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I would like to know how to force-restart a PC that has crashed/hung and become completely non-responsive, using 2nd-generation vPro technology. Assume there is a second, fully responsive PC on the same LAN that can be accessed remotely to assist.

Specifically, I am considering purchasing a PC with an i7-2860QM CPU, which is vPro-enabled (according to Intel).

Here are two links that indicate it should be possible to force-restart a hung system with a 2nd-generation vPro-enabled CPU:

  1. Seconds 24-39 of What Is Intel vPro™ Technology?

  2. Page 17 (21 of the PDF) of Intel® vPro™ Technology: Reference Guide

However, after extensive research, I cannot find a straightforward and trustworthy source of confirmation that this will actually work as I describe, or any documentation about how to set it up. I would appreciate both a reliable confirmation, and a source of documentation.

This question is a follow-up to: Wake-on-LAN (WOL) fails after computer crashes (Windows 7 64-bit).

Community
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Dan Nissenbaum
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1 Answers1

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vPro is a collection of technologies, and among them is the remote management you are after. To fully take advantage of vPro remote management, you need not only a vPro processor, but you also need a motherboard with the Q965 or similar chipset that has Intel's AMT (Active Management Technology) - (like this Asus board)

AMT is what allows the remote management, it is effectively a second processor on the motherboard running a management app. You talk to it, and it tells the main system what to do.

Here is the wikipedia article that explains in more depth.

Paul
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