RobWu Let’s break this down systematically. The fact that it worked before is a key clue—it means this is almost certainly a software or configuration issue, not hardware failure.
Step 1: Address the Immediate “Button” Wake Issue First
Since the PC is now waking up unexpectedly, we need to identify and disable the culprit before we can even test the WOL functionality.
Identify the Wake Source:
Open an Command Prompt (Admin) and run:
bash
powercfg -lastwake
This will tell you what device last woke the computer. You mentioned it said “Button,” which could be the physical power button, a keyboard key, or a mouse.
See All Devices Capable of Waking the PC:
Run this command to list all devices that have permission to wake the system:
bash
powercfg -devicequery wake_armed
You will likely see your keyboard, mouse, and possibly the Ethernet card listed.
Disable Wake Permissions for Unwanted Devices:
Go to Device Manager.
Expand Keyboards. Right-click on your keyboard, select Properties > Power Management tab. Uncheck Allow this device to wake the computer. Click OK.
Do the same for your mouse under Mice and other pointing devices.
Important: Leave the setting for your Ethernet card (Network adapters > Your Realtek NIC) ENABLED. This is crucial for WOL.
This should stop the unintended wakes and allow the system to stay asleep so we can test WOL later.
Step 2: Force the Power Management Settings to “Stick”
The fact that your settings revert is the core problem. This is often caused by a Windows power plan overriding your specific device settings or a corrupted driver configuration.
Check Group Policy (If You’re on Windows Pro/Enterprise):
Press Win + R, type gpedit.msc, and press Enter.
Navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Power Management > Sleep Settings.
Look for policies on the right named like “Specify the device wake-up settings…” or “Allow applications to prevent automatic sleep…”.
Ensure these policies are set to Not Configured. If they are enabled, they could be forcibly overriding your local settings.
Registry Modification (Advanced - Backup First):
Sometimes the power management flags get stuck. This can force a reset.
Press Win + R, type regedit, and press Enter.
Navigate to this key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class{4d36e972-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}
You will see many sub-keys like 0000, 0001, etc. Click on each one and look at the DriverDesc value in the right pane until you find the one that says Realtek PCIe FE / GBE / 2.5G / Family Controller or similar.
In that same key, look for these values in the right pane and delete them:
PnPCapabilities
EnablePME
*WakeOnMagicPacket
*WakeOnPattern
Close the registry editor and restart your PC. Windows and the driver will recreate these values with defaults. After the reboot, go back to the Device Manager power management settings and try configuring them again. This often “unsticks” the configuration.
