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Why does my computer turn on and off by itself?

post #1 of 14
2/17/08 at 4:10am
Thread Starter 
I just got a new computer that has Vista Basic as the O/S. All day long, it turns itself on and off and random intervals. I have tried to mess with the Sleep mode and the hibernation settings, but that doesn't seem to help. It is very strange. Sometimes, all I need to do is hit a key and it turns on. Sometimes, I need to push the power button and then enter my password.
Any ideas? Thanks.
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post #2 of 14
2/17/08 at 6:28am

Re: Why does my computer turn on and off by itself?

Well, Vista is basically an evil system.
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post #3 of 14
2/17/08 at 12:22pm
Thread Starter 

Re: Why does my computer turn on and off by itself?

OK, so my computer is possesed. I tried to arrange an exorcism, but nobody came.
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post #4 of 14
2/17/08 at 12:41pm

Re: Why does my computer turn on and off by itself?

If you're in the New York area it's 555-2368.

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post #5 of 14
2/17/08 at 2:17pm

Re: Why does my computer turn on and off by itself?

I don't know what is going on, but have you registered it and gotten all of the updates? Some of them really do fix problems. After that I'd call the store up.

Glenn
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post #6 of 14
2/17/08 at 4:50pm

Re: Why does my computer turn on and off by itself?

It sounds like it's not really turning itself on and off. It's going into and out of hibernation/sleep on its own. Big difference.

Actually shut it down (not sleep or hibernate) and see if it comes on by itself. I'm guessing it won't. If it doesn't, it's definately a sleep/hibernation issue.

Once it's in sleep or in hibernation, if you've got it on a local area network, perhaps LAN activity is causing it to wake up at seemingly random times. To see if Wake On LAN is turned on:

go to START and RIGHT click on Network and choose PROPERTIES
Click on Manage Network Connections
RIGHT click on Local Area Connection and choose PROPERTIES
Click on Configure
Click on the Power Management Tab
You should see a Wake On LAN section
Make sure all the boxes are UNCHECKED
Click OK

Good Luck.
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post #7 of 14
2/17/08 at 5:30pm
Thread Starter 

Re: Why does my computer turn on and off by itself?

Thanks.. I just did what you suggested.
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post #8 of 14
2/17/08 at 5:37pm

Re: Why does my computer turn on and off by itself?

I hope that takes care of it.
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post #9 of 14
2/18/08 at 4:26am
Thread Starter 

Re: Why does my computer turn on and off by itself?

That was it, thanks.
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post #10 of 14
2/18/08 at 1:46pm

Re: Why does my computer turn on and off by itself?

Excellent!
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post #11 of 14
1/27/11 at 4:26pm

Hey my computer is doing the same thing but i have windows 7 and those instructions dont work for me so i tried to do that my self but i only connect to a wireless router so idk. also it first started doing it only when i played video games now it just does it randomly

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post #12 of 14
2/9/12 at 7:35pm
Brian x has the answer!!!great
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post #13 of 14
2/9/12 at 10:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gamergirl82 View Post

Hey my computer is doing the same thing but i have windows 7 and those instructions dont work for me so i tried to do that my self but i only connect to a wireless router so idk. also it first started doing it only when i played video games now it just does it randomly


Could be heat. If you haven't de-dusted your computer lately, it may be overheating when it is being pushed hard, like when you play video games. With a toothbrush, clean the dust off the little fan on the chip, and if it is a desktop computer, off the big fans too. Then blow the dust away with compressed air.
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post #14 of 14
2/10/12 at 12:29am

This probably isn't it, but I have two PCs in my home office. My main one would occasionally reboot on its own - if I was working on it or not. Turned out to be minor power fluctuations and that PC couldn't handle it, while the other one did. I wound up picking up a UPS and that solved the problem (and protects my PC from damage from our crappy power service!)

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