Truly misterious and unique computer problem

[Lord Antares]

I want to preface this by saying that this is no longer a current problem I'm experiencing, it's just something I'm curious about.

 

OK, so a few years ago, after I was lying in bed at 3 or 4 A.M. the computer turned on by itself. I found it weird, but I just got up, turned it off and got back to sleep. When I woke up, I found it turned on. After the first few days, I realized the computer would turn on several times during the day when there was thunder and lighting outside.

I realize there is a connection between a thunderstorm and electricity, but I was still stumped as to how this was happening.

 

The more time went on, I realized that it would turn on whenever it rained, there wouldn't have to be lighting involved! Further on down the line with a larger sample size of days and different weather, I concluded that it would turn when it was cloudy! There wouldn't have to be any lightning or rain, it would just have to be cloudy (the rainy cloud type like any of the stratus clouds or cumulonimbus, but not cumulus or cirrus etc.).

 

It never turned on during fair weather, not one single time. It would turn on a few times a day whenever it was cloudy.

I did a quick google search right now, and not ONE single result on all of google came up connected to computer turning on and rain nor lightning nor cloudy weather.

 

As I said, this problem is no longer current (no pun intended), but seeing how I'm on a science forum, I'm really curious to know how and why that was happening.

[fiveworlds]

Are you sure you aren't being hacked?? Was the computer bought from a legitimate store??

[StringJunky]

Are you sure you aren't being hacked?? Was the computer bought from a legitimate store??

If the computer was in sleep mode could a voltage spike do it?

[fiveworlds]

If the computer was in sleep mode could a voltage spike do it?

 

 

Possibly if the motherboard was badly made. Like crosstalk where a large voltage induces current in a nearby wire connected to the power on switch.

Edited February 8, 2017 by fiveworlds

[Lord Antares]

What do you mean hacked lol? Are you suggesting that someone would write code which keeps track of the weather and would make it so that whenever it detects clouds outside, it would make the PC turn on as a malicious prank?

 

Yes, the computer is legitimate and it worked fine for a few years prior to that as well as a few years after that.

 

No, it wasn't in sleep mode.

[fiveworlds]

What do you mean hacked lol? Are you suggesting that someone would write code which keeps track of the weather and would make it so that whenever it detects clouds outside, it would make the PC turn on as a malicious prank?​

 

 

No somebody could put a sim card on the motherboard which when it recieves a text will turn on the computer. Not all the computer actually turns off.

 

it worked fine for a few years prior to that as well as a few years after that.

 

 

Then it is probably because the circuit has aged and needs replacement.

[Lord Antares]

 

No somebody could put a sim card on the motherboard which when it recieves a text will turn on the computer. Not all the computer actually turns off.

 

 

So you're suggesting it's a coincidence it only happened during rainy weather and not once during fair weather? I should add that, to my recollection, there wasn't a cloudy day where it didn't turn on by itself.

The sample size of days is big enough to rule this out.

 

 

 

Then it is probably because the circuit has aged and needs replacement.

 

 

it worked fine for a few years prior to that as well as a few years after that.

 

[studiot]

Reminds me of an elecrtical repairman's story I once heard.

 

He had installed an automatic security light outside a property.

Shortly after hed was called out because the light kept coming on and staying on during the night.

Several tests later there were no faults to be found with the installation.

So in desperation he kept watch one night.

 

When the light came on he found a semicircle of local cats sitting facing the light.

 

 

In your case I would look again (if you can remember it) at the geography.

Some street lights are light operated, some are operated from a remote timeclock control signal, sent along the mains.

 

Even early computers had various 'wake on' settings in BIOS.

They are never truly off, and can be activated by a suitable remote signal.

 

Perhaps you pc was picking up such a signal from a street lighting or other remote station.

[Lord Antares]

That's a good try, but I see 2 problems with that proposition:

 

1) it happened both during the day and night which clearly doesn't apply to street lights

 

2) I would assume that street lights are all set to turn on at (about?) the same time, which would reflect on the computer.

[Endy0816]

It could be receiving a signal to turn itself on from another device.

 

Can you disable Wake-On-LAN, if it is on?

[Lord Antares]

I must repeat once again, it only happened when it was cloudy or rainy outside. It never happened during fair weather. The sample size of this makes me think that anything other than physics and weather would be unlikely. Maybe this thread should be moved to physics?

 

Don't know about Wake-On-LAN.

[studiot]

Pity you dismissed my comment so summarily.

 

On the Lochee Road in Dundee there is an 'environmental monitoring' station, which records weather data and sends it back over the same grid the street lights and houses are connected to.

 

I still think you had a mains borne false triggering from such a device.

 

Perhaps your neighbour has a remote weather station or home automation gadget?

 

Your timescale is a bit vague, and you have not said if the computer is still working and misbehaving?

 

 

 

In your case I would look again (if you can remember it) at the geography.

[Lord Antares]

I did say it's working multiple times, but yeah, now I understand what you mean.

You mentioned only street lights so I didn't understand the comment properly.

 

I, in fact, have a weather station in my house. I also have 2 other PCs and a few laptops and none of these ever misbehaved in a similar way.

I'm not sure what the reference to geography or timescales mean, but you could be right.

[Danijel Gorupec]

Well, you may call this phenomenon 'cloud computing'.

[Strange]

reminds me of the "magic switch": http://catb.org/esr/jargon/html/magic-story.html

[Lord Antares]

I'm not sure in what way these two stories are similar, but I liked that one

So the most likely solution is that the computer picked up signals from a weather station and that's what caused it to turn on during ''bad'' weather?

[Strange]

I'm not sure in what way these two stories are similar,

 

 

Implausibility, I think...

[Lord Antares]

As far as I'm familiar with the word ''implausible'', I think you're accusing me of lying?

Because it can't be implausible if it happened.

Edited February 11, 2017 by Lord Antares

[Strange]

As far I'm familiar with the word ''implausible'', I think you're accusing me of lying?

 

 

Absolutely not. Lots of very implausible things happen (implausible is not the same as impossible).

 

Sherlock Holmes. How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable[*], must be the truth?

 

* Or implausible.

Edited February 11, 2017 by Strange

[Endy0816]

Computers starting up 'by themselves' isn't totally unheard of, the weather relation is though.

 

I'm thinking something more mundane like wind or rain effecting a cable is to blame. If you have spares, easiest way to tell would be to disconnect it from everything besides the power supply.

Edited February 11, 2017 by Endy0816

[Lord Antares]

 

 

/cut

 

Well, the word means ''improbable''.

I guess you meant that it is improbable that such a thing would happen, because we've excluded it from being implausible due to the fact that it did.

 

 

If you have spares, easiest way to tell would be to disconnect it from everything besides the power supply.

 

As I said, this no longer happens. It happened for a span of a few months, I think. It is not a problem as such, I don't need a solution to this, but I thought it would be interesting to hypothesize what was causing it. I was thinking it had to be something related to physics, so it would be both apt and interesting (because it's such a unique case) to discuss here.