shutdown /s /f /t 1


As I was experimenting a lot with wake on lan and suspend lately I liked your idea.
this steps worked for me: (I use a german version so I can only guess the correct names in English) sorry ;-)
1) I use windows 8 - it will most likely work for windows 7 and maybe for vista - i have no idea if there are similar steps in windows xp
2) in "control panel"-"energy options" click "change settings for energy plan"
3) then click on advanced energy settings
4) in the list open the tree called "energy saving" or "save energy"
5) then enable the option "allow scheduled tasks to wake up or reactivate" or something like this

this is the first important part. this will allow scheduled tasks to wake up the computer from suspend.

unfortunately cobian backup service will not wake up the computer even if a backup is scheduled. at least that did not work for me. so I created a dirty workaround:

1) right click on "Computer" in the start menu or in a explorer windows and select "Manage"
2) click on "scheduled tasks" and then click on "create task"
3) choose a name for the task that makes sense like "wake up for backup"
4) then select "execute independent of user login"
5) I also checked "execute with highest privileges" just to make sure :-)

go to the tab "trigger"
1) click on "new"
2) select whatever matches your backup schedule. I set the wake up time one minute before the backup. just to be sure once again :-)
3) leave the advanced settings unchecked
4) BUT check "Activated" at the bottom
5) click OK to finish

now comes the funny part: we need an action for a scheduled tasks but we actually only want to wake up. so I chose an action that does nothing but opening a command line windows and closing it immediately. :-)
go to the tab "Actions"
1) click on "new"
2) select "start a program"
3) in "program/script" just enter "cmd"
4) in "add arguments (optional)" or "add parameters (optional)" enter "/c exit"
5) click OK to finish

go to the tab "Conditions"
1) uncheck "only start if computer is connected to power line"
2) check "reactivate computer to execute task"

go to the tab "Settings"
1) just make sure that "allow execution of the task on demand" is checked
2) the rest is irrelevant - I hope
3) click OK to save the scheduled task
4) windows will probably ask for your password - it will then remember that this task is authorized to run with highest privileges and to run if you are not logged in.

so. this should wake the computer 1 minute before backup. if you would like to put the computer to sleep again after the backup, go to cobian backup edit your task and go to events. in post-backup events click on "add" and select "suspend (sleep) the computer"

FINISHED. that worked for me with cobian backup 11 and windows 8.
I hope it helps you, too! :-)