AutoBoot MacMini!

[yositoo]

Hi,

I am searching on how to autoboot a MacMini (2014) on powerup. Not reboot, but actually boot. It's quite important because the mac is driving an installation and is difficult to access.
I remember that was easy to achive in earlier models, and the new MacBookPro has it built in by default.
I found the terminal command: 'sudoc nvram AutoBoot=%03', but it doesn't work.

Alternativly booting by pressing a keyboard button would be an option for me as well. But I don't know if this possible at all and how.

I highly appreciate any help!
Best, y

 

[redheeler]

Why not just leave it on all the time? A Mac mini doesn't use much power when idle, they're very efficient computers.

Alternatively, you can set it to boot at a certain time (such as the morning), and shut off at a certain time (such as the evening), in System Preferences > Energy Saver > Schedule.

 

[jbarley]

I'm confused with your question.
Most systems auto boot on power up, that's what they do, actually boot up when your turn on the power switch.
What is it I'm not understanding?

 

[yositoo]

Why not just leave it on all the time? A Mac mini doesn't use much power when idle, they're very efficient computers.

Alternatively, you can set it to boot at a certain time (such as the morning), and shut off at a certain time (such as the evening), in System Preferences > Energy Saver > Schedule.

Thats both not possible, because I don't want to leave it on for the next 2 years.
Besides there is periphery, which has to be turned off and I don't want the Computer to loose the connections.
The certain time is also not an option, because it's not regular and not even yet scheduled, when it's being used.
[doublepost=1508390760][/doublepost]

I'm confused with your question.
Most systems auto boot on power up, that's what they do, actually boot up when your turn on the power switch.
What is it I'm not understanding?

Well, a Mac(Mini) does not boot when you turn on the power switch. And as it seems, there is no way of telling it to do so. All the settings possible (reboot on failure, boot at certain time etc.) are no option in this case. Turning on the power switch to AutoBoot is what I need.

 

[jbarley]

Well, a Mac(Mini) does not boot when you turn on the power switch. And as it seems, there is no way of telling it to do so. All the settings possible (reboot on failure, boot at certain time etc.) are no option in this case. Turning on the power switch to AutoBoot is what I need.

My Mac Mini boots every time I turn on the power switch, as indicated in the photo.
Are you saying yours will not respond to this switch, or are you perhaps referring to some external switch such as a power-bar?

 

[yositoo]

My Mac Mini boots every time I turn on the power switch, as indicated in the photo.
Are you saying yours will not respond to this switch, or are you perhaps referring to some external switch such as a power-bar?

View attachment 726211

Sorry if it was not clear: I mean an external switch such as a power-bar.
See my first post: "It's quite important because the mac is driving an installation and is difficult to access."

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

HOW FAR AWAY will the Mini be located from the location that the user will need to boot it from?

THIS IS IMPORTANT because you could use the Energy Saver preference pane to achieve "remote bootup", but only if there is a way to turn power off/on to the Mini.

I just tried this a couple of minutes ago and it worked:
1. Go to Energy Saver pref pane and set option to "start up automatically after a power failure"
2. Reached down and flipped my power strip OFF (Mini goes dark of course)
3. Waited a few seconds, then flipped the power strip back ON (the Mini boots right back up).

So... this is a method that can be used to "power up" the Mini remotely, IF you can switch the AC power to it on and off.
NOTE: I'm going to -guess- that this works ONLY if the OS does not shut down "normally" -- that is to say, you have to shut the power off while the Mini IS STILL RUNNING.
So long as the user took care to save everything, quit all open applications, etc., it might work indefinitely (OS X seems relatively "robust" against accidental shutdowns).

But again, whoever is going to be accessing the Mini will need to also have access to the power strip (or power cord, or whatever can turn power on/off) to get the Mini to boot.

Other than that, after a "normal" shut down, I think you're pretty much out of luck unless you physically press the power-on button on the back of the Mini.

 

[jbarley]

If one does a hard shutdown as suggested above, every time you restart you'll get a warning message referring the the fact that the computer was not properly shut down.
It's been my experience the odd time I've needed to do a hard shutdown, I always boot into SU mode and do a disk repair, each and every time there are errors found and repaired so I would not think using this method on a regular basis is a good idea.