T42 and Wake on Lan (WOL)

[fje]

Hello,

I own an "aged" T42 since I retired from IBM. Now it "resides" in my vacation appartement, and at home I use a T500.

So, I want to be able to remotely "wake" my T42 when I want to transfer some files to it.

T42 specifications state that the Ethernet adapter is able of WoL, so I tried it and it worked

BUT it only works provided the mains is permanently inserted in the T42. If I disconnect the power adapter from the T42 (even with the battery plugged-in) for more than 10 seconds, the Magic Packet sent thru the router doesn't arrive to the T42 .

The router has a permanently assignement of the T42 Ethernet MAC to the permanent IP the T42 Ethernet has and also to the UDP port 7 (and 9). So, even if the router is powered off, when it is powered on, it is able to send the Magic packet to my T42.

But if the one that is disconnected from the power supply is the T42, no way to wake it. If the power supply remains connected to the T42, the WoL Works for every status, standby, hibernate or even power off.

Then my question: Is this a "normal" way to work? Is then a "must" to have the power supply ALWAYS plugged in to the T42?

Thanks for any comment

Javier

[ideal-pc]

Although uncertain on this I would check to see if it's a power profile issue. Some Dell & I believe some older IBM machines used to disable the ethernet connection when no mains were present. This has bugged me many times on Dell's & I know it can be turned off so may be worth a check, if not in Windows then in BIOS to see if there is something in there that requires mains power

[fje]

Hi, thanks for such a fast anser....

I alredy checked the BIOS parameters and there is only one affecting WOL, it is in the Power parameters (I feel, not sure, I will double check again) and it is related to which devices are able to boot the T42, PCIs, Network, etc. etc.

I already marked the one related to the Ethernet and the WoL, but I don't remember to have seen any one tha disabe the network adapter if the mains is not in.

Anyway, again, I will doublé check, both in BIOS and in my Windows 7......

Thanks again.

Javier

[fje]

Result of my double-checking:

BIOS: Only under Config-Network: Wake on LAN: Enabled
Nothing related to WoL on the Power parameters

Windows: Ethernet adapter driver: There is a parameter that says "Allow the computer to shutdown this device to save energy"... and another one: "Allow this device to switch-on the computer" Both are marked. If I unmark the first one, the second one is automatically changed to be unmarked, so, both HAVE to be marked to be able to do Wake on LAN.

So, again, it seems that the laptop has to have the power adaptor plugged-in in order to be able to have WoL working....

Again the same question: Is this a "must"? Has the laptop to have the power adapter plugged-in (even with the battery on)?

Thanks

Javier

[rkawakami]

I'm not totally sure about it, but from a logical standpoint, it makes perfect sense for WOL to only be active when the laptop is powered by the AC adapter. Think of it this way: if the system is operating with only the battery, then waking up the system will exhaust the battery after some time. The laptop would then be unavailable and that sort of defeats the purpose of being able to control it remotely.

Furthermore, I believe that with some of the older systems (pre-T4x), there was a BIOS bug that enabled WOL with only a battery installed. Such a system would run the battery down when it was unplugged, faster than if WOL was not enabled. Essentially, after a few days your battery would be totally discharged. I had a habit of pulling out my T23 batteries for a few seconds after disconnecting them from the AC adapter as I believe that would disable the WOL feature and prevent my batteries from going flat.

[fje]

Hi, rkawakami, thanks for your answer.

I understand and accept the comment of not having WoL when only the battery is plugged-in.

BUT my question is other. Is normal that the laptop "forgets" it is able of WoL if the power adaptor is unplugged for some time?

Let me be more detailed:

I have a remotely controlled mains plug to which both the router and the laptop are connected. When I leave my vacation apartment I put that plug in "disconnect status", so no power arrive to both laptop and router. When I plan to go to the "vacational" apartment, I remotely put the plug in "connect status", so, both the router and the laptop are, again, receiving power. The router "remember" all the parameters regarding the WoL of the laptop. The laptop seems not be able to receive the "magic packet", it seems it is not able to "auto-present" to the router, even the "green light" of the Ethernet adapter is lighting....

I did several tests unplugging and plugging the router and/or the laptop, both at the same time or maintaining one of them plugged-in, and the problem only arises when the laptop has been when the power adapter of the laptop has been disconnected for some time (more than 10 seconds).

The idea of having the battery plugged-in, even with the power adapter, was for testing if in the case of having the power adapter "switched off" the battery was able of maintaing the "connection" or "identification" of the laptop network adapter to the router active. But it doesn't work either.

So, again, no way of disconnect the power adapter to the laptop for a time and reconnect it later, the Wake on Lan will not work. Should this be the "normal way of work"?

Thanks again.

Javier