A new PowerSpec B734.

cgs

Just bought a PowerSpec B734. I want to set the PC to start up at a certain time each day. And also to restart in the event of a power interruption.

I assume I can do this in the UEFI. How do I get into the UEFI? What keys do I press?

And when I am in, will I find a setting that allows me to do what I want? I need to access the B734 remotely using TeamViewer periodically.

Thanks.

cgs

I can't remember how to get into the BIOS on the G212. On boot, it says "CTRL+I" for the "Configuraiton Utility" but that does not show any Power options, just "Intel Rapid Storage Technology Options."

I know I once successfully got into the BIOS because I remember setting the G212 to restart on any power outage, which it does; I just can't remember the key combination to get me there and I have tried some of the obvious: Delete, F2, F8.... nothing works.

PowerSpec_MikeW

@cgs

Should be F2 on Intel.

PowerSpec_MikeW

@cgs

You're correct, as configured out of the factory if you enable this feature it doesn't work. This is easily correctable however. The G212 gave us a really good clue as to what's going on. The Wake on RTC Alarm feature wakes from S5. Problem is modern PC's from Windows 8 onward have a feature called Fast Startup or Hybrid Shutdown. When you shutdown the PC it goes into an S4 state, it never goes into S5, therefore cannot wake from S5.

Resolution:

Control Panel - Hardware and Sound - Power Options - Change what the power buttons do (Left frame) - Change Settings that are currently unavailable - Uncheck "Turn on Fast Startup(recommended)" - Save Changes - Reboot.

You have an NVME drive, this isn't going to effect your startup times by much at all and the system should wake up properly.

PowerSpec_MikeW

@cgs

Go into the BIOS, Delete on startup. Advanced - ACPI Configuration - RTC Power On by Alarm. Enable this setting, should give you a sub menu to set the time to wake up each day.

cgs

Thanks for this TSMikeW! How do I get into the BIOS on the B734?

PowerSpec_MikeW

@cgs

Tap "Delete" on startup.

cgs

Sorry; Missed that the first time.

Does this procedure permit a start up from a complete shutdown, or must the pc be just “sleeping” for this to wake it up?

PowerSpec_MikeW

@cgs

This should startup on the timer from a complete shutdown. So long as the unit has power.

cgs

Thanks again THMikeW.

My last question: I am tryng to do the same thing on a PowerSpec G212 (older PC running Win 10 Pro) so I can access either the B734 or the G212 remotely. Is the procedure the same?

PowerSpec_MikeW

@cgs

I don't have one of those to look at, but I believe the setting is under "Power" and called "Wake system from S5". Enable that and set the time, it should work exactly the same way.

cgs

Both PCs start as desired. Many thanks for your help TSMikeW!

cgs

Now this is weird… I spoke too soon.

The G212 does exactly what I want, but the B734 refuses to start as instructed.

Screen shot of the UEFI /ACPI settings which I set several times, and saved every time::

6DB3018B-6078-4002-A6EA-91D63FAD71F5.jpeg

Any ideas please?

cgs

I have now tried to get the B734 to startup using the Task Scheduler by creating a task after setting the UEFI to Start by OS, but that does not seem to work either!

cgs

BTW, I tried the UEFI route on a demo B734 in the MicroCenter store, and I does EXACTLY what my machine does: it does NOT start at the appointed time. So, this is not peculiar to my specific machine, it is an issue with this model of PowerSpec.

PowerSpec_MikeW

@cgs

Building a mockup now. It could be a modern power saving feature that's preventing it. I'll have an update in a few hours.

cgs

TSMikeW:

You are a genius!! After many wasted hours trying to find answers from the web and the Micro Center store, this is exactly the problem and its solution - and you found it!

Thank you for staying on the case; I would never have figured this out on my own!!!