posted
I have a Dell Dimension 8200 with WinXP, is there some sort of software you can download and install (like just a small file) letting you configure a button of choice that, when the computer is turned off, doubles as an On-button?
I know, it sounds lazy but Macintosh has had this for ages and in my current desk config (after I moved in again) the computer front is facing away from the desk in a very inopportune way, so...
Pretty please with shredded Rohypnol on top?
-------------------- "I'm nigh-invulnerable when I'm blasting!" Mel Gibson, X-Men
Registered: Aug 1999
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-------------------- joH'a' 'oH wIj DevwI' jIH DIchDaq Hutlh pagh (some days it's just not worth chewing through the leather straps in the morning) The Woozle!
Registered: Nov 2002
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Cartman
just made by the Presbyterian Church
Member # 256
posted
Well, it'd have to be, since most software doesn't run too good when the computer's turned off... B)
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted
I can't see how. If the computer is turned off, surely there is no power to the keyboard. Hence, the buttons don't do anything.
Unless you put the computer into hibernate mode, in which case almost anything can turn it back "on", from moving the mouse to pressing a button.
-------------------- Yes, you're despicable, and... and picable... and... and you're definitely, definitely despicable. How a person can get so despicable in one lifetime is beyond me. It isn't as though I haven't met a lot of people. Goodness knows it isn't that. It isn't just that... it isn't... it's... it's despicable.
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
But surely software can be downloaded and installed that saves data to BIOS-chips, where space is reserved on the motherboard for just this kind of feature?
Registered: Aug 1999
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Cartman
just made by the Presbyterian Church
Member # 256
posted
"If the computer is turned off, surely there is no power to the keyboard. Hence, the buttons don't do anything."
Depends on how you turn it off. If you let Windows shut TEH COMPUTAR down for you but don't manually flip TEH POWAR switch (or unplug TEH POWAR chord), the motherboard will still draw power from the grid, and the keyboard will still draw power from it as well.
Nim: yes, but that software is BIOS-specific, and wouldn't work with all motherboards. Anyway, as Woozle says, you probably already have an option buried somewhere in the depths of your BIOS that enables you to bind a key to an electronic wake-up call, so I'd dig into that first.
Registered: Nov 1999
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Checked the setup, there are only two paragraphs remotely connected to startup-features;
#Auto Power on : On/Off (you can set a time every day when it automatically switches on, but the idea is to preset, which is not my goal unless I start living my life as a chronological citrus fruit.
#Remote Wakeup: On/On with boot to NIC/Off This thing gave me pause. Anyone?
Registered: Aug 1999
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posted
If your BIOS has no options to power on from peripheral activity, I'm afraid you won't be able to do this. For example, mine has a Power Up Control section for modem/mouse/keyboard activity, among other sources. You could check for a BIOS update, but I doubt a simple update would add such a feature.
-------------------- Picard: Mr. Crusher, what's our maximum speed this week? Wesley: [checking manual] Uh, 9.4, sir. Picard: Very good. Take us to Warp 9.8 then. Wesley: Aye, sir. Warp 9.2 it is.
Registered: Mar 1999
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Cartman
just made by the Presbyterian Church
Member # 256
posted
Hmm... remote wakeup is there so you can boot the computer, erh, remotely (ie. over a LAN), but that's not quite what you want, I think. Can't you use a suspend mode instead?
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted
Yes, I used that feature just six hours ago, but then it's not completely shut down, a few fans and stuff is still running. I can't leave it over the weekend like that without feeling a bit nervous.
I do have a "sleepmode"-button on my black Dell-keyboard, it looks like a small moon crescent. It's not what I want though...
Registered: Aug 1999
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posted
It is unlikely, but have you checked for a BIOS update? What motherboard are you using?
-------------------- Yes, you're despicable, and... and picable... and... and you're definitely, definitely despicable. How a person can get so despicable in one lifetime is beyond me. It isn't as though I haven't met a lot of people. Goodness knows it isn't that. It isn't just that... it isn't... it's... it's despicable.
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
Yeah, checked Dell's homepage. I really was hoping they had released a new FlashBIOS-file, but they're still on A-09, same since 2002.
I checked every page regarding my computer's config, nothing about the motherboard, only about the BIOS. I'm 99% sure it's an Intel-motherboard though, and it's for a 1600MHz Dell, so there aren't THAT many to choose from.
Registered: Aug 1999
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posted
Download Sandra. Use it. Tell me what motherboard it says that you have.
-------------------- Yes, you're despicable, and... and picable... and... and you're definitely, definitely despicable. How a person can get so despicable in one lifetime is beyond me. It isn't as though I haven't met a lot of people. Goodness knows it isn't that. It isn't just that... it isn't... it's... it's despicable.
Registered: Mar 1999
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