Help!  I used my computer last night (for the first time in about 4 months) and it worked fine.  I turned my computer off last night only to awake to it being on again!

It won't stop booting/rebooting!

I've gone into BIOS and it still reboots (so I think that means windows XP isn't the problem).

I've unchecked the 'automatically reboot when error occurs' box for software, so I think that software isn't the problem.

I've checked the device MANAGER and saw no significant notifications.

I opened the case and made sure all fans were running and checked for loose chords/cables, everything looked fine (although I could have been mistaken, since I'm not great with computer repair/building).

Anything else I've forgotten to do?  What else could be the problem?

I built this computer about 2.5years ago and haven't had trouble w/ it untill now.  The local computer shop says they will diagnose it for $50.00....is this a good deal? (seems mildy expensive).  I'd rather try to fix it myself, but after visiting this site and all the help they've offered me, none of it seems to work.

Thanks for any comments and suggestions, it's much appreciated!

NickOh, and ONE more thing.  It cannot be an issue of memory since my memory is fine (I haven't checked it, but I have lots of RAM and little software) and it was running perfectly last night... This is the author.  Sorry I have one more piece of information to add.

I installed warcraft iii+the expansion set last night, and deleted unused programs.  This computer has had wc3/xpac on it before and done fine.  But just in case, I thought it might be important to include this info.

I'm gonna keep searching for possible solutions, if anyone needs any more info please don't hesitate to ask.Another site has suggested this:  "Try unplugging and re-plugging each card into its respective slot. Make sure the slot and card interface are free of any dust, and then proceed to seat the card into the slot again (ensure there is nothing OBSTRUCTING the card and never force it to go in)."

Which I hate to do, simply b/c reconnecting the cables I once connected scares me, but if worse comes to worse I will.  I think this could be a probable solution to my problem b/c the computer has gone through about 4 hours on the road (seems like all that bumping and jostling could eventually loosen something up...it just seems odd that it started up fine, then when I went to shut it down it started having problems).
Resources to help troubleshoot shutdown problems in Windows XPIs it booting from the 'off' state or re-booting from the 'on' state?Thanks Mac I will check those out.

Fred, I believe it is rebooting from the off state--but possibly both?

I originally turned it off and went to bed...it did turn off, but I woke up and noticed that it was on (no one messed with it or anything, so it had to have booted by itself).

Hope that answers your question, if not, please clarify and I'll try to elaborate.

ThanksOk!! I appreciate any and all who help me fix my problem.  I tried simply reinstalling windows XP, and the first thing I noticed during the installation, was that my computer wasn't whimsically rebooting!

So after the installation, it appears everything is okay.

Something that does bother me is this:  I ran BIOS and yet the computer still rebooted w/o my warrant.  Isn't BIOS completely separated from XP.  And if so, wouldn't it not have restarted?A good reformat fixes most Windows problems, for a while anyway.

Is your power switch partially stuck? I can't imagine how it could turn itself on from a power off without being possessed.Argh!!! I was mistaken.  Reinstalling windows did help, now it only turns off (but won't turn back on).  Also, I can turn the power switch off and that stops the computer from doing anything, but I would like to use it .

Sigh...maybe it's time to categorize it as furniture .

Guess I'll try and reformat =P.If you just reformatted and reinstalled, no need to go through that again. The problem seems to be only the power button? Windows will not fix malfunctioning hardware. How bout leaving it on and then using a power bar with an on/off switch on that? A computer would have to be REALLY shot for me to give up on it.Well UNFORTUNATELY when I reinstalled windows, I did just that, I didn't format.  Now I want to try reformatting but it's not giving me the option; I'm back to square one.

The problem isn't the power button; it isn't stuck or anything.  It's more like...the power mechanism just keeps going on and off randomly, but I think something is telling it to do that, I don't think it's the mechanism.  It is being coerced by some sort of internal error I would imagine.I had a computer & the default bios setting was to 'turn itself on' by an incoming modem signal.
(It was on a dialup modem)
The short story is, if someone tried to ring in the computer would switch itself on from a dead state. Quote

Maybe it's time to categorize it as furniture.