You can power on or restart a computer in Configuration Manager 2007 SP1 and later if it has been provisioned for AMT. You can power on or restart a single computer or multiple computers in a selected collection. In Configuration Manager 2007 SP2 and later, you can also power on all computers in a collection. The power-on and restart power control actions are available from the Configuration Manager console and the out of band management console.

Note
The information in this topic applies only to Configuration Manager 2007 SP1 and later.

When you power on or restart a computer by using the out of band management console, you can also select the boot action to perform when the computer has powered up or restarted. The boot options available depend on what the computer supports, but typically include the following:

Note
If you power on or restart a computer that has a BIOS password configured, by default the computer will wait for the password to be entered until after it has powered on or restarted. If the computer supports bypassing the BIOS password for AMT management (this setting is manufacturer-dependent), selecting the option Enable BIOS password bypass in the Out of Band Management Properties: AMT Settings Tab or in the out of band management console will enable the computer to boot after the power on or restart action is performed.

Additionally, you can power on a computer prior to the configured deadline for a software update deployment and prior to the configured schedule of a mandatory advertisement, which can be for software distribution or a task sequence.

When you power on a computer by using the Configuration Manager console and when power on commands are sent to wake up computers for scheduled activities, the packets are always sent from the out of band service point. When you power on a computer by using the out of band management console, the packets are sent from the computer running the out of band management console. When the target computer is across a WAN link from the out of band service point, consider using the out of band management console from a computer that is local to the target computer to avoid traffic across the WAN.

Caution
Restarting a computer should be performed as a last resort in a troubleshooting scenario where the operating system is not responding. Restarting a computer has the same effect as pressing the restart button: the operating system does not shut down properly, unsaved work will be lost, and logged in users are given no notice of the restart command.

Use the following procedures to power on or restart a computer.

To power on or restart individual computers from the Configuration Manager console

  1. In the Configuration Manager console, navigate to System Center Configuration Manager / Site Database / Computer Management / Collections.

  2. From one of the collections, select one or multiple resources to power on or restart, right-click Out of Band Management, and then click Power Control.

    Note
    The Power Control option is available for a resource only if it is provisioned for AMT.

  3. In the Power Control dialog box, select Power on if the computer is turned off or Restart Computer if the computer is running, and then click OK.

To power on or restart all computers in a collection from the Configuration Manager console (Configuration Manager 2007 SP2 and later)

  1. In the Configuration Manager console, navigate to System Center Configuration Manager / Site Database / Computer Management / Collections.

  2. Right-click the collection that contains AMT-based computers to power on or restart, click Out of Band Management, and then click Power Control.

  3. In the Power Control dialog box, select Power on if computers are turned off or Restart Computer if the computers are running, and then click OK.

To power on or restart a single computer using the out of band management console

  1. Connect to the resource using the out of band management console.

  2. Click Power Control.

  3. If you want the computer to use a boot option that is different from its default configuration after it has powered on or restarted, select it from the Boot option list.

  4. If you select a boot option that uses IDE redirection, click Boot from local drive or Boot from file, and ensure that the default value associated with the option specified is correct for the computer. If you want to use another value, click the dropdown menu for the local drive, or click Browse to select the path and file name that contains the image file that you want to use.

    Note
    To use the Boot from local drive and Boot from file options, the option Enable serial over LAN and IDE redirection must be selected in the Out of Band Management Properties: AMT Settings Tab.

  5. Optionally, select Bypass BIOS password and Lock remote keyboard if required and if these options are supported by the AMT-based computer.

  6. Click Power On if the computer is turned off, or click Restart Computer if the computer is running.

To power on computers prior to the configured deadline for a software update deployment and prior to the configured schedule of a mandatory advertisement

See Also