Member Avatar for johnp9523

Hi, A problem Ihave not been able to solve: P.C. is off. move or knock the keyboard and the P.C. boots.
now even though the P.C. is off the keyboard light is on. (wife noticed this morning)so I pressed a few keys.
P.C. did not start. It's temperatemental, if one accidently knocks/moves the keyboard when the P.C. is off it boots. any sugestions? windows XP. ps2 connector. foxconn motherboard thanks
john

  • 2 Contributors
  • 2 Replies
  • 277 Views
  • 19 Hours Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by johnp9523

Dani AI

Generated

Good catch — this is a common behaviour and it’s good to see it was traced back to the motherboard. confirms the problem was resolved after a BIOS power-management change, and ’s suggestion to check the BIOS was the right direction.

Why it happens: many motherboards keep a small standby rail powered when the PC is “off” so the board can listen for wake events. That standby power often feeds the keyboard/mouse port LEDs, so the keyboard can still show a light and activity on the connector can be interpreted as a “wake” signal.

Quick, practical checklist for anyone who hits the same symptom:

  • Enter your BIOS/UEFI setup (keyboard at boot — Del/F2 or whatever your board uses) and look under power-management / wake events. Disable any setting that lets keyboard/mouse activity turn the system on. Names vary by vendor.
  • To confirm isolation, shut down, unplug the keyboard and then gently move what was triggering the wake. If the PC no longer starts, the input port was responsible.
  • Try a different keyboard or port (PS/2 vs USB). USB wake behaves similarly but uses different BIOS options.
  • If disabling wake options has no effect, check the case power switch and front-panel connectors (a loose or sticky button can act like a stray “press”).
  • If you’re unsure what a BIOS option does, consult the motherboard manual before changing it.

Safety note: don’t attempt to modify standby power rails or internal wiring unless comfortable working inside PCs. If the problem remains after the software/BIOS checks, a simple swap to another keyboard or a firmware/BIOS update (per your board vendor) is the safest next step.

Recommended Answers

All 2 Replies

Member Avatar for BigPaw

How is the keyboard connected to your computer? USB or PS/2? Does your keyboard have a power or sleep key on it?

Would you feel comfortable about going into your BIOS and checking the power settings and what settings are there that can 'wake' the computer?

Member Avatar for johnp9523

It's fixed. thanks. in the bios, power management, wake on ps2 was enabled.
wake on ps2 mouse was enabled

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.