putting monitors into sleep mode - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

happymaan · 06-20-2003, 09:41 AM

I have no idea if this exsits, or how hard it would be to make...

I have MAME (arcade emulator) machine I built into an old arcade cabinet. The monitor is covered by a piece of glass, so I do not have access to the power switch on the front of the monitor.

I need a way to be able activate the monitors sleep mode, through software, so that I can shut off the monitor when I want to. I have the sleep time set to 2 hours because sometimes I watch movies on the system, but othertimes when I am just listening to music on the system, I would love to be able to have the monitor turn off, so I don't waste electricity. But I also don't want to change my sleep timing settings each time I want to shut off my monitor.

Does anyone know of a way to instantly activate the sleep mode on a monitor? Would it be hard to write an app to do this? I'm using win2k.

-happymaan

meanSpleen · 06-20-2003, 11:48 AM

drill a hole in the glass that covers the monitor, and "extend" the power button with a stick or pole of something. That way you have a way of pressing the button without opening the glass

Alternatively, use Steve Gibsons "Wizmo" utility. http://grc.com/wizmo/wizmo.htm
You can use it to turnoff all monitors to standby mode, which will help with the power consumption problem you were talking about.

Quote:

monoff — turns off all monitors
Any system monitors that support Windows advanced power management (APM) will be immediately powered down until they are awakened by the keyboard or mouse movement. Since this is a Wizmo hosted mode, the mouse sensitivity "shake=" command can precede the "monoff" command to set or disable subsequent mouse movement unblanking. Other Wizmo commands to change system settings may be placed before and after the "monoff" command to alter the system's operation while the monitors are powered down.
Example: wizmo monoff

Wizmo can also do a ton of other things quickly and easily. The documentation is pretty good and gives a few examples. You should be able to figure it out after a few minutes.

happymaan · 06-21-2003, 01:46 PM

Thanks, that did it. That's a great little app.

-happymaan

06-20-2003, 09:41 AM	#1 (permalink)
happymaan Insane Location: los angeles	putting monitors into sleep mode I have no idea if this exsits, or how hard it would be to make... I have MAME (arcade emulator) machine I built into an old arcade cabinet. The monitor is covered by a piece of glass, so I do not have access to the power switch on the front of the monitor. I need a way to be able activate the monitors sleep mode, through software, so that I can shut off the monitor when I want to. I have the sleep time set to 2 hours because sometimes I watch movies on the system, but othertimes when I am just listening to music on the system, I would love to be able to have the monitor turn off, so I don't waste electricity. But I also don't want to change my sleep timing settings each time I want to shut off my monitor. Does anyone know of a way to instantly activate the sleep mode on a monitor? Would it be hard to write an app to do this? I'm using win2k. -happymaan Last edited by happymaan; 06-20-2003 at 09:44 AM..

06-21-2003, 01:46 PM	#3 (permalink)
happymaan Insane Location: los angeles	Thanks, that did it. That's a great little app. -happymaan