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Problem: Computer Powers itself ON

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Serville

Registered
Joined
Mar 10, 2002
I have a very strange computer problem.
My computer is connected to a powercord (whatever you call it) which has several sockets for my PSU, monitor, printer, speaker cable and a deskfan. The idea is, by using the switch on the powercord, I can power on everything at the same time.

Now, the problem is whenever I use the switch, the computer always powers itself on even without me touching the computer's power-on button. This is unusual because it is not supposed to act this way. This problem has come up several times, and I always solved it in many different stupid ways, either by removing the board from the case, doing a little dust-cleaning on the board with a brush (which by the way always clean !!!), or even it simply fixed itself. This has happened in the last 3 months, and the problem reappears in about every 2 weeks. I feel sick of fixing it.

Now I can assure you the followings:
- There is no electrical shorting on the case/board
- The PSU is fine. It is Heroichi 450W LDT. Using several other PSUs gave me the same problem.
- The powercord & all computer cables are fine. All replaced, and it does not help.
- The main wall socket/power point is fine. Using different power point on the wall does not help.

The strange thing is, the computer can shut down properly if I power off using the computer's power button, or whenever I shut Windows down. It just has a strange initiative to power on itself the first time electrical current runs through the cables.

Now tell me what could cause this strange problem ?
 
You may have a simple problem. The power switch on the computer could be flakey or the wires running to the motherboard could be abraded and are shorting out intermittently to the case ground. This could cause exactly what you see.
 
I wouldn't be cleaning dust with a brush on anything in my computer.. I do believe that killing your components due to static electricity is over rated, but using a brush for dustcleaning is to challenge things a bit..
 
i would also check your BIOS settings. There should be an "after power failure" option or something to that effect. I believe when you use the power strip, your comp thinks there has been a power failure, and if the BIOS is set to power up after a power failure( mine was set like that by default) your comp will come on automatically. In my apt, we have frequent brownouts during the summer, and for awhile, my comp would shut off, then turn back on like 10 times per minute, which is very bad for the HDD's. After switching the power failure option to "stay off" it resolved the problem. Hope this helps

edit: I just checked my BIOS settings(these will probably be a little different from yours)
While in the BIOS setup screen, select POWER MANAGEMENT. In mine there is a RESTORE ON A/C POWER LOSS option. The BIOS gives me three choices, POWER OFF(my currently selected option), POWER ON and LAST STATE. Chances are yours is set to POWER ON, which will automatically turn on your PC whenever the power goes off. Try selecting POWER OFF, and your problem should be solved.
 
Last edited:
I finally solved the problem. You're right. It's "STATE AFTER POWER FAILURE" in Bios. Now, I understand why the problem started 3 months ago. I remember clearing the CMOS at the time, and I forgot to set "State after power failure" to OFF as I always did before. It was in AUTO.

I would NEVER have thought it was the problem, EVEN if I realized it was set to AUTO because I thought the option meant "shut down abruptly WHILE IN USE because of power loss". Apparently ATX is much more sophisticated that that. It still detects power failure even when the computer is not active or properly shut down.


Thanks a lot. Finally the mystery is solved.
 
No problem, im glad you got it working . That restore on power loss can be hell on your hdd's, especially when brownouts are a common occurence :)
 
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