BIOS Wake on Lan options: Primary or Automatic, which option do I use?

Question

I am trying to set up TeamViewer version 9 to wake on Lan. I noticed in the BIOS of Lenovo Think Center, there are multiple options, Primary and Automatic, not just the standard Enabled/Disabled. The BIOS is set to Automatic.

Which do I use? Per TeamViewer, I have configured the Network Card to allow wake-up of computer.

What is the difference between Automatic and Primary?

Solution

The description for Wake On LAN says this:

Select whether to enable Wake on LAN, and/or which Startup Sequence to use after a Wake on LAN event.

NOTE: This item controls the wake up event from onboard LAN and PCI LAN.

The difference between Primary and Automatic is which Startup Sequence it will use when you wake it via LAN.

As you can see in the following screenshot, these are the options Wake on LAN option will choose from depending on what you select.

Take note of the difference between the Help Message for the Primary Boot and Automatic Boot Sequences.

To answer your question of which on do you use? You can use either, as long as they are configured to boot from your desired device.

Useful resource for anyone else looking for answers on this product: TeamViewer 9 Wake on LAN Manual

Comments

[Michael Frank]

Could you by any chance add the model type of the Think Center to the question? Would help with finding the correct Support Manual for your machine.

[Michael Frank]

That depends on where you want to wake your computer from and what else is on the network. If you leave Magic Packets off, then almost any network activity will wake the machine up, on the flipside however, having that box ticked means only a Magic Packet will wake the computer, but it may not work outside of the local network. See this Microsoft KB regarding unwanted wake up events: support.microsoft.com/kb/941145

[Amplitude]

Thank you so much for taking your time and explaining these areas. I am going to also play around with these settings and see what I get. Basically I am trying to wake the computer from over the internet and out of network, which according to the new TeamViewer 9, you are able to do. Thanks again!