Enable Wake on LAN in Windows

Enable Wake on LAN in Windows

The title Enable Wake on LAN in Windows is a bit generic on purpose as this article is targeting any system. Specifically, the screenshots are take from a DELL Optiplex Micro 3040 system, but applies to any other vendor as well (screenshots will differ). The reason why I’m specifically writing this article is because I struggled a bit more than usual with a Micro 3040 model running Windows 10 and I had the 3020 working with no issues. Again, these steps apply to any system running Windows!

Also note that normally, you do not have to set all of the below up (like Firewall etc).

Let’s go in steps, starting with the basics BIOS settings.

  • Make sure the BIOS is up to date.
  • Go in the BIOS by starting the computer up and by pressing F2.
  • On a DELL system, go to Power Management and Disable Deep Sleep Control. If you’re not configuring a DELL, find the option (if it exists) to prevent the system from fully shutting down or hibernating.
    • dell_optiplex_3040_wake_on_lan_disable_deep_sleep
  • Enable Wake on Lan (or Wan or both).
    • dell_optiplex_3040_wake_on_lan_enabled

In order to fully Enable Wake on Lan in Windows, there are a few settings to be changed at the OS level. This process covers Windows 10’s settings, if you’re on Windows 7 or earlier, you may need to skip a setting or two as not present in these versions of Windows.

  • Upgrade the network interface card (NIC) drivers to the latest available.
  • Open the Network Card’s hardware settings and, under Adavanced:
    • Make sure Speed&Duplex is set to Auto Negotiation.
      • nic_advanced_speedAndDuplex_auto-negotiation
    • Enable Wake on Magic Packet.
      • nic_advanced_wakeonlan_wake-on-magic-packet-enabled
  • Go to the NIC’s Power Management tab and select Allow this device to wake the computer.
    • nic_power-management_allow-this-device-to-wake-the-computer
  • In Windows 10, go to the Power Options under Control Panel.
    • On the left hand of the window, click Choose what the power buttons do.
      • power-options_choose-what-the-power-buttons-do
    • Disable the option Turn on fast startup (recommended).
      • power-options_turn-on-fast-startup_disabled
      • Note that this option might get reset after running Windows Update. I have not encountered this problem myself yet.
  • Go to Control Panel > Windows FirewallAdvanced Settings.
    • windows-firewall_advanced-settings
    • Right click on Inbound Rules and select New Rule.
      • windows-firewall_new-rule
    • In the New Rule Wizard, select Port and click Next.
      • windows-firewall_new-rule_port
    • Under Protocol and Ports, select UDP and Specific local ports and type 9.
      • windows-firewall_new-rule_UDP_Port-9
    • See the screenshots for the rest of the steps:
      • windows-firewall_new-rule_Action
      • windows-firewall_new-rule_Profile
      • windows-firewall_new-rule_Name

This should be enough for you to get Wake On Lan configured on the machine you want.

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