I like to use scheduled tasks to make my computer into an alarm clock. I just got this computer about 6 weeks ago, and when I tried this for the first time it wouldn't work well because something else kept waking it up early at odd hours. I gradually got that sorted to the point where I could try it again. My first trial task was named 'alarm', and when it didn't work I right-clicked on the task and deleted it. Now I can't use that name as it is apparently already in use. So I named it something else, and it works, but some task keeps waking the computer at 6am, M-F, the same as I had set for 'alarm'. I've looked through all the tasks, and a few have run at that time, but none of those are set to wake the computer. I've searched for 'alarm' and come up empty, but if it doesn't exist, why can't I use that name for a task now? Is it possible that the 'deleted' task is still running but not visible, and if so, how can I find it again? If that's not possible, how can I find what's waking my computer at 6am? I've been through every task in the scheduler, and nothing is set to do that as far as I can tell.

the possibilities are endless. it seems like every piece of commercial software will routinely connect to the internet on a set schedule, ranging from a daily check to a monthly check. if it happens daily, my first guess would be windows update, or maybe an antivirus program.

Thanks for your replies. I've been into the BIOS, and other than changing the Sleep mode to a deeper mode, there were no other choices that I could see. Any programs I've added to this computer I've had on my previous computer, and they didn't wake that computer from sleep. Also, if there were an automatic update involved you'd think it would also work on the weekend, but everything works just fine on Saturday and Sunday. I've also tried turning the router off at night, just in case, but that made no difference. I'm seriously thinking that the entry for the trial task was deleted, but the task itself is still running. It's just too much of a coincidence, time-wise. But I can't find it anywhere.

Ok, let's go at this from a different direction. Is there a way to wake the computer at any specified time without using Task Scheduler? I don't need it to do anything, I just need it to wake up when I want it to.

I went through the scheduled tasks today, one by one, and found one that was able to start the computer, so I changed that. It was for a multi-screen setup, and I don't have that, so no worries about changing that! See what happens in the morning. I removed my alarm task last night, and even without a specific task for an alarm, the computer started at 6 am, like - well, like clockwork.

I know it's not my AV, because early on I set it to manual update just to see, and it hadn't updated by the time I got up in the morning. Any MS updates are manual, WinDefender scans are scheduled for late evening. I've never used backup software, so I don't even know where to look for that.