for some reason, my vista premium laptop wakes up by itself at the same time everynight and i have no idea whats causing it...any ideas how i can find out whats causing it?

Anti-virus or a ad-ware program could be causing it to wake up by doing an auto scan. It sounds like there is a program in there causing it to wakeup.

yeah i think theres a program causing it to wake. but i've had the same anti-virus programs but its not schdueled to run at that time and hasnt been doing it before.
i was just wondering if there is anyway i could check whats causing it?

yes go to the control panel and then admin tools and click on event viewer and then go to the system category and also to the software category. In there you should see what is waking your system up based on the time.

If you have "wake on LAN" enabled, thata could also be causing the laptop to wakeup due to network activity.
In addition to what was suggested in response 3, I would check task scheduler in control panel.

When in BIOS to check Wake on LAN setting, please also check if " Full Power upon AC back " option is enabled. This option is mainly for Servers and tells PC to regain full operation when main electricity is cut due to power failure and is back again.

Regards

SuatCINI

(1) If none of the above works, also check under system properties to see if you have checked the option to allow the keyboard and/or mouse to wake the computer. That option might not be there, but if it is, it would be under advanced-power management. I would uncheck it to see if that helps.
2) Also, Vista seems to have issues for many people with S3 sleep mode. Is that the sleep mode you were using, and does the computer wake up if you are using hibernation(S4 sleep mode) ? You could try installing the latest service pack for Vista.

i dont have the option that says wake by keyboard/mouse.

how many sleep modes are there? i only have sleep and no hibenate. about the service pack, i would definitly install once it has been released properly but not when its still being tested.

its so strange though, i feel like its something i've installed but i've remove most program i dont use but no luck..

You should have the option Wake up by Mouse and Keyboard both in BIOS and Mouse/Keyboard properties in Device Manager.

Regards

SuatCINI

suatcini: Those options may not appear in device manager. It depends on whether S1 or S3 sleep mode is enabled in the BIOS, and sometimes also on whether a PSU or USB keyboard or mouse is being used.

Please tell me specifically when they will appear, S1 or S3 enabled ? PS/2 or USB connected ? Then I will tell you mine ?

Regards

SuatCINI

I don't remember all of the specifics-also, it sometimes depends on XP vrs. Vista. I do know that the Mouse/Keyboard properties in Device Manager usually do not appear when S3 is enabled and you are using a PS2 keyboard or mouse in XP.

My setting in BIOS is S3 ( suspend to RAM ). I have wireless KB and mouse connected to USB port on the M/B. I have the Wakeup by KB and by mouse setting in Device Manager and enabled. But the settings do not work. I cannot wake my PC up either by the KB or by the mouse. I have to press the power button on the case in order to wake the PC up.

But I can enter into BIOS by the KB because Legacy USB support is enabled in BIOS.

Hope the above information is helpful.

When I have time, I will also connect the KB and mouse thru PS/2 ports with USB-PS/2 adaptors and see if that makes any diffence in settings.

Thank you for your cooperation and for your taking the time to explain. That's really appreciated.

Regards

SuatCINI