I'm looking for a way to remotely turn on my PC in case it encounters a bluescreen error that causes it to freeze. I already have a smart plug and my PC is set to power on automatically after a power outage, but the issue arises when there's a bluescreen. If I power off the PC with the smart plug when it's frozen, it won't restart automatically. I'm connecting through Parsec when I'm away, but I can't really test any solutions until it bluescreens again. Any suggestions?
5 Answers
Consider getting a KVM switch. I use a NanoKVM for my setup, and it works really well. It has headers for connecting to the front panel, which can help with managing power.
Look into using a Magic Packet to power on your PC remotely! You'll need to configure your PC to respond to it. Just be sure you have a setup that can send the packet when needed.
If you want to analyze the bluescreen issues, you'll need to collect the dump files. If you can get into Windows or boot in Safe Mode, check for dump files in C:WindowsMinidump. You can zip those files and share them on a file hosting site to get help analyzing the crashes. For a setup change, ensure you configure Windows to create small memory dumps to avoid overwriting.
There's a clever workaround: use a 5V changeover relay powered by a USB header connected to your motherboard. This can be wired to the power button pins, so it should turn on your PC as soon as power is restored, regardless of BIOS settings.
You can adjust the BIOS/UEFI settings to ensure your PC powers back on after an outage. Look for the "Restore on AC/Power Loss" option in the Power Management section and set it to "Power On". That way, using your smart plug to cut the power should reboot it as long as those settings are correctly configured.
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