Why does my desktop PC start by itself?

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Batman

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#1472890 16-Jan-2016 22:09

I tried to destroy my task scheduler as i thought it was a software issue but task manager wouldn't die and is now in a state of suspended at the event horizon.

But my task scheduler ability is limited. Perhaps take a look there?

kiwigeek1

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#1472902 16-Jan-2016 22:40

somethings MS put in the scheduler so if destroyed it then they wont run.

it does come in handy at times.. all had to do was disable the scripts not destroy the service :)

not sure its that the problem. . did you check lan card settings.

other things that can wake are plugged in USB devices.

I dont sleep my stuff only hibenate.. solves the problem completely and saves on power.
real fast if got solid state in laptop or desktop

its myth keeping pcs in sleep or on.. makes it last longer. espc hard drives.

timmmay

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#1472952 17-Jan-2016 06:41

I had this, I diagnosed it and fixed it reasonably easily.

Look into your event log, it will say what brought it out of sleep. It may take some time to find, but it should be there. Then disable whatever it was. In my case it was being woken by something on the network. I Googled the source of the wake, it told me how to disable it.

richms

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#1472955 17-Jan-2016 06:51

Hibernate is far too slow I find. plus thats up to 32 gigs of the SSD I need to have sitting there doing nothing most of the time, and 32 gigs of write to it every time I hibernate the machine.

Perhaps in the dark old days of a 2 or 4 gig machine it was tolerable, but no way these days.

Richard rich.ms

Brendan

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#1473015 17-Jan-2016 09:37

Windows 10 is bloody annoying in this regard. I consider it a bug. I found this worked for me:

1. Go into device manager, go through all your device power options and disable 'wake computer' options. Especially for mice and lan and WiFi. Keyboard seems OK, but beware wireless keyboards.

2. Go into advanced power options, disenable hybrid sleep. Disenable wake timers, or try setting it to only important ones.

3. Go into windows update. Try to set it to 'defer' updates to some time the computer is actually on. THIS 'feature' of 10 really pissess me off, I'll be the one who decides when I do updates Microsoft, not bloody you!

4. Go into the scheduler. You will find an entry for windows update and sih. I modified mine to trigger only at unlock or idle. You might notice it lists the last time each of them ran. You might notice it was some stupid time of the night corresponding to what your system event viewer said your computer started at..... Go through a few other scheduled events to check them to. Bloody Microsoft.

Despite what some here have said, the power cfg command and event viewer do NOT always record the wake up event. In these cases it'll say unknown, real useful, when in fact it's the task scheduler. Bloody Microsoft.

Oh, check your bios to. Make sure it's LAN settings are not wake on LAN, and make sure mice aren't either. Wi-Fi etc to.

Some built in LAN chips on motherboards are far from great. My one, a Gbit chip from Intel no less, is buggy and likes to ignore device manager settings half the time. Known fault. I had to disable it in bios and put a cheap Realtek Gbit card in. Seems OK, works better with VMware to (vmwares bridge drivers liked to kill connections every boot with the Intel chip, as did virtual box). Bloody Intel...

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#1473131 17-Jan-2016 13:17

Brendan: 1. Go into device manager, go through all your device power options and disable 'wake computer' options. Especially for mice and lan and WiFi.

Done today. I was surprised by how many devices have "wake" options.

Brendan: 2. Go into advanced power options, disenable hybrid sleep. Disenable wake timers, or try setting it to only important ones.

Already done.

Brendan: 3. Go into windows update. Try to set it to 'defer' updates to some time the computer is actually on.

I have the option, but have elected not to defer.

Brendan: 4. Go into the scheduler. You will find an entry for windows update and sih. I modified mine to trigger only at unlock or idle.

By Windows update I presume that you mean "Automatic App Update". Update and sih are now triggered only at idle.

Now I shall sit back and see what happens - hopefully nothing.

Thank you for your detailed advice.

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Brendan

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#1473143 17-Jan-2016 13:38

Sideface:
Brendan: 1. Go into device manager, go through all your device power options and disable 'wake computer' options. Especially for mice and lan and WiFi.

Done today. I was surprised by how many devices have "wake" options.

Brendan: 2. Go into advanced power options, disenable hybrid sleep. Disenable wake timers, or try setting it to only important ones.

Already done.

Brendan: 3. Go into windows update. Try to set it to 'defer' updates to some time the computer is actually on.

I have the option, but have elected not to defer.

Brendan: 4. Go into the scheduler. You will find an entry for windows update and sih. I modified mine to trigger only at unlock or idle.

By Windows update I presume that you mean "Automatic App Update". Update and sih are now triggered only at idle.

Now I shall sit back and see what happens - hopefully nothing.

Thank you for your detailed advice.

You're welcome :)

No, I meant the whole lot. I actually disabled the app update entirely. Here's a grab of my scheduler setup:

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#1473296 17-Jan-2016 17:27

Brendan: ... No, I meant the whole lot. I actually disabled the app update entirely. Here's a grab of my scheduler setup:

Can you still update manually ("Check for Updates") after doing this?

I normally do it that way anyway.

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Brendan

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#1473431 17-Jan-2016 23:45

Sideface:
Brendan: ... No, I meant the whole lot. I actually disabled the app update entirely. Here's a grab of my scheduler setup:

Can you still update manually ("Check for Updates") after doing this? I normally do it that way anyway.

Yes. In fact, it still does it automatically - just at the time you set. Ish... E.g. NOT 3:30am........ lol.

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#1475733 20-Jan-2016 21:57

Brendan: Windows 10 is bloody annoying in this regard. I consider it a bug. I found this worked for me:

1. Go into device manager, go through all your device power options and disable 'wake computer' options. Especially for mice and lan and WiFi. Keyboard seems OK, but beware wireless keyboards.

2. Go into advanced power options, disenable hybrid sleep. Disenable wake timers, or try setting it to only important ones.

3. Go into windows update. Try to set it to 'defer' updates to some time the computer is actually on. THIS 'feature' of 10 really pissess me off, I'll be the one who decides when I do updates Microsoft, not bloody you!

4. Go into the scheduler. You will find an entry for windows update and sih. I modified mine to trigger only at unlock or idle. <snip>.

Progress report

Been there, done all that.

The PC still self-starts, at least once a day.

I have 8 other PCs running Windows 10, and none of them do this.

Sideface

Brendan

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#1475741 20-Jan-2016 22:05

Sideface:

Brendan: Windows 10 is bloody annoying in this regard. I consider it a bug. I found this worked for me:

1. Go into device manager, go through all your device power options and disable 'wake computer' options. Especially for mice and lan and WiFi. Keyboard seems OK, but beware wireless keyboards.

2. Go into advanced power options, disenable hybrid sleep. Disenable wake timers, or try setting it to only important ones.

3. Go into windows update. Try to set it to 'defer' updates to some time the computer is actually on. THIS 'feature' of 10 really pissess me off, I'll be the one who decides when I do updates Microsoft, not bloody you!

4. Go into the scheduler. You will find an entry for windows update and sih. I modified mine to trigger only at unlock or idle. <snip>.

Progress report

Been there, done all that.

The PC still self-starts, at least once a day.

I have 8 other PCs running Windows 10, and none of them do this.

Try turning off your LAN chip. In the bios. Uninstall the drivers first.

I've found some of them are pretty crap (driver wise anyway). If the problem disappears.......... Get a new lan card. I had to, never could rely on the built in chip to actually work as advertised. Even though it was and Intel brand.

Could also be noise on the USB bus. If you have any of those stupid, thin unsheilded USB cables, it might be picking up interference from your speakers or any passing cop radio, and waking up the computer.

If none of that works, it is clearly demon possession. In that case, take one dead chicken and while standing in front of the computer.......

lol

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gbwelly

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#1475756 20-Jan-2016 22:25

Sideface: My problem: a near-new high-spec Wintel desktop PC that cold boots by itself.

Initially the OS was Windows 7 Pro - the PC did not self-start then.
Then I upgraded to Win 10 Pro - and the problem began.
A recent fresh install of Win 10 - the problem persists.

Any suggestions on how to investigate this further?

Yep, it's a Windows 10 thing, I have it too. Fortunately mine will do it within 30 seconds of shutdown when it is having a wee freak-out so I can remove the Ethernet cable to stop it. So it is WOL related. I'm not a spaz so I can confirm WOL is not enabled. I am selecting Shutdown, so this shouldn't be sleep related.

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