How to Boot up a computer remotely with WakeOnLan

Are there several networks connected on the same network via LAN and you need to go there and boot them individually? Now can boot any of those computers by sitting at your place remotely. I mean you can boot them without getting out of your chair using a technique called Wake On Lan (WOL) . It is a standard Ethernet network that allows a computer to be turned off, boot up or restart remotely. You just need to enable WOL on the particular Computer or Computers you want to Boot or Turn off remotely reboot and recover the MAC address of its NIC. Then, from a computer or a telephone connected to your LAN, you must send the magic packet that will wake the computer. There are many free applications available for doing the same for various platforms including Windows, iOS and Android devices.

There are few settings you need to do to boot or turnoff computers remotely. And those are as follows:

Configure the computer BIOS to start

The very first thing you need to do is enable WOL directly in the BIOS of your motherboard that will help you start the computer when a valid packet is received by the built in network adapter in your system. In my computer I have ASUS P8P67 Deluxe board with EFI BIOS and steps mentioned below are based on this. Steps can vary for other boards and BIOS.

• When you start your computer, press the Delete key to enter the BIOS of the computer. Depending on your motherboard, this may be the F1, F2
  Click the Advanced button and then Advanced Mode.
  
  
• Open the Advanced tab and click on Advanced Power Management.
  
  
• Select the Startup item on device PCI-E and press Enter. This option can also be called Wake on LAN, Wake on PCI, etc.. Select Enabled and click OK.
  
  
• Press F10 and save the changes.

Configure the Network Computer

Before you can start it remotely, you must enable the Wake On Lan and retrieve the MAC address to identify the network adapter in your computer. Without this information, remote boot up will not be possible. To do so, follow these steps:

• Start with right clicking the Network icon in the taskbar and click Open Network and Sharing Center.
  
  
• Click Change settings of the card.
  
  
• Click the right mouse button on your NIC and click Properties.
  
  
• Click the Configure button.
  
  
• Open the Advanced tab.
  
  
• In the list that appears, select the property Wake on Magic Packet.
  
  
• Select Enabled and click OK.
  
  
• You now need to know the MAC address of your network card. Double click the icon for your network connection in the Network and Sharing Center.
  
  
• Double click the Details button.
  
  
• Note down the physical address of your network card. This is the MAC address. Also note the IPv4 address and subnet mask and close the window.

Starting the PC remotely:

To send the alarm signal to your computer from another computer on your network, you must use a small program like WakeOnLan for Windows. Here is how to configure the same.

• First of all download WakeOnLan from here and save it on your desktop.
  
  
• Open it and Follow the installation wizard to install the program.
  
  
• Once done, launch the program by double clicking its desktop icon.
  
  
• Click the Add button
  
  
• Enter a name for the remote computer and enter its IP address.
  
  
• Then enter the MAC address. Confirm with OK.
  
  
• Now to start your remote computer, click the right mouse button and click Wake (WOL).

That’s it. You are done.