Just as you can turn off the PC on schedule, you can also turn on the PC on schedule. This how-to guide shows you how to set your PC to turn on at a certain time in simple and easy steps.
It’s not often but there might be times when you want your computer to be up and running at specific times, whether it’s for work, downloads, or any other purpose. In those cases, rather than turning it on manually, you can schedule the PC to start itself at a specific time.
For example, assume you want to download a large file but don’t want it to cause the internet to slow down for other devices. In those cases, you can automatically turn on the PC at midnight and set it to start the download process.
By the time you finish reading this guide, you’ll have the knowledge to automate the power-up process of your PC. Let’s go.
Requirements
Your computer hardware should support turning on automatically on schedule. On supported hardware, UEFI or BIOS will have options such as “RTC Alarm,” “Resume by Alarm,” or “BIOS Power-On.” These features enable you to set specific dates, weekdays, and times for your computer to start automatically.
If you don’t know whether your computer hardware supports the scheduled turn-on feature, consult the motherboard manual or visit the manufacturer’s website and search for information using the specific motherboard model number.
Start PC automatically on schedule
Follow these steps to set the computer to turn on at a certain time. i.e., on schedule.
Step 1: Launch the Windows 10/11 Settings app by pressing the Windows key + I keyboard shortcut.
Step 2: Go to the “Windows Update > Advanced options” page in the Settings app.
Step 3: Go to the “Recovery” page in the Advanced Options page of the Settings app.
Step 4: Click/tap on the “Restart now” button next to “Advanced startup.”
Step 5: On reboot, go to the “Troubleshoot > Advanced options” page and click “UEFI Firmware Settings” to open UEFI.
Step 6: Press the F7 key on your keyboard or click/tap on the “Advanced mode” option.
Step 7: Go to the “Advanced” tab.
Step 8: Find and click/tap on the “Resume by Alarm” or “RTC Alarm” option.
Step 9: Set the date and time to start your computer automatically.
Step 10: Press F10 and select the “Save and Exit” option to reboot the computer.
That’s it. The computer will now automatically start at the specific date and time you set in UEFI.
Set up automatic Windows login
Once you set your computer to start automatically on a schedule, you should enable automatic login on Windows and launch your desired program automatically by adding it to the start-up or a scheduled task.
That way, your computer automatically logs into your user account. Once logged in, your desired program will start automatically and does what you need it to do. Of course, you might also have to configure the program to run the relevant tasks as soon as it opens. For example, if you are downloading a file, you must set the application to start downloading as soon as it is opened.
If you don’t enable automatic login, the system will get stuck on the login screen (lock screen). As you can guess, that’s not what you want when you set your computer to start automatically at a certain time.
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That is it. It is that simple to turn on your PC on schedule.
I hope this simple and easy Windows how-to guide helped you.
If you are stuck or need help, send an email, and I will try to help as much as possible.
