How to set your Computer to Turn on Automatically

Owned by Marc Miller
Last updated: May 19, 2023
5 min read

Sometimes it is necessary to set your computer to turn on automatically such as after a scheduled power outage while working remotely.

Step-by-step guide for Macs

Step 1: go to system preferences either by clicking the gear icon in the dock or by going to the apple icon in the top left then going to system preferences

Step 2: go to the light bulb shaped "energy saver" icon

Step 3: at the bottom of the "energy saver" settings there is a "Schedule" button

Step 4: check box next to start and/or restart then choose day and time. Daily, weekly, and weekend options are also available. click ok

Please note that network may come up some time after power is restored so just checking "restart after power failure" may result in your device coming up in a failed state in regards to network drives. It is often better to instead schedule a restart time if you are dealing with a scheduled power outage. Restarting after start up time may resolve some issues such a pending updates that apply on reboot trying to apply after the computer first wakes up.

Bonus information: For the technically savvy, if you have an administrator account on your machine you can also set the above settings with the following terminal commands. note MTWRFSU = Daily

sudo /usr/bin/pmset repeat poweron MTWRFSU 6:30:00
sudo /usr/bin/pmset repeat restart MTWRFSU 7:00:00

Step-by-step guide for Windows 10

Changing Bios settings may cause severe system issues, always consult your brand's specific instructions before continuing. If you feel uncomfortable doing this, please stop and contact ECI

Part 1 (Bios, may be optional for some brands)

  1. Boot up your computer and enter your BIOS setup. Usually this involves pressing the Delete (default) or Escape (HP) or F2 (Dell) key as your computer boots (your computer should say Press DEL to Enter Setup or something similar as you turn it on).
    1. For Dells, at the Dell logo during restart, tap the F2 key repeatedly until you see Entering Setup in the top-right corner of the screen. https://www.dell.com/support/article/en-us/sln143038/access-uefi-bios-system-setup-from-windows-on-your-dell-system?lang=en
    2. For HP computers, detailed instructions are at https://support.hp.com/gb-en/document/ish_3912651-2318005-16
  2. Navigate to the Power Options or power management. If your BIOS supports it, there should be a function for automatically starting up your computer at a certain time of day. May be called "Resume by Alarm" or "Bios Power on", but yours might be called something different. Please note these names depend on manufacturer and model.
    1. For Dell Computers, Inside the BIOS menu, look under the "Advanced" or "ACPI", on some models "power options" or "Power Management Setup" menus* may be sub menus. then look for a setting named "Restore on AC/Power Loss" or "AC Power Recovery" or "After Power Loss, then set the "Restore on AC/Power Loss" setting to "Power On."
    2. For HP computers, detailed instructions for this step are at https://support.hp.com/gb-en/document/ish_3912651-2318005-16 under BIOS Setup Utility menus and settings then advanced meuu
  3. Enable that setting and set the time you want your computer to start every day or on a set day.
  4. Save and Exit the BIOS, your computer will likely ask you to confirm changes before exiting. After restarting your computer should follow that schedule from now on.

Part 2 (Task Scheduler, may not be needed on some brands such as Dell and HP if restart/power on is configured in Bios)

Step 1: Input Task Scheduler in the Cortana and hit Enter to open it.

Step 2: Click on Task Scheduler Library and then tap on Create Task in the right sidebar. You can also right-click on Task Scheduler Library and select Create Task as well.

Step 3: Type a name for the task and tick on Run whether user is logged on or not and Run with highest privileges.

Step 4: Go to Triggers tab, click on New.

Step 5: Change the settings to your needs. Please note default time is on a 24 hour clock. 17:00 = 5pm. 

Step 6: In the action tab, click on New and type a name for the action. It is recommended you name it obviously like "automatic wake in the morning/afternoon" so if you need to disable this task, it is easy to find later.

Step 7: Locate to the Conditions tab, click on the checkbox of Wake the computer to run this task.

Step 8: You can change some settings in the Settings tab. Now you have accomplished creating a new task for auto-starting of computer. Tap on OK button and input your login password then you will back to the Task Scheduler window. Right-click on the task and Run it.