What can bring the computer out of Standby mode?

[elzmaddy]

I've read previous threads about using Windows 'Standby' and I understand this is like a 'Pause' state. Hard disks and monitor powered off; RAM still holding contents. What about the CPU? What does it do while in standby? Can services and applications bring the computer out of standby mode? Or is this solely due to certain power management BIOS settings? ie: Wake on Modem/LAN, PME Event Wakeup, etc.

My computer comes out of standby either after a few seconds or a minute or so. As an experiment, I have killed all non-essential processes and this did not have an effect (using XP). I hesitate to stop or disable services because this is how reinstalls happen.

 

[elzmaddy]

After disabling PME Event Wakeup and IRQ wakeup I see that it is completely a hardware thing. This is evident because my internet programs disconnect when the system is in standby for some time.