PC starting up on its own.

Hello All, I hope this is the right forum.

silly little problem but one thats really irritating.

Its not actually my pc, its my Mums, and i have only just been made aware of the issue. Her PC, switches itself on automatically at 6am every morning. the only way to prevent this is to uplug everything. as she is of fairly limited mobility and the plugs are quite difficult to reach this is becoming a problem for her, (she doesnt want an easy to reach multiblock anywhere in sight rolleyes)

Any ideas how I can get rid of this for her? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Oh, and please im not that techy myself so any advice would need to be idiot and blonde proof.:-o many thanks in advance.

 

I'd check the BIOS for any Wake-on settings (e.g. Wake-on LAN).

 

Is this a XP Media Center PC?

 

sounds like the automatic wake in the bios is set

 

Hi, and thanks for the replies. sorry to sound such a numpty, but i dont know a great deal about her pc, apart from the fact its a dell, its old, and very slowwwwwwwwww! but it suits her. I cant get anymore info till i go take a look tomorrow, shes already in bed bless her,

How can i check the bios?

 

To access the BIOS, you must hit a particular key during the first few seconds when a computer turns on. Common BIOS access keys are F2 and DEL, although on some computers its a different key such as F1, F3, or F12.

Once you get into the BIOS, try and find a setting called "Wake on LAN" and disable it. Or even better, look for something called "Load System Defaults" or something similar, and do that. DO NOT change anything besides those two particular settings. Improperly configuration of the BIOS can cause more problems with the computer.

 

A workaround, plug the computer into a power strip before plugging it into the mains. When the computer is shut down, turn off the power strip. It won't wake up because the electricity isn't "connected". I had a computer that woke up at 9pm and that's what I did until I could find the fix.