Switch a pc on from the mains switch?

Everything Emulator related
Post Reply
User avatar
chubsta
I'm getting too old for this shit...
Posts: 808
Joined: August 17th, 2008, 5:13 pm
Location: Folkestone, Kent, UK
eBay: chubsta

Switch a pc on from the mains switch?

Post by chubsta »

Ive stuck this in 'emulation' as its for a pc i run mame on...
I want to be able to just switch the power on at my main socket and have the pc come on without having to press any buttons on it -anyone know how to do this? im sure it should be simple but somtimes the simplest of things elude me.
User avatar
DarthBoMan
Posts: 75
Joined: August 17th, 2008, 4:31 pm
Location: Sweden
eBay: darthboman
Initials: DBM

Re: Switch a pc on from the mains switch?

Post by DarthBoMan »

You could possibly set it to "allways on" in BIOS. Not all bioses has this setting... but look for it.
-x- I geek, therefore I am -x-
gamerworld: http://www.gamerworld.se
User avatar
cools
Armed Police Buttrider
Posts: 13457
Joined: August 17th, 2008, 4:49 pm
Location: Wales, United Kingdom
eBay: hordarian
Initials: CLS

Re: Switch a pc on from the mains switch?

Post by cools »

It's dead easy - and one of my pet hates about MAME cabs is when they have seperate power switches, since there's no need!

On the ATX connector, you need to ground the green wire (pin 14). How you choose to do this is up to you - a non-permanent method is to jam a small bent paperclip in. More permanent methods are to solder the back of the motherboard, or to cut and join the wires.
Image
User avatar
Bingo83
Please Continue...
Posts: 788
Joined: August 28th, 2008, 6:02 pm
Location: Glasgow Scotland
Initials: KRS

Re: Switch a pc on from the mains switch?

Post by Bingo83 »

Once you have done the power switch bit, I can recommend getting one of THESE.

I have on my cab, when the power is switched on in the cab, after 5 secs everything else powers up.
Check out my SoundCloud and my profile at House-Mixes for my latest DJ Mixes
User avatar
pubjoe
Fosters Political Ambitions
Posts: 9836
Joined: August 19th, 2008, 8:58 am
Location:

Re: Switch a pc on from the mains switch?

Post by pubjoe »

Just cut the PSU's green wire and connect it to one of the black ones - Use a crimp so that you don't have to cut the black wire - Or just carefully shave a little bit of the plastic off the black wire and wrap the end of the green wire around the copper inside it, then wrap it up with tape.

That's what the pub and bookie touch screen games have - A standard ATX PSU with that little mod so that they turn straight on from the plug. ...And the botchy stanley knife and sticky tape thing is what I would always do to fix em when they needed their cheap PSUs replaced (it was either that little fix, or send them back to the company for a replacement modified cheap PSU for £200).
cools wrote:...one of my pet hates about MAME cabs is when they have seperate power switches, since there's no need!
Yep - it's stupid. :roll:
Hitesh
Posts: 196
Joined: August 22nd, 2008, 7:38 am
Location:
eBay: HiteshPujara

Re: Switch a pc on from the mains switch?

Post by Hitesh »

This is how I have done my cabinet to get it one-but-all-on:

(1) Get Power Switch as suggested by Bingo83. Note there are various other products on the market and some are much cheaper.

(2) Plug the PC into the MAIN PLUG SOCKET on the Power Switch

(3) Plug the Arcade Power Plugs into SUB PLUG SOCKET(s) on the Power Switch

So now when you switch on the PC, the SUN PLUG SOCKETS get power after 5 seconds and the whole thing is on.

Switch off the PC and the whole thing shuts down 5 seconds after the PC shutsdown.

To make things even easier, I have run the PC ON/OFF button to a button on the cabinet.

Hope it makes sense!

Hitesh
User avatar
chubsta
I'm getting too old for this shit...
Posts: 808
Joined: August 17th, 2008, 5:13 pm
Location: Folkestone, Kent, UK
eBay: chubsta

Re: Switch a pc on from the mains switch?

Post by chubsta »

well, after a few people saying the same thing i kind of expected it to work...

i got a bent paperclip and shoved it in the connector at the green wire, and then put the other end in the black wire next to it. switched it on at the mains and the pc fan started going at 10000rpm and that was it - the machine didnt switch on! if i then press the power switch to the pc it works fine. I tried disconnecting the pc power switch and that just meant the fan kept spinning and nothing happened - anyone got any other ideas? (i alo tried cutting the green wire and connecting up to a black on but that had the same effect
User avatar
cools
Armed Police Buttrider
Posts: 13457
Joined: August 17th, 2008, 4:49 pm
Location: Wales, United Kingdom
eBay: hordarian
Initials: CLS

Re: Switch a pc on from the mains switch?

Post by cools »

Ahh, that's a shame. You have one of the few boards that requires the button push as well. You may be able to get it going properly by looking in the BIOS and seeing if there's a setting for after power loss and changing it to "Always On".

Any time I've built a new MAME box for a cab I always wire the PSU directly up to the cab mains input. Switch on the wall, cab and PC come on, switch off at the wall to kill them. Write caching is turned off (not that there are many writes anyway) so there's never any FS corruption. Simplest, laziest solution :)
Image
User avatar
chubsta
I'm getting too old for this shit...
Posts: 808
Joined: August 17th, 2008, 5:13 pm
Location: Folkestone, Kent, UK
eBay: chubsta

Re: Switch a pc on from the mains switch?

Post by chubsta »

managed to sort it via the BIOS so thanks very much for that!

Much nicer set-up just pressing one switch on the wall and seeing everything come to life, just like a real arcade...
User avatar
pubjoe
Fosters Political Ambitions
Posts: 9836
Joined: August 19th, 2008, 8:58 am
Location:

Re: Switch a pc on from the mains switch?

Post by pubjoe »

Image
User avatar
chubsta
I'm getting too old for this shit...
Posts: 808
Joined: August 17th, 2008, 5:13 pm
Location: Folkestone, Kent, UK
eBay: chubsta

Re: Switch a pc on from the mains switch?

Post by chubsta »

chubsta wrote:managed to sort it via the BIOS so thanks very much for that!
.
and cutting/joining the wires too i should add...
User avatar
pubjoe
Fosters Political Ambitions
Posts: 9836
Joined: August 19th, 2008, 8:58 am
Location:

Re: Switch a pc on from the mains switch?

Post by pubjoe »

I'm glad actually. Thanks for the update - I wasn't aware that some motherboards need a bios change too ...So I know what to do myself now if I ever run into one.
Post Reply