Automatically Power ON or OFF a PC
The first thing we’ll show you is how to start up a Windows PC at a pre-determined time. Unfortunately, no application can actually perform this task if the machine is shut down, so the only way to do it is by messing with BIOS settings:
- Restart the PC and repeatedly press the “DEL” key right after the black screen.
- Navigate to the power options and depending on the BIOS version (some may not even allow it), you should find a function for automatically start-up. For my case it was “Resume by Alarm”.
- Enable the option and set the date and hour when you wish to start up the computer.
- Save and exit.
The other way around can be done by messing with the Task Manager or, using a third-party app. We’re going to take the second variant, as it offers more options and it’s user-friendly.
Using Sleepwalker:
Sleepwalker can configure Windows to manually shut down, restart, hibernate, log off, power down the monitor or simply run the screensaver, by taping a desired keyword combination. For example, you could use CTRL+ALT+P to shut the monitor and Y+ALT+M to run the screensaver. All these tasks can also be performed automatically by setting some ground rules. Sleepwalker has a few modes which can be quite useful:
- Timer - perform actions after a certain amount of time or at a specific hour, only on weekends, in a certain day of the week or just once.
- Idle - shut the computer after it has been idle for a specific amount of time.
On a Mac:
Things on a Mac can be done simpler because a dedicated function is implemented, but for those wishing to use it on laptop, the machine has to be connected to a power source for the procedure to work.
- Go to System Preferences -> Energy Saver.
- Click on the Schedule button.
- Check the “Start up or wake” box to configure when the machine turns on and the box beneath it to schedule restarts, shut downs or sleeps.
- Click OK to confirm.
