How to turn on computer via USB Keyboard

Question

I have an interesting query, my cat can turn on my computer by walking/laying on my keyboard when it is powered off, but I cannot find a way to do this intentionally.

I have tried to google it, but I am only finding people asking how to do it, and people saying it is not possible.... it is possible for me, as my cat can do it, I just have no idea how! I have poked some buttons and looked around the BIOS settings and have not found anything.

Any ideas?

Gigbyte GA-MA785GMT-UD2H motherboard (Windows 7 machine) with Apple USB Keyboard (full)

Solution 1

You need to ensure that USB Wake Up from S3 is set to Enabled and Power On By Keyboard is set to Any Key. These are under Power Management Setup:

_{Note, image shows Power On By Keyboard as Disabled, and you want it Enabled.}

If your system is configured as per the defaults (like the above image), then your cat can wake your system when it is suspended, but not actually start the computer from a cold boot. This might explain your confusion.

The above image is specifically for the Gigbyte GA-MA785GMT-UD2H, but every motherboard I can recall using has similarly named options.

Solution 2

If the computer is in sleep the keyboard can wake it. You can control this from the Keyboard properties control panel.

Goto Control Panel and type keyboard. Select Keyboard and then on the Hardware tab select your keyboard. On the Power Management tab you uncheck the option.

Comments

[Kevdog777]

Does the keyboard have a Power on/off button?

[James P]

@Adam Heath: Are you sure you don't have an old PS/2 mouse and the cat isn't clicking it?

[Yoh]

How many times did your cat manage to do this? It matters in the way to rule out some possibilities mentioned below like: 'was your computer in sleep mode that one time?', 'was your keyboard plugged in a different port?'.. And maybe it means you can just put up a camera and learn from your cat how to do it?!

[Adam Heath]

2 or 3 times over the last year, so not that often. I am pretty sure the machine was powered off each time, but not 100%.... As this does not seem possible, I guess I will have to put this down to my memory/observations being wrong.

[slhck]

Closed on behalf of the OP (…or was it your cat who wants to keep their secrets safe?)

[slhck]

@Eric The OP wanted the question to be closed

[Eric Ouellet]

@slhck, that's sad. The chosen solution worked for me. But I wanted to add that I also had to move a jumper on my motherboard in order to power the usb device (keyboard or remote keyboard) in order to make it works. Otherwise any action on the keyboard is not seen by the motherboard (no wake up). That information have the potential to help more people but it will probably never be red...

[Adam Heath]

It is turning it on, as in a cold boot. It wakes from sleep as any usual computer would, with any key, but the combination to power on is known only to my cat.... :(

[user1984103]

Make sure the keyboard is plugged into the top pair of USB ports on the back. I've had motherboards where they don't watch all the USB ports for signals when they're off.

[James P]

This would only help if the computer was on standby with Windows already loaded and the OP has made it clear that he is talking about a cold boot.

[Anixx]

My BIOS has USB Wake Up from S3 but no other options.

[nbar]

I have Wake on USB but not any Keyboard settings. Its a HP Probook Laptop

[cowlinator]

My keyboard device properties only has the tabs General, Driver, Details, Events. Nothing about power management.

[e-info128]

But works only in windows OS.