MP 6,1 MacPro 6,1 should turn on automatically when the power strip is switched on

[eldxmgw]

The MacPro 6.1 unfortunately has one of the most awkwardly placed power on button i've seen in a long time.
The Mac is set up in such a way that i can't just turn it or get to the button, because the side is close to the wall.
The process of getting to it is almost like breaking your hand.
It is what it is. The MP is connected to a central power strip with all its additional equipment. I can easily turn this on or off with a button.
I would like the MP to turn on automatically as soon as power is applied via the power strip. Without me having to press the power on button.
When i got the Mac, it turned on automatically every time.
Unfortunately, i did several resets at the time and didn't think about it. Unfortunately, it hasn't done that since then.
I can remember historically that this was possible with some Macs in the past.
I looked for it online and also tried a few things using pmset in the shell, but without success so far.

Does anyone have experience with this?

 

[chabig]

In System Settings, check the Energy pane. Make sure "Start up automatically after a power failure" is turned on.

 

[eldxmgw]

In System Settings, check the Energy pane. Make sure "Start up automatically after a power failure" is turned on.

Unfortunately it didn't help.
I made the settings, shut down the MP, turned off the power bar and turned it back on - unfortunately the MP didn't turn on.

 

[chrfr]

It will only turn on automatically with that setting if the computer was on at the time you shut off the power strip.

 

[eldxmgw]

It will only turn on automatically with that setting if the computer was on at the time you shut off the power strip.

Yeah, but that wasn't that what i was asking before.
This would mean data corruption over time.

 

[chrfr]

Yeah, but that wasn't that what i was asking before.
This would mean data corruption over time.

Correct. There's no built in way to have the Mac work the way you'd like it to. If you're on a regular schedule you can set the computer to start at specific times, but that's all there is.

 

[eldxmgw]

Correct. There's no built in way to have the Mac work the way you'd like it to. If you're on a regular schedule you can set the computer to start at specific times, but that's all there is.

There must be a way cause the MP was acting like this before i reset the *ram.
I think pmset is the way to go, but until now i haven't found the correct flag.

 

[chabig]

Without going back to the time when power wasn't managed by a "computer in a computer" (e.g, the 1980s)I can't remember a time when a Mac did that.

I think you have two good choices:

1) Stop shutting the Mac down. It's not necessary. If you can explain to us why you do it, maybe we can better help to find a workaround.

2) Schedule a start time in System Settings.

 

[eldxmgw]

Without going back to the time when power wasn't managed by a "computer in a computer" (e.g, the 1980s)I can't remember a time when a Mac did that.

I think you have two good choices:

1) Stop shutting the Mac down. It's not necessary. If you can explain to us why you do it, maybe we can better help to find a workaround.

2) Schedule a start time in System Settings.

Thanks for your impressions, but I think we're talking past each other.
It's irrelevant to write about basic things that should actually be clear.
The why doesn't help matters and doesn't help us in any meaningful way.
I've described the initial situation and objective in sufficient detail. This should make the application of the objective more than clear.
Let's let others have their say, perhaps others can contribute a useful idea.

 

[FNH15]

Thanks for your impressions, but I think we're talking past each other.
It's irrelevant to write about basic things that should actually be clear.
The why doesn't help matters and doesn't help us in any meaningful way.
I've described the initial situation and objective in sufficient detail. This should make the application of the objective more than clear.
Let's let others have their say, perhaps others can contribute a useful idea.

You're looking for an answer which doesn't exist. If you find a pmset flag to accomplish what you're after, let us know. I'm not aware of any way to achieve your objectives.

 

[eldxmgw]

OK, so far I have tried the following, which is acceptable for me:

System settings => Energy saving => Schedule => Energy saving or exit sleep mode.
If a fictitious time is set here for daily use, which is well before the regular daily switch-on, after normal shutdown, switching off the power bar and the time has elapsed, the MP can start automatically after switching the power bar back on without the power on button having to be pressed.
If the Mac only starts automatically once a day, that's good enough. I've tested it myself and it works.

Another option is to activate System settings => Energy saving => activate automatic switch-on after power failure.
Then shut down the Mac with shutdown -u. This will supposedly halt and keep the system running for 5 minutes. Within these 5 minutes the Mac must be disconnected from the power supply so that the previously set option is activated when the power is re-applied and the situation meets the criteria. The Mac should then start automatically. I haven't tried it and it's too risky for me in the long term in terms of possible data inconsistency.

 

[bladerunner88]

Why not just put it to Sleep? Works like a charm and only takes a tap of the keyboard to wake.

 

[Siliconguy]

Without going back to the time when power wasn't managed by a "computer in a computer" (e.g, the 1980s)I can't remember a time when a Mac did that.

Ah, the good old days when you started a Mac by pressing the power button on the keyboard.

 

[eldxmgw]

Why not just put it to Sleep? Works like a charm and only takes a tap of the keyboard to wake.

Because we always have a idiotism puppet lobby goverment and the most expensive energy costs on this planet?
Because i'm not too lazy to shutdown something that is not in use?

 

[avkills]

Turning your computer off and on every day puts more stress on all the electronics inside; but to each their own.

 

[Dayo]

Turning your computer off and on every day puts more stress on all the electronics inside; but to each their own.

My 2008 Mac Pro has been turned on and off every day since early 2008.
As it turns 17 years old, I wonder just how long it would live if I hadn't stressed all the electronics inside so much!

 

[MarkC426]

Previous comments aside….
It will not do your Mac ‘any good’ turning on/off with a power strip.

This is a hard shut down, and basically the same as just pulling out the power cord from the Mac…..not recommended.

 

[eldxmgw]

Turning your computer off and on every day puts more stress on all the electronics inside; but to each their own.

I'm sorry, but your argument is incorrect.
What we're writing about here is consumer hardware that has a few technical features of various server infrastructure components.
Your line of argument applies, for example, to mainframes of the past or to current data center infrastructures that were designed to run 24/7/365.
Let me tell you that this too should be taken with a grain of salt. For historical reasons, I had a mainframe for quite a while that survived despite constantly being switched on and off. For several years now, I've been running a 36U rack at home full of data center infrastructure that is constantly switched on and off. And nothing has broken because of it so far.
So if I were you, I would be cautious with such blanket statements.

 

[eldxmgw]

Previous comments aside….
It will not do your Mac ‘any good’ turning on/off with a power strip.

This is a hard shut down, and basically the same as just pulling out the power cord from the Mac…..not recommended.

Not true if option 1 is implemented.
True if option 2 is implemented.
As I already made clear in #11, for this reason I am not considering option 2.
Option 2 was only listed here for the sake of completeness.
However, as can be seen from the backlog, many people were not clear about option 1 or 2, so it should be understood as a template.
There are other possibilities, but option 1 is now working perfectly for me.

 

[Xde]

I have no problem to reach the power button. Nevertheless, I have a homebrew mains cutoff switch below the table, what disconnects everything overnight.
I knew the option schedule wakeup, but I never used it. Mostly I am offline for days or a week.
When I come back, first y connect the mains via the cutoff switch. Now I tried to use the wakeup option and it comes very handy.
So thank for the hint...

 

[Xde]

But interesting is, I did the schedule on another startup disk. When I start with my main startup disk, the selection was not stored. So the Mac did not start up. I started then from the other disk to check the selection, and there its set.
So, where is this information stored and is the selection related to a special disk?

 

[eldxmgw]

I don't know. NVRAM maybe?

 

[MajorFubar]

I can't help, but I empathise with your need.

What you're asking for is a basic functionality of probably every PC BIOS I've ever used. And of every computer I bought before my first PC in the mid 90s, including my Amiga, and my 1982 Sinclair Spectrum. (Yes I'm that old). But yet a desktop Mac can't be made do this...?

Actually the first time I ever joined here many years ago (around 2011, under a different handle which was associated with a long-since-abandoned email address), it was to ask this question, about my then-new Mac Mini. But I got ridiculed by the Mac cognoscenti, questioning how dare I have this basic requirement. I quickly learned there's some idiosyncrasies of Mac ownership that we must not question.

In my current circumstance, this annoyance means I need to have my Mac Studio occupying deskspace in my home studio when it could be tucked away out of sight. All the other devices in my home studio are switched on and off by an 8-way rackmount power-strip, including my monitor, my mixing-desk, my active speakers, my lighting, and my outboard hardware such as my amps and my tape machines. All except...my Mac. Which sits on my desktop with its backside facing outwards with four cables hanging out like an eyesore. Why facing backwards? Because not only do I have to use its mains switch to turn it on, said mains switch is at the back, just to inconvenience me further. Though in that respect it could be worse: I could have a current-gen Mac Mini...which has its mains switch underneath. Incredible.

Edit: just remember, whenever it seems Apple devices approach a user-need in a completely cack-handed way that defies logic or basic wisdom, it's 'courage' ™.