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[Coyotefred]

Hello everyone,

I've been using an Acer Aspire One netbook as the computer I leave at home to access remotely to control Activehome/x10, blue iris camera software, and some weather station monitoring software.  The Acer has been nice because it is small/compact, fast enough for running these few programs (1.5Ghz) and uses only 24W power. 

However, it has one main flaw: it doesn't have a setting in the BIOS (or at least I haven't found one) for automatically re-starting/re-booting the computer after a power failure.  This means that sometimes a long-lasting power outage (long enough to deplete the battery)--or more often a situation where the Acer locks up and I could otherwise use an x10 module to power it off and then on to 'reset' everything--means I lose remote control over the computer.

'Any suggestions for an alternative that is also low power-consuming but allows for the auto re-start after power failure?

Thanks!
Coyotefred

[Tuicemen]

Why not just add a UPS (uninterruptible power supply)?

[Coyotefred]

The UPS would solve the "power outage" scenario, but not the situation where the computer locks/freezes up or otherwise shuts down on its on and won't automatically restart...

[dave w]

but not the situation where the computer locks/freezes up or otherwise shuts down on its on and won't automatically restart...

with out an auto restart in your bios, is there really a fix for this, other than a new computer?

What happens when you remove the battery from the Acer, does it restart when you unplug and re connect the power supply? My old HP Pavillion will, when there is no installed battery.

[Coyotefred]

Unfortunately no, the computer doesn't auto-restart either with or without the battery, so it does look like I'm looking for a replacement computer.  That's why I was curious posting to see if anyone was using something that might "fit the bill."  I have an older Dell tower I used awhile back that is considerably faster, but it chews up 85-90W rather than the 25-28W of the Acer.  I use another laptop when I'm home working, so this computer just needs to be able to handle a few simple programs...nothing too fancy.  A smaller netbook/laptop seems like a good choice, but I obviously need that auto-restart function

[Coyotefred]

I suppose another option (for someone more knowledgeable in electronics than me I'm afraid) would be to make a hardware modification.  I came across some old(er) posts on other forums (e.g. http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/29688-45-auto-restart-power-outage talking about grounding a certain pin on a power supply, a modification that would supposedly make the computer "always on."

However, I suspect this kind of power supply was/is only used on larger tower computers and not netbooks like my Acer.  Perhaps there is an alternative modification for netbook power supplies, but I've not been able to find any information on that...

[Noam]

Last year, I looked into some sort of remote "wake-on-lan" device, that could power up a laptop remotely.
The initial interest was to have a remote power switch for a laptop that would not be easily accessible (to get to the power button) once it was put in place. I realized, however, that it could also be used for a Pc without wake-on-lan, and be triggered by an X10 module, or something similar.
Ideally, I would like to do it without modifying the laptop, so something that plugs into the USB would be the best bet. I never found anything.

I'm wondering if such a thing is even possible, though.

[Coyotefred]

Hello everyone,

I'm revisiting this post to follow up on my original issue/question and to share what I've developed as a good solution.

The main issue was/is this: finding an energy-efficient laptop/netbook for home automation use that would automatically restart/reboot after a power failure; either an "unintended" failure due to weather, grid failure, etc., or an "intentional" one--e.g. by powering off with an x10 controller if the computer had 'locked up' for some reason making it unusable.  A small laptop/netbook seemed ideal with its small footprint and low power consumption.  An Acer Aspire One ZG5 consumed between 21-25w was that I had been successfully using for several years; its 1.5GHZ speed and 1.5GB RAM was just fine for the few tasks I had for it (Activehome, Blue Iris, weather software and some power-monitoring software).

The problem was that my Acer--and none of the laptops/netbooks/notebooks I could find--offered the BIOS setting common to most desktop computers for an "auto restart after power failure" (usually in the Power Management options in the BIOS).  I even called Dell and several other companies and was told no such laptop/notebook exists, for perhaps the obvious reason that an "always restart" option didn't make sense for folks wanting to preserve battery power on mobile computers like laptops they would typically have with them for "manual" "power management."

What I ended up doing is building a small computer from components from logicsupply.com.  Specifically:

-a Jetway NF92-270-LF Atom Mini-ITX mainboard (http://www.logicsupply.com/products/nf92_270_lffor $129; this unit runs at 1.6GHZ and can accommodate up to 7 USB slots
-2GB RAM
-USB cables
-AC adapter
-nice external case (M350)

I was out about $250 with everything...slightly a little more than I had paid for the Acer I think.

I just swapped the SATA hard drive from my Acer into the Jetway.  I was imagining a nightmare with this based on some internet postings about Windows getting mixed up with this kind of swap, etc.--and of course I cloned this disk as a backup--but everything went perfectly.  I had Windows 7 on this hard drive and I recall reading somewhere that 7 can be more forgiving with this swapping process that earlier Windows versions...who knows...but it couldn't have been easier.  All I had to do several days later is re-enter the Windows 7 Product key when the system prompted me.

After several weeks of use I'm very satisfied, although I had to do a little "detective work" in the BIOS to find the "auto restart" setting (it was under "Integrated Peripherals" and not "Power Management").  It auto-restarts perfectly and consumes only about 18-19w power.  Although I initially used a monitor, keyboard and mouse for setup, long-term I'll just run Remote Desktop Connection from another laptop I use if I need to work with this unit.  Externally accessing the Jetway is great via Remote Desktop or LogMeIn.  For mobile android access I've been very pleased with PhoneMyPC (this has worked flawlessly on both my older HTC Droid Eris and my current HTC Rezound).

I'll also put in a plug for the customer service at logicsupply.com.  An IT friend of mine suggested this solution and this company, and when I checked out their website I assumed I'd be "on my own" in terms of help after-the-sale.  But I had several questions after I received the components and several different folks there were quick and helpful getting me on my way.

I think this kind of solution might work well for many folks looking for a low power-consuming dedicated computer for some basic home automation fun...

Coyotefred

[megtyler]

try Toshiba Sattelite or Asus Republic of Gamers

http://topbestprice.com/top-20-best-selling-laptop-notebook-computers/