Clients and server are interconnected through a gateway card of a personal computer. The clients and the servers have different communication protocols. When a client makes a request to access a server, the gateway card executes this access request even if the personal computer is in a power-save mode. When a client makes a request to access the personal computer and if the personal computer is in power-save mode, the gateway card changes the mode of the personal computer to a normal mode, executes the access request, and changes the mode of the personal computer to the power-save mode.