me be

Anyway any time of the day (not all days, sometimes the problem can go away for a few days) my computer will just switch itself on. i've never really noticed a particular time of the day cos its hard to know. like, i'll wake up on a sat morning and the computer will be running... pretty strange stuff this is >:O> ... one day i walked over to my desk and picked up a bit of paper and *bzzzzz* the computer starts up.. i didn't bump any buttons and wobble the case or anything. its not a big problem i know, but its very frustrating when i'm trying to sleep. and its just plain STOOPID.

i'm running:
PIII 650, 512mb ram, 20 gig hdd, a sony burner, 40x cdrom, Live! Plat Optimum or whatever its called (its got a live drive) GeForce 32 DDR... and an extra fan for ventilation... all in an ATX case. a few extras but they don't matter.

any help would be greatfully appreciated

-Steve

//phase

 

[MEREDOTH]

is your pc connected in a lan or have you a modem.
perhaps there is power up from wol or wom. check this.

 

[phase]

yeah its got a modem connected to it... what is wol or wom?

//phase

 

[teado]

You can also check these simple things:
1. I assume your computer is 100% powered off - NOT on sleep. Mine will come out of sleep mode when I'm not around; I assume my mouse is twitchy enough that it gets moved around (thanks to my upstairs neighbors who walk like elephants).

2. Check BIOS settings - some BIOSes will let you schedule a wakeup time - If there's a battery backup, try replacing the battery?

 

[phase]

nah sleep mode is crap. i don't use that.

and the bios, ok i'll have a look at that. the box is fairly new, but i'll check the battery anyway.

Thanks heaps fellas

//phase

 

[pfleischman]

To expand on one the responses... check your BIOS for (probably under power management) for a "Wake on Ring" setting or an automatic resume function. The first one will power up the computer if the phone line into the modem rings. Disable this. The second one will turn the computer on at specific time. Virtually all motherboards manufactured in the last few years have these features. The computer does not have to be in "sleep" mode. It can be powered off. Even when off, there is some power to the system to support these functions. Unless you have a secondary power switch on the power supply itself which you shut off, or your are shutting off at a power strip, the system is always live.

 

[malepipe]

I think some Viri can also do this.Was your Xp install a "clean" one or an upgrade?
Have a free scan from here>>

http://housecall.antivirus.com/

BTW WAL is Wake(up)on Lan meaning if the network is accessed it will activate the other PC's.
Jimi_l(AKA Malepipe)

 

[MEREDOTH]

wom is wake up on modem ring. put away the telephone cord for a day or two and check if the prob cont. is not you have your killer.

 

[dilettante]

Some BIOS also have a "wake on time" feature, where you can set a time for the machine to boot up on its own.

I see this in a lot of commecial Dells (OptiPlex, but not in Dimensions - their "home" computers). Very seldom in home-brew Frankenstein Specials unless based on a commercial motherboard.

What BIOS do you have?