Internal IR receiver for HTPC that can Power ON/OFF computer hard like button press?

miamiwice Wrote:I installed a relay inside my case and wired it in series with my power button. My alarm for my house has voltage triggers and accepts x10 commands. So when it sees a certain code it triggers 12v for 1 second. The relay gets energized and closes the contact so it like pressing the button. I use the NO side of the relay to my alarm for status so it knows if it's already on. You could do the same with a plug in x10 lamp module and 12 v power supply and 12 v relay if you can get it to energize the relay for no more than 1 second.

@miamiwice, did you know that the X-10 "Universal Module" (UM506) is a contact-closure device?

http://www.x10.com/automation/x10_um506.htm

It's what I use to remote control my power button.

No relay required, just wire the momentary contact closure to your power switch on the motherboard.

@everyone else,

I use the XIR for my xbox and it works great. I was going to suggest that as well.

That is probably the best way to do it, as it is just like pressing the power button on your PC when you hit the button on your IR remote.

I have a router machine in the same room, so I set up lirc there as well, attached another IR serial receiver to the router, and when I press "power on" it turns on my media center using Wake-on-LAN

waldo22 Wrote:@miamiwice, did you know that the X-10 "Universal Module" (UM506) is a contact-closure device?

http://www.x10.com/automation/x10_um506.htm

It's what I use to remote control my power button.

No relay required, just wire the momentary contact closure to your power switch on the motherboard.

@everyone else,

I use the XIR for my xbox and it works great. I was going to suggest that as well.

That is probably the best way to do it, as it is just like pressing the power button on your PC when you hit the button on your IR remote.

Yes but my HAI home automation board has relays on it, so i wired it to that so i can turn my pc on from my phone over the internet if im away from home, if i need to VNC into it to do something or see certain files. There are easier out of the box solutions. The relay on my alarm panel turns the pc on and off, and the relay i have off a 12V molex plug inside my pc closes when powers up and is hooked to a zone on my alarm board, so i can see if the computer is on and off (status). That way if i hit the server on button, and it sees its already on, it wont do anything. So i dont have to check everytime if its on or off. I dont want to accidentally turn it on, and the pc already be on, and have it shut down. This is way overkill for most people though.

A while back, i was thinking about giving my extra xir to a friend to see if we could get it to turn on his pc. Have you had success with that? And if so, what wire goes where?

I'm not really sure with the regular xir.

With the "pro" kit, there are only 2 wires, (and the 2 standby wires, so 4 total) and you just splice the wires in with the Power_sw wires.

As far as the regular xbox XIR goes, you'd have to use a continuity tester, I guess.

I've got a few extras in the workshop, I'll try and test it out for you.

Wes

PS If you don't hear from me in a few days, PM me to remind me and I'll post back.

if your electrically inclined you can build this one:
http://www.engbedded.com/wake-on-lirc

You need to build a programmer but you'll find the software and details here
http://www.lancos.com/prog.html

I've got two different configs. One powers on using the PME signal on a PCI slot, another has a few extra parts and is connected across the power switch. Both use the same code for the microcontroller from the web site.

Re-posted full question so removed this version.

I have simply connected a cheap (20$) Infrared keyboard, set my bios to "power on PS/2 Mouse o KeyBoard", and learn IR code of keyboard (integrated) mouse button on my programmable remote.

All,
I know that this thread may not appear to belong in this forum, but I think many XBMC for Windows users would want the functionality I'm looking for. And maybe someone here already has figured it out!
I'm searching for a way to turn on and off my windows computer with an infrared remote control. I have a Dell Optiplex 755 with Microsoft MCE remote and USB receiver (which work great with XBMC) and I don't see any special settings or software already installed that does this. I'm aware of PC cases that have an IR receiver that can turn on/off a computer, but I'm not going to pull the guts out of my Dell Optiplex just to get this capability. All of my searches for third party hardware to do this have been fruitless. My ideal option would be software that could work with my MCE IR receiver to interpret a specific keypress sequence as a shutdown command. I think the issue is with getting a powered down PC to recognize an IR signal and turn the computer on. I would be equally happy with a piece of hardware that would sit between the PC case power switch and motherboard power header and allow an IR sequence to be interpretted as a power button press. I unfortunately do not have the time to build a DIY device out of a doorbell, like i've seen around. I need an out of the box solution. Any ideas, products or corrections to my assumptions are appreciated. Thank You

I've used an MCE IR to put my system to standby and wake it up, but never power off and never power on from a powered off state. I'm not sure how it would work since the USB MCE IR is not powered when the system is off.

Best case scenario is wake from Hibernate which has to be supported by the mobo.

If you are looking for powering on from a complete power off state, then MCE IR probably can't do it.