Wake PC from sleep with IPAC only works for a few days

[laphlaw]

I posted here a while ago:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,166202.msg1752360.html#msg1752360

The issue I'm having is this only seems to work for a couple days. After that, my PC doesn't wake up anymore using my programmed shift function.
any ideas?

[baritonomarchetto]

I have no clue about what the issue could be, but let me tell you my fav solution to the "cab on - PC on" task. If you connect your PC to the cabinet such that It receives power with the cab, setting the BIOS to "always power on" under "restore on AC/ power loss" (the name changes from BIOS to BIOS) you will not need any external input and will feel more "genuine".

[lilshawn]

also to add my 2 cent experience.... while not specific to SLEEP and WAKING that computer from sleep....

to power on a computer (or TV or any device with a "soft" power switch that defaults to "OFF" when AC is applied...and you would like to have that device turn on automatically) you can add a 100uf 10 to 16v electrolytic capacitor to the power on front panel switch on the motherboard header. (measure the 2 header pins or 2 wires coming from the header to find out which is +5v and which is ground and install the capacitor polarity accordingly.) this will power on the computer automatically when the power is restored.

the reason this works is because the computer power button control circuit simply senses an input tied to 5v going low to ground to initiate the power on sequence.

an electrolytic capacitor will act like a dead short when it's electrical capacity is empty to the digital switch input when the motherboard powers on, and only take a small amount of time to charge... once a capacitor is charged, it has a very low electrical resistance, thus acting "open" to the circuit. this is seen as a short button press to the input... simulating a user pressing the power button.

NOTE:

this will not work on some motherboards, particularly those that when plugged in, power on briefly for a few seconds then power off (i think they perform a short test to make sure the ps_on (PG) signal from the power supply is good. IE the amount of time in ms from board request for power to power delivery is under a certain value) only after the test are they ready to boot. unfortunately, this means that the capacitor used to trick the computer to power on is charged  up by the board already when the computer is eventually powered off by the test... and will then stay off.

a description of arduino code used to delay past this test and used to power on a computer has been implemented successfully in my sketchy motherboard in this thread here:

https://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,167047.0.html

a couple bucks for an arduino nano and a couple dupont wires and double sided tape is all you need to set this up. it waits for a few seconds and then monitors the power LED. if it finds it's off... it turns the computer on. if it looks and sees the LED is on when it checks... it does nothing.

this was to get around an issue where a computer would only SOMETIMES power on when the AC restores.... but not ALWAYS... sometimes it just wouldn't and other times it would. super frustrating. arduino basically "fixed" it to come on....regardless of if it wanted to behave.

[Fursphere]

I just wired the PC power switch (two pins on the motherboard) to an extra arcade button and put it on the upper backside of the cabinets.  Reach around the back and click the button - instant power on.  (and a second button below it for reset). 

Then I use a 'smart' power strip to turn off all the extra stuff (audio amps, monitors, etc) that is controlled by the PC itself.  Meaning if the PC is pulling power from the 'control' socket on the power strip, it powers up the other devices (monitors, amps). 

SLEEP and WAKE is janky at best.  I try to avoid it.   The bios implementations are not consistent (from brand to brand, and even model to model from the same manufacturer), and the Windows desktop OS team @ Microsoft struggles to keep up (especially on laptops).  So I stick to simple methods - like using the power switch.   

[MartyKong]

I just wired the PC power switch (two pins on the motherboard) to an extra arcade button and put it on the upper backside of the cabinets.  Reach around the back and click the button - instant power on.  (and a second button below it for reset). 

Then I use a 'smart' power strip to turn off all the extra stuff (audio amps, monitors, etc) that is controlled by the PC itself. 
[/quote
That's how it's done.....