Computer never shuts off?

[newguy24]

Ok so ive notices this problem with my rig i built...When I power it off....its off...but i can still for example charge my phone via USB...or charge my IPOD with USB cord. But the computer is powered off.....How is this possible? and sometimes ill be on the couch and it boots up and then powers down, and other times it will boot up and ill walk over and its on, WEIRD!. Now this isnt on standby mode this is when i shut it down(push the button, or click start and shutdown)

So my question is this normal? is this ok for your PC? right now i have the power cord unplugged just so it doesnt do it, and saves on energy bill haha


lmk guys

Thanks
John

 

[DanishDevil]

A lot of motherboards have on/off charge through the USB ports. If you really don't like it, you can switch the PSU off, but it's a nice feature, and won't waste a whole lot of power.

Booting up on its own has to do with the wakeup devices set in your BIOS. Disable them.

 

[micropage7]

yep it could be like that even your rig is off it still could charge your mobile stuff.
except your board aint support charge thru it but still could charge.
so whats your board?

 

[m4gicfour]

It's called +5VSB (5 Volt Standby) power. There may be a jumper on your motherboard to enable/disable it being put through the USB ports.

Spoiler: ATX +5VSB

ATX power supply units (PSU) require a standby section
who keeps alive some particular areas of the motherboard.
Among the live sections are the USB ports, the Ethernet
controller and so on. The INTELATXPower SupplyDesign
Guide 2.01 (rev. June 04) describes the standby voltage rail
needed for this purpose. This is the+5.0VSBsection (3.3.3):
• Output voltage: 5.0 V, 5%
• Nominal load current: 2.0 A
• 500 ms pulses current (USB wake--up event): 2.5 A
• Input power less than 1.0 W at 230 Vac for an output
power of 500 mW
• Power on time: 2.0 s maximum
• Short circuit protection with auto--recovery

SOURCE

The PSU is always outputting the +5V Standby power rail even when the computer is "off". The motherboard uses it for a few things, like the USB ports - for charging things, or to allow USB devices to wake the computer from standby via those usb devices, etc.

As has been said, you can change bios settings to prevent the computer from waking up. If it's a USB device that's always waking the computer up, you can usually change its power settings in device manager (to prevent it from waking the computer)

 

[newguy24]

the thing is , the PC isnt on standby....it is powered off, therefore can anything WAKE IT UP from being off? i know it can be woke up from being on standby.... but once it is powered off it can still be awoke? how would i disable this?

 

[user21]

check your motherboard is having too ground charge, or may be getting short

also check from the bios, the wake up options

wake up from usb,keyboard and other stuff !!!

lol i hope your motherboard doesnt have the wake up option from walking in room

 

[slyfox2151]

whats wrong with USB power???....


just turn off WAKE ON LAN and your PC wont turn on automaticaly/randomly.

 

[brandonwh64]

My rampage II gene has the feature. When my PC is OFF the USB hub and my USB speakers are still powered and I can power ANY usb device while off. Its just a feature the motherboard has.

 

[m4gicfour]

the thing is , the PC isnt on standby....it is powered off, therefore can anything WAKE IT UP from being off? i know it can be woke up from being on standby.... but once it is powered off it can still be awoke? how would i disable this?

Yes. Like I said, the motherboard always has power to certain parts. 5VSB is always on. Always. The only time that there is zero power on the motherboard is if you unplug the computer from the wall and remove the CMOS battery. (don't do that or you'll lose the BIOS settings you set. Unplugging the computer is fine as long as that battery stays there. If you leave the computer unplugged most of the time, you may have to replace that battery sooner though) Some motherboards (like pre-built OEM computers with power buttons on the keyboard for instance) allow the computer to be turned on from the "off" state via USB devices. It's Usually called Wake on Keyboard or Wake on Mouse, but some have the broader "Wake on USB" which allows any USB device to wake the computer.

WOL (Wake On Lan) is a feature which allows a computer to be turned on remotely via the network, and it is possible that is what's causing it. It could also be a RTC (Real Time Clock) wake alarm, or a bunch of other things.

As others have said, check the BIOS wake options. Without seeing your bios I can't tell you exactly what it'd be called or where it'd be. User21 is also correct, if there is a short to ground somewhere on the motherboard, it may be sporadically sending the Power ON signal to the PSU and booting the comuter. Check for any metal that may be touching the motherboard, and make sure all plugs are firmly seated.

 

[DiogoCDS19]

i have a feature in my motherboard called "Energy Star 4.0c Support" if i set it to disabled all my devices connected through USB still be on after i shutdown the computer.
Maybe theres a feature like that on your motherboard.

 

[m4gicfour]

i have a feature in my motherboard called "Energy Star 4.0c Support" if i set it to disabled all my devices connected through USB still be on after i shutdown the computer.
Maybe theres a feature like that on your motherboard.

This is something different. Energy star is a power-saving specification. The switch in your bios for ES4c support disables power through the USB (and probably a lot more) so that the computer can comply with the energy saving requirement.

Turn it on if you want the computer to use less energy when it's off.

 

[DiogoCDS19]

This is something different. Energy star is a power-saving specification. The switch in your bios for ES4c support disables power through the USB (and probably a lot more) so that the computer can comply with the energy saving requirement.

Turn it on if you want the computer to use less energy when it's off.

But isn't that what happens to him ? When the computer is off the usb ports are still using power if something is connected to it

 

[AsRock]

My rampage II gene has the feature. When my PC is OFF the USB hub and my USB speakers are still powered and I can power ANY usb device while off. Its just a feature the motherboard has.

Yeah same here and find it more useful than annoying.

How ever if you want to save electric each electrical item in standby will take about 5w which in this house will be more than our blueray player takes while playing a movie and enough to run our 17" laptop.

 

[m4gicfour]

But isn't that what happens to him ? When the computer is off the usb ports are still using power if something is connected to it

He was concerned, and wondered why it was doing it, and if it was normal. He didn't specify he wanted it off. Either way, it's been answered. Some MOBOs have a jumper that can be set (for example most ASUS mobos), and it's good to add that ES4.0 can turn it off too, I suppose.

Yeah same here and find it more useful than annoying.

How ever if you want to save electric each electrical item in standby will take about 5w which in this house will be more than our blueray player takes while playing a movie and enough to run our 17" laptop.

Generally speaking, yes devices in standby use a decent amount of power. I agree, at least for a PC, having the USB powered in standby is useful, at a cost. As things get newer however, and energy saving standards (such as ES 4.0c) get ratified on more and more devices, standby current keeps getting driven down. I was helping someone research an A/V receiver the other day, and it listed standby power as ≤0.1w That's quite an improvement. While not 0w it's an order of magnitude less that we're used to seeing. Hopefully that trend continues.

For older devices, having them plugged into a power strip with an off switch on it can save quite a bit of wattage, if you turn it off when not in use. Same is true for your PC. Newer ones, with the energy saving options on, use less. Obviously you'd lose certain features tied to those devices no longer powered in standby mode. If you don't have that option, there may be a physical jumper on the motherboard to disable certain standby devices, or you can always unplug it or flip the off switch on the PSU, if equipped.

 

[AsRock]

He was concerned, and wondered why it was doing it, and if it was normal. He didn't specify he wanted it off. Either way, it's been answered. Some MOBOs have a jumper that can be set (for example most ASUS mobos), and it's good to add that ES4.0 can turn it off too, I suppose.



Generally speaking, yes devices in standby use a decent amount of power. I agree, at least for a PC, having the USB powered in standby is useful, at a cost. As things get newer however, and energy saving standards (such as ES 4.0c) get ratified on more and more devices, standby current keeps getting driven down. I was helping someone research an A/V receiver the other day, and it listed standby power as ≤0.1w That's quite an improvement. While not 0w it's an order of magnitude less that we're used to seeing. Hopefully that trend continues.

For older devices, having them plugged into a power strip with an off switch on it can save quite a bit of wattage, if you turn it off when not in use. Same is true for your PC. Newer ones, with the energy saving options on, use less. Obviously you'd lose certain features tied to those devices no longer powered in standby mode. If you don't have that option, there may be a physical jumper on the motherboard to disable certain standby devices, or you can always unplug it or flip the off switch on the PSU, if equipped.

I would believe that it's .1 untill you tested it as my ONKYO claims .2 and really it's 5w still. A killawatt will tell you what it really is.

 

[m4gicfour]

I would believe that it's .1 untill you tested it as my ONKYO claims .2 and really it's 5w still. A killawatt will tell you what it really is.

Depends how the system is set up. It specifies that it's .1 in ir-sense only mode. I guess it has some other modes, like WOL as well. (Yes, it's net-enabled - I'm referring here to the system I was researching)

Check your killawatt's sensitivity. I'm not disputing your claim or anything, but these devices have differing sensitivites, especially for low-wattage uses. They also have low sampling rates.

Anandtech Forums

As you can see here JohnnyGURU forums KAWs are much more accurate on higher loads, as long as they are not inductive loads.

Use a quality multimeter for such low amperage loads. (BE CAREFUL - 110v is more than enough to stop your heart if it passes through it)