Auto Startup and Shutdown on Windows XP?

Question

Possible Duplicate:
How can I start an off PC remotely?
How can I automatically let my Windows boot and shutdown?

I have an old desktop computer that's running Windows XP. I'm thinking of using it as a server that I can host stuff on. The thing is, I don't want to have it open 24/7. I only need to start up at probably 8 or 9am then shutdown at 10pm. I'm doing this to somehow conserve electricity. Plus I won't be using it's services from 10pm to 8am the next day.

I want to automate the process of starting up and shutting down but I can't find a clear or definite way to set up my Windows XP machine to do just that.

What are the settings I need to toggle? Do I need to modify some BIOS-related settings? Do I have to download a 3rd party software? Is it even possible?

Solution

Wake-On-LAN (WOL) will probably be the easiest method of doing this.

You can schedule sleep or shutdown using a simple batch script and the Task Scheduler.

To get the system to come back on in the morning you'll want to use WOL, which is supported by just about every LAN card out there and just about every BIOS too.

LifeHacker has this tutorial on how to use WOL: http://lifehacker.com/348197/access-your-computer-anytime-and-save-energy-with-wake+on+lan

Comments

[Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007]

Yes it's possible, but it depends on the specific things like you've mentioned (BIOS support/settings, etc.). Since we don't know what hardware you have, you'll need to provide much more information as to what's available to you (ACPI, vPro, WOL, etc.), as well as what you've tried already. Otherwise, this is way too broad to be answered accurately, and may be closed as such.

[Psycogeek]

Automate startup with Bios, then shutdown with shutdown command out of the scheduler. superuser.com/questions/178337/…