My computer has a mind of it's own

[cypher543]

Well... ok... so most do. But mine is acting funny.

It's running Windows XP, so I don't think I can really post this in the Linux Hardware area, but anyway... My computer keeps turning itself on. Like, I can completely shut it down, even watch the power light go off, and then it's turned on again when I come back 5 minutes later.

What the heck is doing this???

[Sarthan]

Do you own a cat ??

When I let my cat sleep in the computer-room , in the morning , sometimes my computer has been turned on :D

[cypher543]

Actually, my cat died a few days ago and it's still doing it.

[bob]

The first thing I'd do is unplug from the net, in case you've been hacked and it is now effectively a zombie. Along the same lines, I'd go to http://www.trendmicro.com/home/default.asp and not only run the free Housecall, but also download Sysclean from here: http://www.trendmicro.com/download/dcs.asp and the latest lpt file from here: http://www.trendmicro.com/download/viruspattern.asp and then unzip the pattern file, copy Sysclean to that folder and then close down your System Restore and reboot into Safe Mode, then run Sysclean. That will wipe out any buggie that I've ever encountered in Windows.

Of course, you could have some auto-boot enabled in the BIOS, but it's a lot more fun to believe that your machine is now a mindless bot and part of some sinister plot.

[Crux]

I agree Bob, sounds like a 'wake on Lan' thing.

IMHO, goto CMOS and disable the 'wake on lan' feature...

Just a thought.

[w5set]

And some BIOS have a wake on time thing too--besides wake on keyboard or mouse or lan or modem.
But my computer runs on smoke and the theory of GI-GO and doesn't have much of a mind at all--I prefer the thing just wasn't quite as smart as I am anyway.--ooopppsss--that was my old Vic 16--nevermind...