computer boots when pluged in.

[jrr1957]

Replaced my first motherboard recently and was very proud that all worked well. But then the guy I done it for tells me when he plugs it in the computer boots up. Sorry I dont have any thing on the specs cause its not here. Just looking for the best place to start. The motherboard was replaced with the same one that was bad. Everything else is working great. Any suggestions would be wonderful. thanks

 

[karlsnooks]

If at all possible, I'd ask for a demonstration. Sometimes problems get lost in translation.

If this involves travel or time on his part, then be sure that he understands that you work just like the friendly plumber.
The first $50 at the door pays for your travel time and expenses.

 

[seavixen32]

As Karl suggests, see it happening first.

I'm no expert, but it may have something to do with the power settings in the BIOS and/or a CMOS battery that needs to be reset.

Just a thought, has your friend been using the proper shutdown procedure or just switching the power outlet off?

 

[karlsnooks]

seavixen,

I had a case once where only when talking with the chap did it come out that he was simply pulling the cord from the wall to turn the unit off.

 

[seavixen32]

Something similar happened to me, so I thought it worth mentioning to ask the guy how the laptop is being powered down.

 

[jrr1957]

Just realized I posted this in software. Sorry. Going to check it out next few days. Anything is possible, This guy knows nothing about computers so it could be usererror. I have never known anyone that can screw up a computer more than he has in the past. He once hung a case fan from the wires in his computer by a bread tie cause he said the little fan on the motherboard was going to slow.

 

[seavixen32]

"He once hung a case fan from the wires in his computer by a bread tie cause he said the little fan on the motherboard was going to slow."

Is it safe to leave him alone with a computer?

 

[theog]

May be, May be not

 

[Zepher]

In the BIOS there is a power setting that allows you to tell the PC what to do when the power is lost, like when you have your PC hooked up to power strip or the house power shuts off.
There is:
Last State (If the PC was off then it stays off, if it was on then it powers back on).
Always Off (no matter what state the PC was in, the PC stays off when power is restored)
Always On (powers the PC on no matter what state it was in when the power was lost)

The above aren't necessarily the actual wording, don't remember them off-hand, but that is the gist of it.

Found an image on Google showing the setting on Restore on AC Power Loss. Found another showing 3 options,

 

[jumanji]

+1 for the above.

My desktop was earlier booting whenever I switched on my UPS.

I entered the Power Management setup in the bios. Under "AC Back" function there are three options.

Soft Off - Always in off state

Full on - Always power on system when AC is back

Memory - System power on depends upon the status before AC is lost.

I changed it over from Full on to Soft-off. Now the system will switch on only when I press the Power button on the case.

Check for something similar in the motherboard bios and set it.

 

[jrr1957]

Thanks, Will check it out. Just was not sure where to look. Have seen the settings but never had a reason to mess with them. And no he is not safe alone with a computer. Which is why I am always fixing it. Nice guy and loves to tinker, just wish he would do some reading first. Thanks again for all the help.