My PC keeps waking up randomly

the_randomizer

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Okay, so I'm the guy who doesn't like to shut down/start up my PC everyday since I have to wait for the boot process to complete, so I just put the PC on sleep but I do shut it down once a week or so. However lately, whenever I go to sleep, my computer seems to turn on by itself in the middle of the night, thinking something it hitting the keyboard, which is the only device I have enabled to wake it up. Is it possible to have my Xbox 360 wake it up while the keyboard and mouse are not? Or can you wake the PC up using the power button (light press) and/or have it wake up after a certain no. of hours after putting it into that mode?

Does that make sense? I know it sounds weird to some I'm sure, but I like sleep mode and being able to quickly resume from that state, but this whole-keyboard-being-to-sensitive enough to wake up in the middle of the night is bugging me. Any suggestions? Are there settings for USB devices like 360 controllers that can let me wake it up?

Summary: Using sleep mode is easiest for me, but the fact the keyboard randomly wakes the PC up is starting to bother me a bit.
 

the_randomizer

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Sleep mode or hibernation?

No, I use sleep mode, tried hibernation but I couldn't restore it back to a working state so I had to reboot. With sleep mode, is it possible to wake it up using an Xbox controller instead of using the keyboard or mouse?

Edit: I was looking through the devices that have power management options, it seems I have two entries for my mouse...one of the two entries has it clicked to allow the mouse to wake up the PC. Why the crap do I have two mouse entries? Pretty sure that's not normal.
 

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It might not be the keyboard -- wake on lan has some interesting sub options that various routers fulfil as part of their day to day operations.

Auto awake. Yeah you can set scheduled tasks to awake the machine from sleep mode. It should be pretty obvious once you get to the add new task phase (it is just a checkbox) but http://www.howtogeek.com/119028/how-to-make-your-pc-wake-from-sleep-automatically/ goes step by step. You may also find that it is a task doing the deed (various AV programs have a habit of this).

USB controller.... never had to do it myself so I am not sure about this one. A token search did not get me anything and it at this point I would probably program my teensy++ to do something instead (it can pretend to be things far more easily).
 
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the_randomizer

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It might not be the keyboard -- wake on lan has some interesting sub options that various routers fulfil as part of their day to day operations.

Auto awake. Yeah you can set scheduled tasks to awake the machine from sleep mode. It should be pretty obvious once you get to the add new task phase (it is just a checkbox) but http://www.howtogeek.com/119028/how-to-make-your-pc-wake-from-sleep-automatically/ goes step by step. You may also find that it is a task doing the deed (various AV programs have a habit of this).

USB controller.... never had to do it myself so I am not sure about this one. A token search did not get me anything and it at this point I would probably program my teensy++ to do something instead (it can pretend to be things far more easily).


I did some more sleuthing and may have found the cause for the random waking up. Turns out there are two mouse drivers (listed under HID compliant mouse twice), but it's Logitech. I checked both mouse entries, one had "allow this device to wake the PC" while the second did not, so there was a conflict. That would certainly explain why, I may have bumped the desk in my sleep, shaking the mouse a bit. The question remains, why the heck do I have two mouse entries. I guess the manufacturer drivers were never installed for the mouse. But still, why would there be two entries?

Edit: Just checked the network settings, wake on LAN is disabled. Controllers don't have the ability (I just looked). But the more I think about it, the double mouse entry in the device manager might be the culprit. How to remove the duplicate entry however....I might have to update the actual driver to use Logitech's.
 

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I assume this is the same mouse listed twice.
Plugged it into different ports/hubs on the computer? I am sure we have all had machines where you plug your USB drive in that you have plugged in a few dozen times before and it says "installing drivers...", same idea.
 

the_randomizer

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I assume this is the same mouse listed twice.
Plugged it into different ports/hubs on the computer? I am sure we have all had machines where you plug your USB drive in that you have plugged in a few dozen times before and it says "installing drivers...", same idea.


Yes it is. Haven't done any port swapping, I mean the mouse itself is working just fine, I just found it odd that one entry had the wake PC function enabled while the other did not, hence there was a conflict and would explain why it randomly woke it up. It would be prudent of me to use that guide since it would be the easiest to deal with, but I'll run some experiments to see if that was indeed the real cause. The modeld is a Logitech M110.
 

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  1. Learn where the power button is located on your PC case.
  2. Use it.
:tpi:

Oh you! Of course I do, and like I said in the OP, I don't like turning my PC off and on every day since I hate having to wait and it adds extra wear and tear. I think I found the root of the problem anyways :P I put it in sleep after three to four hours of use, during that time it doesn't turn on randomly, only when I sleep for eight hours or so. I believe the double mouse entries was causing a conflict (not sure why there's two) one had wake up enabled while the other did not. Both are not turned off and only the keyboard allows it to be woken up.

Keeping it in sleep mode and then actually turning it off once or twice per week has been the easiest way for me to do it :D
 

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Uh, I do, and like I said in the OP, I don't like turning my PC off and on every day since I hate having to wait and it adds extra wear and tear.
What makes you think that running your PC 24/7 doesn't? In fact, it's the worse option as far as most components are concerned. Ever servers have to reboot every now and then, your desktop is no different.
 
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the_randomizer

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What makes you think that running your PC 24/7 doesn't? In fact, it's the worse option as far as most components are concerned. Ever servers have to reboot every now and then, your desktop is no different.


Again, my PC is not running 24/7. I put it in sleep mode when I don't use it, then turn it on again when I come back a couple of hours later. I use it in four or so hour increments, put it in sleep, come back a couple of hours later, wake it up, repeat. I never keep it on 24/7. When I sleep, it's also in sleep mode. I used to have a PC I kept on 24/7, which I never do anymore.\

Use for four hours or so, sleep, come back a couple hours later, wake it up, sleep, come back again, put it sleep mode, go to bed, etc.
 

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It's not running 24/7. I put it in sleep mode when I don't use it, then turn it on again when I come back a couple of hours later. I use it in four or so hour increments, put it in sleep, come back a couple of hours later, wake it up, repeat. I never keep it on 24/7.

Current is still flowing even in sleep mode, and while there's very little stress on the main components such as the CPU or the GPU, your volatile memory (RAM) and all the capacitors in your PC must hate your guts. Suit yourself though. :P
 

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Current is still flowing even in sleep mode, and while there's very little stress on the main components such as the CPU or the GPU, your volatile memory (RAM) and all the capacitors in your PC must hate your guts. Suit yourself though. :P


Then what do you suggest? Doesn't turning it off and on multiple times a day wear it out faster? What do you suggest I do when I'm not using it? Surely, turning it off and on more than once per day is a worse detriment than keeping in sleep mode. There's a lot of debate on keeping it sleep mode vs. shutting it down. You got me curious, what method will allow the most longevity? I don't want to turn it off whenever I'm not here but not going to bed either (i.e work). Please give me some suggestions as to what's more efficient.
 

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Then what do you suggest? Doesn't turning it off and on wear it out faster?

Depends on the component in question. Technically turning it back on means that the HDD spindle has to spin the drive up (axel wear and tear) plus the CPU has to do some rudimentary loading (CPU+RAM wear and tear). Practically never turning it off means that there's current constantly flowing through all the capacitors which may result in their early "bulging", the PSU never rests and the RAM stores something at all times. There's really no good answer here because wear and tear comes naturally, I'm merely noting that you're putting a lot of stress on the base components people don't usually think about - the PSU and the capacitors on the motherboard itself. ;)
 

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Depends on the component in question. Technically turning it back on means that the HDD spindle has to spin the drive up (axel wear and tear) plus the CPU has to do some rudimentary loading (CPU+RAM wear and tear). Practically never turning it off means that there's current constantly flowing through all the capacitors which may result in their early "bulging" plus the RAM stores something at all times. There's really no good answer here because wear and tear comes naturally, I'm merely noting that you're putting a lot of stress on the base components people don't usually think about - the PSU and the capacitors on the motherboard itself. ;)


Right, and I wasn't fully aware of the risks, but what's the best course of action? Obviously I can't avoid wear and tear, but what method has the least amount? That's what I want to know. 24/7 isn't something I do like I said, but since even sleep mode is a detriment, turning it on and off is s detriment, what am I supposed to do? What should I do? That's what I want to hear from your POV.

Turning off vs. hibernate vs sleep mode. What is the best out of the three? Again, wouldn't shut down wear the HDD faster than using sleep?
 

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Right, and I wasn't fully aware of the risks, but what's the best course of action? Obviously I can't avoid wear and tear, but what method has the least amount?
This highly depends on your workflow.

If you know for certain that you'll be back by the screen within a few minutes up to a few hours, use Sleep Mode - that's what it was designed for.

If you're going to be away for a longer period of time and you're sure you won't need the PC but you have some work in progress already and you can't quit it, hibernate - this will dump the contents of RAM and the system state to the HDD and allow you to return to it at a later date without putting unnecessary stress on the RAM or other base components.

If you're not going to use your PC at all for the rest of the day and you know you won't until, say, tomorrow, you might as well shut down - your motherboard and your PSU will thank you.
 
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This highly depends on your workflow.

If you know for certain that you'll be back by the screen within a few minutes up to a few hours, use Sleep Mode - that's what it was designed for.

If you're going to be away for a longer period of time and you're sure you won't need the PC but you have some work in progress already and you can't quit it, hibernate - this will dump the contents of RAM and the system state to the HDD and allow you to return to it at a later date.

If you're not going to use your PC at all for the rest of the day and you know you won't until, say, tomorrow, you might as well shut down - your motherboard and your PSU will thank you.



Okay, so if I use it a few times throughout the day, and will be gone for a few hours for school, use sleep. If I'm not going to be using it for twelve hours or so (like going to sleep or a long shift), then turn it off. Okay that makes more sense. I feel like an idiot now for not having realized how much more frequently I should have been shutting it down :unsure: Sleep during the day, shut down during the night. But as far as normal wear and tear, turning it off during the night isn't going to kill my HDD faster is it (what with spinning up at the start)? I just hope I can get the most outta my hardware before I have to replace it.


In and out during the day - sleep
When I go to bed - shut down
 

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But as far as normal wear and tear, turning it off during the night isn't going to kill my HDD faster is it (what with spinning up at the start)?

The HDD spindle spins up when you exit Sleep Mode anyways. There's some more reading going on since it loads the OS, of course it's slightly more stress on the HDD, but it's minimal in the grand scheme of things. Your motherboard or your PSU will poop their guts out sooner than your HDD will keel over, that's for sure. I think that turning off your station when you're not using is the more optimal choice, but go on ahead and get a second opinion on this if you want. :)
 
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the_randomizer

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The HDD spindle spins up when you exit Sleep Mode anyways. There's some more reading going on since it loads the OS, of course it's slightly more stress on the HDD, but it's minimal in the grand scheme of things. Your motherboard or your PSU will poop their guts out sooner than your HDD will keel over, that's for sure. I think that turning off your station when you're not using is the more optimal choice, but go on ahead and get a second opinion on this if you want. :)


Oh no, don't get me wrong, what you're saying makes complete sense. In essence, if I do that workflow (sleep mode if I don't use for a couple of hours, shut down when I don't use it during the night). I wasn't trying to shoot your suggestion down at all, I mean, I hope I didn't come across as being ungrateful. I want what's best for the hardware, to ensure the best longevity is all B-) And my HDD is Western Digital, which in and of itself is a pretty reliable brand, never had any of their HDDs fail on me. Can the same assumption be made for the case/CPU fans? That it's not any worse than when they spin after waking up from sleep mode? Though those fans are easily replaced and pretty inexpensive. Thanks for the suggestions!
 

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Oh no, don't get me wrong, what you're saying makes complete sense.
That's not what I meant - what I meant was that perhaps there's some kind of new tech or a magical PSU mode or some kind of gadgetry that nullifies the problems I mentioned that I haven't heard of - second opinions are always good. :P
Can the same assumption be made for the case/CPU fans? That it's not any worse than when they spin after waking up from sleep mode?
Yeppers, it's exactly the same deal. Giving them a rest like that preserves the motors and the bearings.[/quote]
Thanks for the suggestions!

You're always welcome. :)
 
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