Why does my pc turn itself on?

WindowsStar said:

Sounds like Windows Update is turning your machine on to get the updates. The default time for Windows Updates is 3am.

Yeah, after altering the time to get automatic updates... no more computer turning itself on!! Finally! I was about ready to pull my hair out! I changed the time to 5 pm. I didn't alter anything else... but my computer didn't turn itself on at the time designated (weird; I'm not sure what exactly is going on here). Thanks, WindowStar for helping to confirm my suspicions. I really appreciate the reply :). Does anyone know definitively exactly what is going on here with Windows Update? Will my PC always turn itself on at the time designated - just like I altered the program to do? or will it only do it only if there's a wireless network signal at that exact time and not re-attempt to check for updates when it, say, re-acquires a signal?? Help and Support seems to not really address these working definitions..

I've been having the exact same issuefor 3 months now with both of my HP 8540w laptops (purchased April/2010) running Windows 7 Ultimate. HP shipped these with Windows XP Pro and I reformatted them with genuine versions of Windows 7 Ultimate purchased directly from Microsoft. I've been thru the BIOS and every setting for the Network Adapters and disabled any 'wake' feature I could find. Since mine are booting up from being completely powered off I'm not sure that chasing a 'wake' issue to be the right path to take however I have to look at all possibilities. From turning on inside the computer case one of these fried the DC/DC board. While at HP for service they even replaced the main board thinking this to be the problem as well as updating the BIOS. It still turns itself on. HP even sent me a beta test version BIOS to try and I'm still having the same issue. Finally they sent me a replacement for one of the units. I swapped hard drives (this one came with Windows XP Pro as well) and am having the same issues with the new unit. Mine aren't coming on every night and are quite sporadic. One once turned on 10 - 15 minutes after being shut down. I even tried shutting off my wireless router to no avail. What I can't understand is if this is a Windows 7 Ultimate problem how can this laptop turn on without the OS even being loaded? I really like these machines and need them for my business and hate to send them back when this issue shouldn't be that hard for their Tech Support to solve. Presently I'm waiting for a return call from HP Level 4 Tech Support. Any thoughts from anyone would be greatly welcomed as jumping off my roof isn't a viable alternative.

With kind regards,
Robbie.

Hello. Did you try all of the troubleshooting steps discussed in this thread? I'm not stupid or technologically illiterate but when I finally adjusted when Windows Update checks for updates it seemed to magically fix all of my woes. I had been having this problem for a little over a month and spoke with Dell a number of times about the issue. I hope that you find out how to fix it as well.

Thanks so much for the reply. The option for selecting time of day in Windows Update Settings (at least in Windows 7 Ultimate) is only when it will 'install' the downloaded updates. There is no option to select when it will 'check' for updates and I have mine set to only notify me of available updates. This way I determine which ones get installed and when they get installed. I suppose it's possible that Windows Update could randomly check for updates and that might be when these are turning on. I just have a hard time believing that the OS [when not running] can dictate thru the BIOS to boot up. The other bizzare thing is that this has happened twice at midnight on a Saturday and also at 12:24 AM on a Saturday. Being up watching SNL I heard the logon tones and came down to investigate. Once I came down to my kitchen at 9 AM Sunday morning and both machines had booted up and were running. They were networked together via a crossover cable and my wireless router was off so I can ensure they received no network signals. I still say, "Computers; it's not technology, it's witchcraft!"

Thanks again and please forward any additional thoughts.

Regards,
Robbie

Is it just 'waking up' or is it performing a complete boot up? Mine are doing a full boot up from being completely powered down. I presently have three 8540w's here; one is awaiting a replacement. (Actually I have four however the fourth one was dropped quite hard by either HP or FedEx and rendered useless. Let HP/FedEx fight it out). I have 2machines with updated/matched BIOS and a beta test version from HP on the other. Two of the machines are running Windows 7 Ultimate and the third Windows XP Pro as that's how HP ships these particular units. Two are set with Windows Update completely off and the third to allow Windows Update to check for updates and automatically install them at 9 AM tomorrow morning. I want to see if the update forces the unit to boot and if the other 2 units (with updates turned off) are forced as well. I got nowhere with cmd.exe powercfg-last wake. It seems that Windows 7 Ultimate didn't recognize that command. I looked into the 30-day history in Task Scheduler but didn't recognize what a lot of the process were. As mentioned these machines are great, real work horses and I hate to send them back however removing the batteries and pulling the AC cord each time you're finished using them isn't very convenient either. Kinda' like finally buying that rare Ferrari Dino 308 GT4 and then having to crawl deeply into the engine compartment each night and remove the positive cable from the battery so it doesn't go dead over night.

Cheers,
Robbie.

Here’s what I learned today from the HP Level 4 technician who I’ve been working closely with for a couple weeks now. BTW he has been extremely knowledgeable and pleasant to work with. He pretty much assured me that since the OS is not running no matter what the settings/preferences are in Windows 7 the machine can’t receive instructions from the OS and boot up when turned off, shut down, powered off, etc;. “OFF” is also the key to this as many folks in the forums talk about their machines ‘waking’ from sleep, hibernate or suspend modes. That’s another whole issue that that doesn’t affect my situation. Since this is happening to your Dells at the same times as my HPs it might suggest the two companies share the same BIOS chipset manufacturer. I presented this to the HP technician but he told me they manufacture their own chipsets. (I wonder who Dell buys their chipsets from). Hmmm. I’ve also had mine turn on a couple times when I close the lid after being powered off for just a short time as well as sitting overnight. Today as I was packing up the three machines (which had been sitting opened since 2 am yesterday) as I closed the lid on one of the units it turned on. (Yes I checked to ensure nothing was up against the power button as the lid closed). What's interesting is that this machine had a drive formatted with XP Pro so as far as I’m concerned it’s not a Windows 7 issue but rather a BIOS issue. HP asked me for the imprinted data on the drives, so as I was swapping them I photographed both drives (one is a Seagate and the other a Western Digital). HP thought that possibly the firmware on the drives could be the culprit. HP also claims that mine are the only units reporting this type of behavior and this hasn’t been reported anywhere else. I guess I should feel special!

One other note; don’t bother entering DOS mode and checking powercfg –lastwake. Our computers are not waking; they’re booting up and powercfg will indicate ‘Wake History Count – 0.’