My PC is switching on,on its own.How do i find where this is happening and how do i stop it.?

Question

I have looked in sched tasks and did not find anything.

Answer 1

there is a setting on alot of modern pc's called 'wake up on lan' which allows your pc to be switched off, and upon receiving a signal from a network connection, the pc will boot up.

the reason this exists is so you don't need to have the machine switched on 24/7 to use the resources available from that machine - simply setup 'wake up on lan' then the pc will start up on request of a networked resource - for example if you're away from home and need a file from the pc, send the signal, wait for the pc to boot, then retrieve the file wherever you are in the world.

however, it's been known for a whole host of things to trigger the wake up on lan setting, including someone ringing or faxing the phoneline your pc is attached to, and adsl related stuff.

next time you reboot your pc, quickly follow these steps - they are only approximate because everyone's bios is different:

· reboot the pc, and get ready - do the following as soon as the pc has been switched on - don't wait for windows to load

· enter the bios/setup by pressing whatever key is used on your pc, it's normally f1, f2, delete, or escape - if you have no luck with these it will actually say 'press to enter setup' for about a second right after you switch the 'puter on

· when you're in the bios (blue background, white text), poke about the various menus for a setting called 'wake up on lan'

· change the 'yes' or 'enabled' to 'no' or 'disabled'

· press whatever key is for 'save settings and exit' (normally f10)

· your computer will exit the bios and reboot

· it should not start up 'randomly' again

don't forget to 'accept' this answer if it helped.

Answer 2

Do you have a DSL or Cable connection that you leave on at all times? If so, you probably have a hacker who's figured out how to manipulate your machine.
Disconnect your DSL/Cable connection or simply turn them off for up to an hour. Most hackers will get bored and move onto an easier target.

You might also have a worm virus that's causing this. It will turn your machine on so that it can continue to destroy or rewrite files/programs.
I'd get yourself a really good antivirus like Xoftspy or AVG.

Answer 3

This happened to me in the past because of my DSL cable connection (phone line) being connected to my PC and whenever someone calls me the PC turns-on on its own... So if your phone line is also connected to your PC try taking it off and see what happens

Answer 4

in BIOS setup, disable ring-in modem and network settings.
this settings cause the computer turn on when any request happened (ring or receiving data)

Answer 5

yup, most likely because of the bios, as the others above me said. (just supporting their suggestion)

Answer 6

I'm not entirely sure, but when I read it I immediately thought you might have a ghost?!!!