Remotely connect to powered OFF PC

Is there a way to remotely restart a Windows XP (Professional) laptop via Remote Desktop Protocol if the target machine is shut down?

My laptop died overnight and I am not able to access it for work anymore. I have tried the following options unsuccessfully:
1. Kept the laptop plugged in and took the battery out.
2. Unplugged it and tried running it using battery charge
3. Unplugged as well as removed the battery, then held down the power button for 30 seconds to discharge it.

None of the above could power on the machine. Is there anything else I can try?

I guess I should have posted this in one of the other forums - Operating Systems, Computer hardware etc. - but I just want to make sure that Remote Desktop connection is not an option before I try something else.

You cannot remotely boot a machine that is turned off unless its BIOS supports some method of powering up the computer remotely. Even if your BIOS does, it would not use the remote desktop protocol and would need to be configured in advance in order for you to be able to use it.

If the machine won't boot when you press the power button then you have a hardware problem.

it sounds like a power supply or motherboard problem

since its a laptop, the power supply is usually a part of the mother board,

it could also be a problem withe power button itself,

you will have to contact your laptop's support center and see if you are still supported by their warranty or not,

if you are not in warrnty anymore, and you want a cheaper method
you can usually find replacement parts for fair prices on places like ebay, but you will have to be 100% sure its a motherboard problem


worst case scenario, take out the harddisk and connect it to one of those usb connectors to access your data, those connectors can also be found very cheap on sites like ebay or others

Do you get any power lights on at all when you switch it on, even for a second ? When you try and run it on the plug, do the lights come on ?

To boot the machine remotely, you would need to enable 'Wake on LAN' in the BIOS but as E-Oreo said, you couldn't do this using the Remote Desktop Connection.

OK, so I figured out what's happening. I pried the power button board cover and found that the tiny piece of rubber that the External power button makes contact with (which, in turn, then touches the board) had come off. Therefore there wasn't any contact and the external button only acted as a dummy switch - it existed but didn't do anything. So I have gotten it started for now.

All I wanna know now is how do I glue the rubber piece back onto the board?

What make/model of laptop is it ?