GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3: neither Wake-on-Lan nor Power-Up on AC loss work!

[Hes]

Hi everyone,
I at a loss what to do with my GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 mainboard. I've now spent about 10 hours trying to get the d*mn thing to boot remotely. I'm on BIOS F10, by the way, the final non-UEFI BIOS for the board; I previously used F9 and updated when I saw

First, I tried Wake-on-LAN. I set "power-up on PME event" to "Enabled", "ErP" to "Disabled" and just to be sure, enabled the options in the Win10 driver of the on-board network interface. Then I shut down the computer and tried restart it with the WOL option of my DSL router. Nothing. I also tried to send Wake-on-LAN via the command line of a Linux machine in my LAN. Also nothing. I changed a number of BIOS settings just on the off-chance they had anything to do with it. Nope.

After five hours, I gave up and instead wanted to use an internet-enabled power switch. I wanted to test the setup with just manually (un)plugging the power supply, but I cannot get the mainboard to switch back on automatically.

My procedure:

• I set the  "Power-Up after AC Loss" setting to "Full-On".
• I boot the OS normally.
• I shut down the OS properly.
• I unplug the power supply.
• I ait for half a minute.
• I re-plug the power supply.

But the mainboard stays switched off. I also tried the other "AC loss" settings ("Memory" and "Soft-Off"), but nothing changes. If I shut down my computer, I cannot get it back on remotely. I have to physically push the power button.

I need to access the machine remotely. So far, the only way to get that to work is to leave the PC on 24/7. This is unacceptable. 

Does anybody have any ideas on how to accomplish this seemingly simple task?

Best regards, Michael.

[dmdilks]

There are newer bios for the board F11 & F12. F11 states that it has a update too:

Support Intel 3rd generation 22nm E1 stepping CPU (Ivy bridge)
Improve power on issue
Update ME / CPU code

On the ACPI Suspend Type which one you using? Try S1

ACPI Suspend Type
Specifies the ACPI sleep state when the system enters suspend.

S1(POS) Enables the system to enter the ACPI S1 (Power on Suspend) sleep state.
In S1 sleep state, the system appears suspended and stays in a low power mode. The
system can be resumed at any time.

S3(STR) Enables the system to enter the ACPI S3 (Suspend to RAM) sleep state (default).
 In S3 sleep state, the system appears to be off and consumes less power than in the S1
state. When signaled by a wake-up device or event, the system resumes to its working
state exactly where it was left off.

Plus one other thing were you using this before you put windows 10 on the computer? Plus let the computer go into sleep mode and see what happens.

[Hes]

I'm sorry, I listed the wrong MB in my post (cut & paste error after hours of searching).

The MB in question is a GA-Z68X-UD4-B3, for which tha last non-UEFI BIOS indeed was F10, as I wrote.

[Hes]

On the ACPI Suspend Type which one you using? Try S1

It was on S1 the whole time.


ACPI Suspend Type
Specifies the ACPI sleep state when the system enters suspend.

Plus one other thing were you using this before you put windows 10 on the computer?

No. I remember vaguely trying it once with Win7 two years ago, but it didn't work, and I didn't need it back then.

Plus let the computer go into sleep mode and see what happens.

You mean see what happens with the sleep mode? Or should I try out anything while the PC is sleeping?

[dmdilks]

Yes let it go into sleep mode see if you can get it wake up from the modem.

[Hes]

Sleep mode doesn't work at all - the computer goes dark for about five seconds, then the login screen reappears. Energy consumption never goes down. That's as good as leaving the computer on - meaning it's no good.

The only thing that works: if I just cut power to the computer while it's still on (i.e. don't shut it down properly), it will automatically reboot once power comes back. I tested this by cutting power during POST. But as above: that's no solution to my problem.

I'm really grasping at straws here: I just want to remotely start a d*mn PC. I thought this kind of problem was solved ages ago. I never thought it would take me all week to still not get it done. 

[shadowsports]

Hey Guys,

@Hes..
Maybe this will provide some clarification.   

"The only thing that works: if I just cut power to the computer while it's still on (i.e. don't shut it down properly), it will automatically reboot once power comes back. I tested this by cutting power during POST. But as above: that's no solution to my problem."  -I wouldn't do this, you are asking for trouble, but it does demonstrate what I'm saying below. 

The system will not power back on if you shut it down and unplug, then reconnect power.  This is not considered a "power loss".  The system has to be running or in S1, S3 for this to work.   

Power Up On AC Loss: (this board AC Back Function)

Options in your case:

Full On & Memory

Poorly implemented for sure.  I'd say the "Full-On" option is your best bet.  The "memory" option is going to yield mixed results since modern operating systems no longer use full on hibernate (by default).  Now they use Fast Start Up option in power management which is a hybrid combination of a cold startup and a wake-from-hibernation.  The hiberfil.sys (current system state) is loaded into memory when the system is resumed.  Well in theory anyway.  Your results can vary based on the OS, hardware and drivers being used.   

WoL: (this board PME Event Wake Up)
When enabled, the BIOS tells the NIC to only go into a semi low power state as it must remain awake "listening" for wake packets to initiate a system start.  If the driver the card is using is a) set incorrectly (power management) or b) doesn't support low power +5v to NIC when the system is sleeping or off, this too will not work.

Most consumer grade routers do not support WoL consistently because the ARP table gets flushed randomly for different reasons.  So the "feature" appears to work if you start the system, manually put it to sleep and then send wake packets to it...  but if you wait for 24hrs or more and the ARP table is gone, wake packets will never reach the NIC, even if it has a static IP and you are reserving IP by MAC Address.  A "DSL Router" is going to be the least robust/friendly from a technology and quality perspective.  Meaning you could be doing everything right, but the device may not be passing wake packets to your listening device.  Ensure your network type is set to "Private" if it's set to "Public' windows FW will block wake packets.          

That said.  Manufacturers do implement these features differently, so some of what I mentioned above might not be true for your particular model, installed hardware and/or BIOS rev. 

Have you confirmed that the link light on the NIC remains lit when the system is in S3?