Power Settings In Bios

Recently, we purchased a new Gateway laptop. I am unsure of what the motherboard is, but I would like to set up so that the computer can turn on automatically at a certain time. I have checked the BIOS settings and there is no Auto start-up time option like my Dell computer. There is no option for the computer to automatically turn on in fact. It is running Windows Vista Home Premium (soon to be upgraded to Windows 7 Home Premium) so I am wondering if there is any software that can do this? There is no Ethernet connection however, only a wireless network.

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From my understanding, this is implemented only in hardware and there is no software that can do this for you. I have a high-end Asus motherboard that has an automatic wake feature called “Alarm Clock.” All of the settings are in the BIOS so if the BIOS does not support it, you may be out of luck.

Something else to look into is Wake on LAN (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wake-on-LAN) which is supported by just about all motherboards and has been around for at least 20 years. This requires a specific set of packets to be received by the NIC of the sleeping computer. The protocol assumes that you have two computers, one sleeping and one sending the packets. The Wikipedia article points out that there are several websites that will send the packets for you at a specified time free of charge (http://stephan.mestrona.net/wol/)(http://mobile.wakeonlan.me/) along with several other Wake on LAN utilities (http://www.depicus.com/wake-on-lan/).

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However, if the only connection to outside is the wireless network, you should verify that your Wifi adapter has wake-on-lan capabilities.

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There are bios options like Alarm clock, Wake on LAN, and Wake on Modem. I believe there are options within the operating system like Control Panel-Scheduled Tasks. If laptop has the standby (sleep mode) capability, you can turn on you laptop, set an AM task in the Schedule Tasks -- has an option called 'Wake the computer to run this task.' Check that box. Then when you select the 'Turn off computer' button, select Stand By. This may get you around the BIOS limitations.

Other other above options. Wake on LAN (WOL) requires another computer sending a packet and your laptop's NIC/Wireless Card receiving a packet. For options on enabling your NIC/Wireless card to use WOL packet detecting features check the Device Manager-Network Adapters-NIC/Wi_Card's advance or power management features. Enable those settings and look your other computer on your LAN or WWW to send a time based request/query. E.I access a shared mp3 on a playlist from a share on your laptop or something.

Wake on modem would be a scheduled call from a modem or telephone. Kind of like the old Dial-Up ISP(s) where you connect via username/password. Setup an incoming connection an a user account with remote access.

Another idea which is not off topic is having something physically jar the mouse or tap the keyboard to bring it out of sleep. Like a robot or cell phone with vibrate alarm leaning against mouse.

Hope this helps.

 

 

 

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Ok I'll see if the wireless card has Wake-On-LAN capabilities. Initially I thought WOL was only for computers connected to the network using a wired connection, but I'll see about wireless.

Will WOL work if the computer is shut down though? I try to encourage other users to use "Hibernate" instead of "Shut down" when they are finished but it seems that they are not following the instruction...

Wake on modem is not an option because there are no telephone jacks and even if there are, there's no open telephone jacks in the house and well, the Schedules Tasks thing requires Standby. Leaning something against the mouse is not an option because the laptop is put away carefully and putting something on the touchpad may be interfering.

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WOL for WLAN doesn't exist imho, especialy on laptops because it'd require the WLAN card to be activated all the time, draining the battery even when the laptop is turned off.

Most laptops also don't have wake-on-x features because of the battery (it wouldn't be nice if your laptop wakes up and sits there for a few hours doing nothing and when you return to your laptop the battery is empty).

Afaik the best option is to schedule a task that allows windows to return from standby and to prohibit users to shutdown their computers.

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Alright, how do I prohibit users from shutting down? Currently it is Windows Vista but in 2 weeks I'll probably be installing Windows 7 on it.

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It depends how they're shutting down. Is it throught the taskbar, the Ctrl+Alt+Del, or through some other software command/option. There are settings which can be set per user setting (HKCU) via the registry, which should hide or disable shutdown options while they're logon or logged off. Physically they can also press the power button on computer/laptop, a key on keyboard which you'd have no control over.

Do a search on google for registry options, group/system policies, then look for options to disable shutdown options, keys, buttons. Create enable the setting on your pc, find the registry key in the corresponding registry location that was created/changed via setting the option, and save that key to a file on your computer. Email or send that file to which ever computer that has the same operating system and run the file (apply that registy file to the registry). Log out or restart the pc for the change to take effect.

You should also create another registry file which either disables or removes the registry key from the computer should you want to revert back to the original settings. If you have time you can call out the registy key files from a Yes/No batch file script.

Also look look for tweakui, windows registry help file, M$ registy/security whitepages, or other premade registry/policy files online. They maybe of help. Trust me, there are certain things you need to learn when you inherit a network.

Hope this helps and Have fun.

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