I'm preparing a workspace so I transfer my system to new case hoping to lower temperatures. I have an adjustable desklamp that uses a tungsten bulb which is encircled by a round florescent bulb as to give a nice quality of light. This is weird: My computer wakes up from sleep whenever I switch on the florescent part of the lamp but not the tungsten switch. The lamp is plugged into its own socket but shares same outlet as my computer and it's periferals. Can anyone explain this interaction? It repeatable without fail. I noticed before but I chalked it inadvertently moving my mouse or touching the keyboard. I've noticed no other electrical anomalies in my home.
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Switching on florescent desklamp wakes up computer
- Thread starter gkg101
- Start date
Fluorescent tech does interesting things to computer equipment. I have a pair of USB headphones and, being an artist, a "lightdesk" or "lightbox" (for tracing) that has a fluorescent bulb. I've noticed that turning off my lightdesk will reset the headphones -- which, since they're fancy and for DJing more than the style of music I tend towards, puts the volume up to an ear-splittingy high volume.
As a side note -- why do I have nice loud heavy USB headphones when I'm half deaf and well more than half tune-deaf? Left my netbook (main system at the time) on a table, with headphones plugged into it, overnight. Our cat got spooked, ran through the headphones and dropped the netbook off the table, destroying the audio jack in the process -- it's a wonder the hard drive didn't need replacing! I don't think I'll ever have $180 for a new motherboard, but I was able to trade for the headphones and they work okay as long as the connector doesn't jiggle... which is the other way to make them reset. Ow.
As a side note -- why do I have nice loud heavy USB headphones when I'm half deaf and well more than half tune-deaf? Left my netbook (main system at the time) on a table, with headphones plugged into it, overnight. Our cat got spooked, ran through the headphones and dropped the netbook off the table, destroying the audio jack in the process -- it's a wonder the hard drive didn't need replacing! I don't think I'll ever have $180 for a new motherboard, but I was able to trade for the headphones and they work okay as long as the connector doesn't jiggle... which is the other way to make them reset. Ow.
I never owned a cat because takes a commitment -not to kill them 
Anyway, you are right about florescent bulbs. Read down this thread and read ScarySculley's account.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-1668550/mac-pro-shocked-wakes-sleep.html
Anyway, you are right about florescent bulbs. Read down this thread and read ScarySculley's account.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-1668550/mac-pro-shocked-wakes-sleep.html
Our cat (I live with my mother) is named "Hobo" -- he was, after all, hoboing it until he found us (lol). He is the absolute cutest tamest thing on four legs that I've ever seen. He's almost dog tame. Orange tabby, bit of a potbelly. Makes buttons look ugly. (As in the phrase, "cute as a button" )
Back on topic. I'm going to PM a member on here, Mohonri, who usually is found more in the Electronics section of things on here -- he should know enough about this to tell us what's going on. He definitely knows a lot more than I do.
)Back on topic. I'm going to PM a member on here, Mohonri, who usually is found more in the Electronics section of things on here -- he should know enough about this to tell us what's going on. He definitely knows a lot more than I do.
Don't be too worried. I live with my mother in a 60yr old house. (Well, OK, the upstairs was put on in the late 80s so it's a mere 30yrs old. LOL.)
Wiring in my basement is copper, coated in plastic, coated in (probably waxed) cloth. We have outlets that don't work. We have outlets that have gone at least a decade without the faceplates. (I don't use those, they smell of burning dust when you plug in a lamp for crying out loud.) We have one or two outlets where the little oval plastic part you stick the plug into is coming loose and about to fall out.
No electrical fires or really any house-wiring-related trouble yet. Ever. Maybe we're lucky. Maybe we're just smart enough to avoid the stupid stuff (like plugging into an outlet with a loose oval plastic part). Maybe both. Fact is we're poor, so it's not like anything important is getting fixed any time soon -- rewiring the house is simply too expensive. Plus, the one time we've had an electrician out to the house in the recent past (which was quite a bit more expense than was in the budget but we didn't have a choice -- he was here to wire up the heating element for our heat pump and the other choice was heavy coats and foggy breath all around for the entire winter) he said that the new "arc-fault" breakers like to trip when you plug in a vacuum cleaner with a brushed motor! (That is, essentially anything cheaper than a Dyson.)
Of course you're not up to code if you don't have those arc-fault breakers. I think I'll take my chances -- while I can't say I particularly like our Hoover Runabout, it's a good vacuum cleaner nonetheless. It may be from the late 1990s, and it does an excellent impression of a 767 taking off right in front of one's ears, but it works quite well, doesn't cost $300 and the soul of your firstborn child, and --most importantly-- I can fix it when it breaks. Can't say the same of a Dyson, I think
Wiring in my basement is copper, coated in plastic, coated in (probably waxed) cloth. We have outlets that don't work. We have outlets that have gone at least a decade without the faceplates. (I don't use those, they smell of burning dust when you plug in a lamp for crying out loud.) We have one or two outlets where the little oval plastic part you stick the plug into is coming loose and about to fall out.
No electrical fires or really any house-wiring-related trouble yet. Ever. Maybe we're lucky. Maybe we're just smart enough to avoid the stupid stuff (like plugging into an outlet with a loose oval plastic part). Maybe both. Fact is we're poor, so it's not like anything important is getting fixed any time soon -- rewiring the house is simply too expensive. Plus, the one time we've had an electrician out to the house in the recent past (which was quite a bit more expense than was in the budget but we didn't have a choice -- he was here to wire up the heating element for our heat pump and the other choice was heavy coats and foggy breath all around for the entire winter) he said that the new "arc-fault" breakers like to trip when you plug in a vacuum cleaner with a brushed motor! (That is, essentially anything cheaper than a Dyson.)
Of course you're not up to code if you don't have those arc-fault breakers. I think I'll take my chances -- while I can't say I particularly like our Hoover Runabout, it's a good vacuum cleaner nonetheless. It may be from the late 1990s, and it does an excellent impression of a 767 taking off right in front of one's ears, but it works quite well, doesn't cost $300 and the soul of your firstborn child, and --most importantly-- I can fix it when it breaks. Can't say the same of a Dyson, I think
God bless you for easing my concerns, but I'm a little worried about you and your mom !
http://www.firstalertstore.com/store/start.asp?category_id=159
http://www.firstalertstore.com/store/start.asp?category_id=159
Don't be.
This is a good house. It's survived Hurricanes Hugo, Fran, and IIRC Andrew (another big one -- just can't think of the name). It had a tree dropped on it once and was fine after a little carpentry. I can actually brag about one thing here -- code says that floor joists (the horizontal beams that hold up the floor and subflooring in between) are to be no more than 16" apart, center-to-center of beam -- ours are 12". This is one solid house.
Oh -- and it's southern yellow pine. You know what happens to yellow pine lumber from the Southeastern US when it sits as part of a house for 30 years? Pine is almost half sap. (That's why it's actually pretty dangerous to burn it in a fireplace or woodstove -- it burns too hot, and that's one way to have a chimney fire fast.) That sap hardens and becomes almost like amber. Cutting old yellow pine is like cutting stone or concrete with wood in it. When my father and his friends (mostly his friends, since there were more of them than him) put on the second floor, they had to make the cuts in the roof of the first floor with chainsaws -- you can't get more than one cut out of this stuff with a circular saw blade before it's so dull it's dead.
The wiring is very good. We've been here a long time. We'll (I hope) continue to be here a goodly while. We know not to plug anything into an outlet that's missing a faceplate or isn't damaged, and we know where the (one or two) dead outlets are that no longer provide electricity. As long as we don't do anything stupid, we'll be fine. (and we are NOT stupid people by any means!)
This is a good house. It's survived Hurricanes Hugo, Fran, and IIRC Andrew (another big one -- just can't think of the name). It had a tree dropped on it once and was fine after a little carpentry. I can actually brag about one thing here -- code says that floor joists (the horizontal beams that hold up the floor and subflooring in between) are to be no more than 16" apart, center-to-center of beam -- ours are 12". This is one solid house.
Oh -- and it's southern yellow pine. You know what happens to yellow pine lumber from the Southeastern US when it sits as part of a house for 30 years? Pine is almost half sap. (That's why it's actually pretty dangerous to burn it in a fireplace or woodstove -- it burns too hot, and that's one way to have a chimney fire fast.) That sap hardens and becomes almost like amber. Cutting old yellow pine is like cutting stone or concrete with wood in it. When my father and his friends (mostly his friends, since there were more of them than him) put on the second floor, they had to make the cuts in the roof of the first floor with chainsaws -- you can't get more than one cut out of this stuff with a circular saw blade before it's so dull it's dead.
The wiring is very good. We've been here a long time. We'll (I hope) continue to be here a goodly while. We know not to plug anything into an outlet that's missing a faceplate or isn't damaged, and we know where the (one or two) dead outlets are that no longer provide electricity. As long as we don't do anything stupid, we'll be fine. (and we are NOT stupid people by any means!)
It sounds like you're on top of the situation, so I won't worry. I moved my lamp to another outlet in the same area, probably on the same circuit, and the florescent lamp finally didn't wake the computer. But I want to eventually move it back asthe issue probably has more to do with the oddities of florescent lighting than any hazard, I would hope. I think my bulb needs a new starter because its so slow starting (is that what they're called?) Maybe that will be the solution. Oh, Is a non working socket potentially dangerous if one attempts to plug something in?
Not unless you're trying to plug in life-support equipment and the cord won't reach another outlet or timing is critical (or both). None of which is the case here
EDIT: and try a new bulb before you replace the electronics. Sounds more like a mostly-dead bulb to me.
EDIT: and try a new bulb before you replace the electronics. Sounds more like a mostly-dead bulb to me.
A couple questions for OP:
1) what kind of case is your computer in?
2) grounded outlet or not?
Florescent bulbs (or more accurately, their ballasts) are notorious for causing electrical interference. However, electrical noise in the wiring shouldn't be enough to wake up your computer unless it's really really bad. If your computer case is made of something other than steel, the EMF from the ballast could be travelling through the air and causing enough noise in the power button wires (or other wires, like your mouse or KB, or even motherboard traces) to make the computer flip on.
There are a couple things you could try. You could run an extension cord from another circuit in the house, to see if that eliminates the behavior. Or you could also try running the computer off a UPS that's unplugged from the wall (so it's running off battery). If the behavior stops, then you know that the noise is going through the wiring. If it doesn't, that means your wonderful lamp is making a mini EMP, and you need a new ballast or a new lamp
1) what kind of case is your computer in?
2) grounded outlet or not?
Florescent bulbs (or more accurately, their ballasts) are notorious for causing electrical interference. However, electrical noise in the wiring shouldn't be enough to wake up your computer unless it's really really bad. If your computer case is made of something other than steel, the EMF from the ballast could be travelling through the air and causing enough noise in the power button wires (or other wires, like your mouse or KB, or even motherboard traces) to make the computer flip on.
There are a couple things you could try. You could run an extension cord from another circuit in the house, to see if that eliminates the behavior. Or you could also try running the computer off a UPS that's unplugged from the wall (so it's running off battery). If the behavior stops, then you know that the noise is going through the wiring. If it doesn't, that means your wonderful lamp is making a mini EMP, and you need a new ballast or a new lamp
niffcreature
Limp Gawd
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Going on that, you could also try unlplugging the mouse, keyboard and power button to see if its waking it up that way - if its not, I'd definitely be a little worried about it.
King Icewind
Supreme [H]ardness
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Whenever someone turns on the bathroom light then turns it off, the 24" Dell monitor I use in my room will disconnect from the xbox momentarily. The bathroom is right on the otherside of the wall where the monitor/xbox is.
@Mohonri
It's a steel case, and don't have a UPS unfortunatley. Let me find a long extension cord and see if that stops it.
@King Icewind
Seems a similar problem to mine: dirty electricity?
One thing I want ask. Years ago any CRT monitors i used would flicker a lot where I sit now. The amount of flicker was variable but most of the time awful. I had use a really high refresh rate - in fact, so high that I was advised could hurt the monitor. Nobody had flicker as bad as mine. I loved when LCD became available. Could this be related?
It's a steel case, and don't have a UPS unfortunatley. Let me find a long extension cord and see if that stops it.
@King Icewind
Seems a similar problem to mine: dirty electricity?
One thing I want ask. Years ago any CRT monitors i used would flicker a lot where I sit now. The amount of flicker was variable but most of the time awful. I had use a really high refresh rate - in fact, so high that I was advised could hurt the monitor. Nobody had flicker as bad as mine. I loved when LCD became available. Could this be related?
larrymoencurly
[H]ard|Gawd
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2002
- Messages
- 1,635
You need an AC line filter, and while your HX620 PSU has one, but maybe you need to plug it into a surge protector or battery backup that has its own coil & capacitor (L-C) line filter. Those old-style fluorescent desk lamps probably put out some of the worst surges, so I use one to test line filters. Also line filters work better if plugged into an AC outlet that's grounded.
Man, lots of people have electrical issues. Maybe we need to start a Home Improvement subforum!
gkg101, I don't know whether your surge protector will have a line filter in it, but it's worth a try. You're at least in a situation where it's easy to test out all sorts of theories.
kingicewind--what kind of lights are in that bathroom?
gkg101, I don't know whether your surge protector will have a line filter in it, but it's worth a try. You're at least in a situation where it's easy to test out all sorts of theories.
kingicewind--what kind of lights are in that bathroom?