The Automatic Wake or Start system worked every time, with every computers I have access to.
Here's how to use it:
1. open the configuration panel.
2. In the popup menu, select "automatic start or wake"
3. Enter an administrator password, press the Enter key.
4. If it's accepted, the other controls activate.
5. In the time control fields, enter when you want the mac to start or wake.
6. click the "Sleep" button to register the automatic wake time, and put the mac to sleep.
As explained in the Automatic Start or Wake Configuration Tab, iWake doesn't set the automatic wake if it doesn't put the mac to sleep itself.
That means that if you did not told iWake to put the mac to sleep, it's normal that the mac didn't wake.
iWake is currently unable to wake a computer from sleep, I'm afraid...
I'm searching a way to do it.
Until I can add this feature, here are some things you could do to make your computer as discreet as possible (no noise, no light):
- Set the computer to never sleep (System Preferences > Energy Saver > Put the computer to sleep when it is inactive for : > set to never).
- Turn the screen off (use a screensaver, turn its luminosity off, or use the Energy Saver Preference Pane to turn the screen off after one minute)
- Set the sound volume to 0, in case some program would make noise. iWake override this setting.
- Stop the hard drive(s) from spinning (System Preferences > Energy Saver > Put the hard drive(s) to sleep when possible).
- Quit every software which require a lot of CPU power (so that the processor is less heated, and the fans turn slower or stop, and become silent), or which access frequently the hard drive(s) (so that it(they) stop spinning and making noise).
- Turn off any noisy peripheral equipments.
Of course, these are just ideas, do only what is useful to you.
Your computer shouldn't bother you for the night, and wake you up in the morning.
You're right when you say that applications doesn't run when the computer is turned off or sleeping.
In fact, automatic sleep, shutdown, wake, or start are handled by a hardware component called the Power Management Unit (PMU).
And, using functions available in both Carbon and Cocoa, any application can interact with the hardware.
So, when an application (anything from the simplest program to MacOS itself) want to set an automatic sleep, wake, start, or shutdown, it simply tells the PMU to sleep, wake, start, or shutdown in a given time.
All this to say that yes, applications can control when a computer will sleep, wake, start, or shutdown. :)
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iWake
Here's how to use it:
1. open the configuration panel.
2. In the popup menu, select "automatic start or wake"
3. Enter an administrator password, press the Enter key.
4. If it's accepted, the other controls activate.
5. In the time control fields, enter when you want the mac to start or wake.
6. click the "Sleep" button to register the automatic wake time, and put the mac to sleep.
As explained in the Automatic Start or Wake Configuration Tab, iWake doesn't set the automatic wake if it doesn't put the mac to sleep itself.
That means that if you did not told iWake to put the mac to sleep, it's normal that the mac didn't wake.
Also, laptops never wake when the lid is closed.
iWake
I'm searching a way to do it.
Until I can add this feature, here are some things you could do to make your computer as discreet as possible (no noise, no light):
- Set the computer to never sleep (System Preferences > Energy Saver > Put the computer to sleep when it is inactive for : > set to never).
- Turn the screen off (use a screensaver, turn its luminosity off, or use the Energy Saver Preference Pane to turn the screen off after one minute)
- Set the sound volume to 0, in case some program would make noise. iWake override this setting.
- Stop the hard drive(s) from spinning (System Preferences > Energy Saver > Put the hard drive(s) to sleep when possible).
- Quit every software which require a lot of CPU power (so that the processor is less heated, and the fans turn slower or stop, and become silent), or which access frequently the hard drive(s) (so that it(they) stop spinning and making noise).
- Turn off any noisy peripheral equipments.
Of course, these are just ideas, do only what is useful to you.
Your computer shouldn't bother you for the night, and wake you up in the morning.
You're right when you say that applications doesn't run when the computer is turned off or sleeping.
In fact, automatic sleep, shutdown, wake, or start are handled by a hardware component called the Power Management Unit (PMU).
And, using functions available in both Carbon and Cocoa, any application can interact with the hardware.
So, when an application (anything from the simplest program to MacOS itself) want to set an automatic sleep, wake, start, or shutdown, it simply tells the PMU to sleep, wake, start, or shutdown in a given time.
All this to say that yes, applications can control when a computer will sleep, wake, start, or shutdown. :)