Is there anyway I can turn my PC on.....................

[CrownPrinceBandar]

at a certain predetermined time, have it perform a task, and shut down afterwords? I have looked at the Windoze task manager and it seems that I can perform apps on a schedule if the PC is on, but I haven't seen where you can cycle the start-up or shut down at certain times.

I have tried surfing the tech boards, but to no avail.

Now, I realize I could leave my PC on constantly and have TM do its thing, but even in low-power mode my PC eats power and when you are living on a budget, every penny is valuable.

[charlie]

1. No

Well, you can if your PC is new enough, but it's not what you want. It can be made to boot remotely by another PC.

[CrownPrinceBandar]

2. Thats what I thought......................

You can do it with VCR's, but not compys. Whats the deal with that?

[CBGLuthier]

3. if you have XP or 2000 and want to pay 11.99

http://www.rainyclouds.com/Product/IntelligentWakeUp/IntelligentWakeUp1001/Page/IntelligentWakeUp1001.html

[CrownPrinceBandar]

4. Thanks..............

Don't know if its worth $11.99, but thanks for the lead.

[Goldom]

5. I could be wrong,

but I remember seeing something in the BIOS with words like "turn on computer at (time)". I've never used it, so maybe I'm wrong, but I always thought that's what it was for.

[Ready4Change]

6. It may be available in the BIOS configuration.

If you are familiar with how to access your BIOS settings, look through them for Power options, like Wake on Lan, Wake on Modem, etc... Some BIOS's allow you to have the machine automatically turn on at a particular time every day, or sometimes only on specific days.

Then, you need something to automatically perform your task after that bootup time and then shutdown.

I know at least one of my machines with an ASUS motherboard supports thise feature. I also had a PC-XT level machine back in the late '80s that would do it. I used to have it boot mid-afternoon so I could modem it from work and download files to work on overnight. Nifty. More of a geeky trick then useful for me at the time, though.