Computer turns on when the phone rings

[Nightowl0707]

I’m hoping someone can provide some insight into this.

I didn’t have (or wasn’t aware of) this problem until I bought a new APC Power Backup and plugged the phone wires through it (this is a new build). After that, the computer would start up whenever the phone rang. What’s even more confusing is that I set up a new pair of speakers yesterday and while hooking the right one up and placing it in position (while the computer was off), the computer turned on which tells me it may not be a problem with the APC Power backup.

I’m about ready to take the APC backup anyway and try another (it appeared that it had been returned when I bought it but it was the last one they had) but wanted to ask you all if you’ve ever encountered such a problem or can provide any insight.

 

[badge]

I’m hoping someone can provide some insight into this.

I didn’t have (or wasn’t aware of) this problem until I bought a new APC Power Backup and plugged the phone wires through it (this is a new build). After that, the computer would start up whenever the phone rang. What’s even more confusing is that I set up a new pair of speakers yesterday and while hooking the right one up and placing it in position (while the computer was off), the computer turned on which tells me it may not be a problem with the APC Power backup.

I’m about ready to take the APC backup anyway and try another (it appeared that it had been returned when I bought it but it was the last one they had) but wanted to ask you all if you’ve ever encountered such a problem or can provide any insight.

Just another side effect of Viagra.

 

[Nightowl0707]

Just another side effect of Viagra.

Humor is always appreciated and I know this sounds like a funny situation but certainly not from my perspective. Do you have any clue as to what might be going on?

 

[badge]

Huh? Check the front panel power switch lead and be sure it is firmly attached to the MB Power On header and that no other wires are shorting the connection out. You may have a faulty power on switch. Is the Power on lead from the front of the case conected to the RESET switch by mistake?

 

[chookman]

the other thing to check is if you have any device able to wake the computer (ie magic packet on the NIC) it is less likely than a short but it can still cause this. Can be enabled in BIOS and in device manager and usually only limited to NIC's and Modems

 

[trevorblain]

you didn't really say whether you made any internal changes, so I am going to assume its a setting somewhere.

Try checking out your device manager and look at all the involved components' properties. Many components have a setting that allows it to 'wake' the computer. (lan and modem are popular culprits)

 

[Jim_L9]

Make sure the phone is connected to the right ports on the UPS. Some have a management port and if you have that connected incorrectly it could cause your problem.

 

[trevorblain]

beat me to the punch

 

[Nightowl0707]

Check the front panel power switch lead and be sure it is firmly attached to the MB Power On header and that no other wires are shorting the connection out.

Done

You may have a faulty power on switch.

I don't know how to check that other than turning it on and it turns on when I press the power button.

Is the Power on lead from the front of the case conected to the RESET switch by mistake?

[/quotemsg]
No
Everything is connected properly and securely.

 

[Nightowl0707]

Thank you all for your suggestions. After the initial response I didn’t think I’d get much help but I appreciate the responses from those that know what this forum is about. I’ll follow-up and inform everyone of what was actually causing this; hopefully, by tomorrow.

If anyone else has any ideas in the meantime, please let me know.

 

[badge]

Thank you all for your suggestions. After the initial response I didn’t think I’d get much help but I appreciate the responses from those that know what this forum is about. I’ll follow-up and inform everyone of what was actually causing this; hopefully, by tomorrow.

If anyone else has any ideas in the meantime, please let me know.

I don't know how to check that other than turning it on and it turns on when I press the power button.

The power button has come loose from my case before. You can check behind the front panel of the case to see if the button is firmly seated and popped out from it's mounting socket.

 

[sgtwally]

?

 

[uberman]

I agree it's some setting for a wake-up.

 

[authoratah]

Say, what sort of BIOS have you got?

Board maker?

Then again, you may have accidentally gotten a superhero PC that is always ready to answer the call. Do you find it flies off a lot?

It's a new one on me anyways

 

[aximbigfan]

sheesh guys. simple solution.

Your MB has wake-up upon ring enabled. Go into your bios and it should be under power options/acpi/ect. This is assuming, of course that your system is connected via a modem to the phone line.

Chris

 

[SiriusStarr]

I'm going to have to agree with the wake on LAN/modem theory. Either that or your computer has become the subject of a new horror movie.

 

[Falken699]

Fax settings, wake (on) set to off. You let some buddy play a little prank on you when he was over. Probably the same guy that set your screen saver to say "Ghey" when you went to get him a beer.

j/k. This is probably the case.

 

[Nightowl0707]

sheesh guys. simple solution.

Your MB has wake-up upon ring enabled. Go into your bios and it should be under power options/acpi/ect. This is assuming, of course that your system is connected via a modem to the phone line.

Chris

That would seem to be the case but it didn't work.

--

First, I want to thank everyone for your assistance in this matter.

Some clarification:

The computer doesn’t always turn on when the phone rings (approximately 70 % of the time) so this may take a little while to track down. As mentioned above, it also turned on once when connecting a speaker. To clarify further, waking from “standby” isn’t the problem, it actually turns on when the phone rings after it’s shut down.

What I’ve done so far:

1) Control Panel>Phone and Modem Options>Power Management Tab>(US Robotics V92 PCI Fax Modem) Unchecked “Allow this device to bring the Computer out of Standby”

Again, bringing it out of Standby isn’t the problem but I unchecked it anyway.

2) Went into the BIOS under Power Management and Disabled “Power on by Ring”. Note: “This setting is only applied for APM or Legacy OS.”

Even though it was Enabled on the left panel, it was Disabled by default on the right but I disabled it in the left panel anyway.

The computer still turns on when the phone rings.

Thanks again to everyone who has offered assistance.

Instead of picking and choosing components I’ve provided a list of pretty much my entire system below in hopes that may help in the diagnoses of this problem.

*Microsoft Windows XP Professional With SP2B 1 Pack
*Thermaltake Tsunami VA3000BWA Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
*GIGABYTE GA-P35C-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
*Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80562Q6600-SLACR
*Tuniq T-120-LFB 120mm CPU Cooler - Retail
*Thermaltake W0116RU Complies with ATX 12V 2.2 & EPS 12V version 750W Power Supply
*CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500)
Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-8500C5
*Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard
*Logitech G5 2-Tone 7 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB Laser Mouse - Retail
*EVGA 320-P2-N815-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
*U.S. Robotics USR5670 56Kbps Fax modem
*NEC Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive - OEM
*LITE-ON Combo Drive Black SATA Model SHC-52S7K-05
*ASUS 18X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe and 14X DVD-RAM Write Black SATA Model DRW-1814BLT
*Western Digital Raptor WD740ADFD 74GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive
*2-SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drives

**Also:

*2 external WD 250GB HDD’s
*Two monitors set up in Dualview (to move programs and palettes from the main monitor to the secondary monitor.
* Speakers and a few other miscellaneous components I’ve probably neglected to mention

EDIT: Also the APC Back-UPS ES Series Battery Backup 750 VA 450 Watts Cable/DSL Compatible

** I also have another system temporarily hooked up but seldom running on the other side of the desk (this is a large desk in a large office).

 

[aevm]

At worst, you could get a power strip like this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812120300

and turn everything off from there.

Of course, it would be nice to know why your PC behaves like that. I hope somebody comes up with a better idea...

 

[Nightowl0707]

At worst, you could get a power strip like this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812120300

and turn everything off from there.

Of course, it would be nice to know why your PC behaves like that. I hope somebody comes up with a better idea...

I have a stack of those but I really need to fix the problem. I appreciate the input though. I’ve done everything that’s been suggested and have tested it with about 25 incoming phone calls and still can’t locate the problem.

I’m going to borrow another APC Back-Up today and see if that may be the culprit.