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Thread ID: 69899 2006-06-15 23:29:00 Ghost in the machine BubbaNZ (8888) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
463441 2006-06-15 23:29:00 Hi, my Dell Windows XP SP2 machine, with Norton anti-virus and internet security & Windows Defender anti-spyware, has recently decided to turn itself on at 12am everyone night. Has been doing so for about a month. It turns itself on from a complete shut down / power off. Virus and spyware scans show it's completely clean of nasties. Windows update is set for 7pm. Only recent change is installation of a new video card after the old nVidia failed. Can't figure out how or why - any suggestions? Am a reasonably confident user but no expert. Any help gratefully received. BubbaNZ (8888)
463442 2006-06-15 23:39:00 Have a look in the BIOS for wake on ring, wake on LAN etc.

These setting may have been changed by the tech who installed your new video card.
Sweep (90)
463443 2006-06-16 06:03:00 maybe the tech set the bios to defaults......iv'e seen new mobos' with settings to turn the sysetm on at a particular time lol......had me wondering about ghosts too for a few mins haha drcspy (146)
463444 2006-06-16 07:31:00 also check in the power on option
the irq or something
if it's on for that it might mean wake on ring/lan
did it for my friend..was problem for wake on ring but the bios didn't state it that clearly
heni72847 (1166)
463445 2006-06-18 22:56:00 Thanks for your help everyone. They gave me the confidence to delve in the BIOS on my Dell Dimension 8300 series, BIOS version A05. There are no auto start on LAN or ring, but in case anyone else has this problem, down below the fold there is an 'Auto Power On: Enabled' - have changed it to 'Disabled' which fixed problem. BubbaNZ (8888)
463446 2006-06-19 00:54:00 i suspect the setting was "power on after power failure" (or something to that effect) and its been tripped by the hotwater ripple signal that gets put down the power lines. i suspect your PSU is not great (ie will die soon) which is not uncomman with dells. tweak'e (69)
463447 2006-06-19 06:49:00 My computer can automatically turn on and automatically turn off just like setting a timer in the BIOS.:DThis is so cool. My old MOBO don't have that feature. Ghost??? 00:00 Hr is the best time to scare people. MTLance (6768)
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