# [SOLVED] How to turn on Laptop without using Power Button



## riffdex

Hey, I have a Dell XPS M1210 laptop and it's hooked up to an external monitor (HD TV) and external mouse and keyboard. I like to just keep it closed because otherwise my cat goes onto the laptop keyboard (bc it's nice and warm) and really messes stuff up lol. You have to open the laptop to access the power button and I was just wondering is there anyway to turn it on without opening it and pressing the power button. I know about Wake On Lan but don't want to do that I would just as well open it and press the button then go through all that. Plus it's not like I have another computer laying around I could use to start this one up. lol. I was kind of wondering if there is any way to map the power button to one of the external buttons on my laptop such as the volume control/etc. Is this at all possible? Or are there any alternate ways you can think of the start the laptop without having to press the power button directly? Are there any keyboards that have power buttons (for the laptop) onto them or not really?


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## GZ

*Re: How to turn on Laptop without using Power Button*

Hello riffdex,

How do you control the computer? With an external keyboard and mouse?

Powering on the computer is not the same as "waking" the computer from sleep mode. You need to physically press the power button to turn it on or use a peripheral that has power on functionality. (ie, keyboard with power button). There is no guarantee that it will be compatible though. My suggestion is to not shut your computer down, allow it to enter sleep, that way you can wake it by pressing a key on the keyboard or a mouse button.


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## riffdex

*Re: How to turn on Laptop without using Power Button*



gavinzach said:


> Hello riffdex,
> 
> How do you control the computer? With an external keyboard and mouse?
> 
> Powering on the computer is not the same as "waking" the computer from sleep mode. You need to physically press the power button to turn it on or use a peripheral that has power on functionality. (ie, keyboard with power button). There is no guarantee that it will be compatible though. My suggestion is to not shut your computer down, allow it to enter sleep, that way you can wake it by pressing a key on the keyboard or a mouse button.


I control the computer with a wireless keyboard and mouse, and I am hooked up to an HD tv as my monitor. Basically, I am using the laptop for the OS/HD on it but not using its main built-in hardware components of screen, keyboard, mouse; All I use are these separate items. I am going to have my laptop placed on a shelf and have the lid closed. Basically, the laptop is going to be unaccessible, and just sit on the shelf and be plugged in (to AC power) and plugged into the TV via VGA cable and audio output. What I want to do is just be able to leave it there on the shelf out of reach and never have to really open it up and press the button. 

When I said earlier about powering it on, I actually meant "waking it up". I always put my computer to sleep when I am done (not shut down completely), so that next time I need it it gets me started a lot faster. (However I reboot the computer a few times a month just to let it clear ram and whatever else.) So if there is any way to wake it from sleep mode that would be exactly what I need. My keyboard is a "Logitech Solar Keyboard K750" (a Wireless Keyboard). I just bought it and it arrived yesterday (I had been using a USB keyboard before that)... it actually has a FN key on it that is a power symbol, but I have tried it and it seems like it only lets me put the computer to sleep, not wake up! ): I only tried it one time so maybe it was just a fluke, maybe it WILL wake it up I will try again. Or maybe there is some driver/software I must install for it to be able to properly wake up the computer? I really want to make this work I am willing to try anything!


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## GZ

*Re: How to turn on Laptop without using Power Button*

To awaken the computer all you should need to do is activate the keyboard (by pressing any key) then pressing any key a second time to wake the computer.

It should work the same with the mouse as well.


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## riffdex

*Re: How to turn on Laptop without using Power Button*



gavinzach said:


> To awaken the computer all you should need to do is activate the keyboard (by pressing any key) then pressing any key a second time to wake the computer.
> 
> It should work the same with the mouse as well.


That didn't work ): Just making sure -- You do know that when I say I put the computer asleep, im putting it in sleep mode... not just like when it goes to screensaver but is still on... If it was on screensaver then pressing a key on the keyboard would work and turn the screen on... but I've never heard of waking a computer from sleep mode by pressing a key on the keyboard or clicking the mouse, personally.


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## GZ

*Re: How to turn on Laptop without using Power Button*

In device manager under Universal Serial Bus Controllers, there should be entries for USB Root Hub.

Right click on the entries and select properties.
Under the Power Management tab, tick the box to allow the device to wake up the computer.


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## riffdex

*Re: How to turn on Laptop without using Power Button*

ok i went there and the option is greyed out










anyway I can get it enabled? change setting in bios? download new drivers?


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## Jay_JWLH

*Re: How to turn on Laptop without using Power Button*

Unfortunately there isn't a lot that you can do in terms of a hardware button, because it is quite simply a hardware switch. You would need to modify the hardware in some way, if that is worth the risk to you.

Usually computers are at least running on what they call soft power, where the motherboard is still running on a small amount of power. This is great for places like a room full of computers that get shutdown, but need updating during the night. Just a matter of turning them back on using a BIOS related magic packet over the network (WOL - wake on LAN), doing what they need to do, and shutting them down at the end. Something like WOL is probably your next best bet to wake up Windows from a shutdown state, provided you had another device or something on the network to send the magic packet. Doesn't sound too convenient to you, but still useful if you need to do it somewhere in the LAN, or even the Internet depending on your router.

A sleep state is probably the most preferred, as you have already realised. How about you just uncheck the option that says "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power". Also, look under Keyboards OR Mice and other pointing devices in Device Manager. There are more specific power options for your keyboard and mice there.


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## riffdex

*Re: How to turn on Laptop without using Power Button*

Yay I found the setting in the BIOS that allowed me to do this! There was an option "Allow keyboards to turn on computer" in the BIOS and it is apparently disabled by default. Turned that on, which changed the device manager option from being grayed out, to active. Now I am able to put my computer to sleep and when I want it to wake up I just press a key on my keyboard. No opening the computer and pressing power button required! I am now just wondering... is there any way to change it so it only turns on the computer if I press a certain key - such as the space bar? Also, I notice that the first key that I press (to wake the computer) actually ends up getting typed on my computer. Can't I make it so the first key I press simply wakes the computer up (does not register as a keystroke) and the next key I press counts as a keystroke? What is happening is, I press a letter (or spacebar, or whatever) and it types it into the password field for my computer. Also, if I press enter, it simply tries to "enter" a blank password and I am given the message that the password is incorrect. I would like to be able to press a key to unwake the computer, and then start typing my password.


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## oscer1

*Re: How to turn on Laptop without using Power Button*

tap the shift key or control key that should wake the computer without messing up the password field.


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## riffdex

*Re: How to turn on Laptop without using Power Button*

Thank you all so much for the help. I will now mark the thread as "solved"!


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## oscer1

your welcome, glad it's working for you


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