Laptop as HTPC, power button location problem

So right now I'm using my older laptops as my HTPCs.

But there's always this one problem:
Laptops generally have their power button above the keyboard.
So when you've tucked away your laptop, you can't power up your laptop unless you pull out the laptop and open it.

I know it's a very obscure problem, but does anyone have a solution for this?

Or, does anyone know of any modern laptop makers that still put the power button on the side, like old ThinkPads?

 

You could set it up to be powered by Ethernet or USB, depending on what model it is (Ethernet should work on a lot of laptops - you can use something like WOL Magic Packet Sender to power them up remotely from another computer). Alternatively, a USB keyboard can be used (not on all laptops, though)...

 

It is an issue and one I've tried for a while to find a solution to. I use an older laptop as an HTPC but just end up opening the lid whenever I want to turn out on.

Beamed from my G2 Tricorder

 

With my 1564 the power button is a little seperate board with the button on top, if I take off the trim around the power button the board+cable can be left outside the laptop while it is closed. Perhaps not the best solution and it might not be that easy on your machine but there you go.
~Aeny

 

There are apps that allow you to wake the computer from phone. Don't think it is possible from off/hibernate though.

If you are not a software person, you can always remove the whole display assembly.

 

Some business-class laptops have docks with power buttons. Otherwise, you're going to have to rely on either the Wake-on-Lan function by sending a magic packet to your laptop while it's in standby, or you could wake it through an external keyboard if your laptop supports it.

 

Most laptops will function without the screen, so you could just take it off if you're not using it as a laptop. You'd just need to tell the notebook to output the video to whichever port you're using. Most laptops can do that via the keyboard.

 

Use a smart phone to send a wake on wifi signal, simular to the wake on lan, but works over wifi. I know Android has programs that will send the wake on wifi signal. And the smart phone could even take remote control.

 

I am surprised by this issue. It has been around forever and to expand the usefulness of laptops you would think OEMS would have made a simple design change. Even if just a small button on the front that is hard to operate or press to prevent accidental bumping.