How to configure computer shutdown? Several options for shutting down a computer running Windows 8 How to completely shut down Windows 8

The timer is a very convenient function that will allow you to use your device more intelligently, because then you will be able to control the time spent on the computer. There are several ways to set the time after which the system will shut down. You can do this using only system tools, or you can install additional software. Let's consider both options.

Many users need a timer to keep track of time and also to prevent their computer from wasting power. In this case, it is much more convenient to use additional software products, because the system tools will not give you so many tools to work with over time.

Method 1: Airytec Switch Off

One of the best programs of this kind is Airytec Switch Off. With its help, you can not only set a timer, but also configure the device to turn off after all downloads are completed, log out of the account after a long absence of the user, and much more.

It is very easy to use the program, because it has Russian localization. After launching, Airytec Switch Off minimizes to tray and does not interfere with you in any way while working at the computer. Find the program icon and click on it with the mouse - a context menu will open in which you can select the required function.

Method 2: Wise Auto Shutdown

Wise Auto Shutdown is also a Russian-language program that will help you control the operating time of your device. With its help, you can set the time after which the computer will turn off, reboot, go into sleep mode, and much more. You can also even create a daily schedule according to which the system will work.

Working with Wise Auto Shutdown is quite simple. When you run the program, in the menu on the left you need to select what action the system should perform, and on the right you need to indicate the time for the selected action to be performed. You can also enable a reminder to appear 5 minutes before you turn off your computer.

Method 3: Use system tools

You can also set a timer without using additional software, but using system applications: the dialog box "Run" or "Command line".


We looked at 3 ways in which you can set a timer on your computer. As you can see, using Windows system tools in this matter is not the best idea. Using additional software? you will make your work much easier. Of course, there are many other programs for working with time, but we have selected the most popular and interesting ones.

This article will help you deal with the problem that arises for every new user.
Metro UI - how to turn off or restart a computer with Windows 8. It would seem that a more stupid question cannot be imagined: even a child knows how to turn off Windows. However, the new version of the operating system from Microsoft does not have the familiar Start button, which causes some difficulties for most users who have installed this system.

Method one. Shutdown Windows 8 through settings.

This method works for both the regular desktop and the live Metro UI interface. To bring up the shutdown menu, move your mouse cursor to the upper or lower right corner. Then swipe it down (for the top corner) or up (for the bottom). If you are the owner of a touch monitor or tablet, slide your finger along the edge of the screen. Click on the “Options” icon - gear. Select “Shut down” and “Shut down”, or “Restart” if you only want to restart Windows 8.

Method two. Shutting down Windows 8 using hotkeys.

Press the ALT-F4 key combination familiar to other versions of the OS and select the required menu item - shutdown or reboot.

How to reboot Windows 8 from the lock screen.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to take a screenshot in this OS screen, so you will have to be content with a text description. Press the combination CTRL – ALT -DELETE on your keyboard, and then click on the “turn off computer” icon in the lower right corner.

How to create a “turn off windows” shortcut for the MetroUI interface

To begin, right-click on your desktop. In the context menu that appears, click on “Create”, and in the additional menu, click “Shortcut”. At the next prompt, enter the value shutdown.exe -s -t 00. Click on “Next”. By the way, to reboot, type shutdown.exe -r -t 00. Enter the name of the shortcut, for example “Shutdown”.

After that, let's set a beautiful icon for our shortcut. You can use the classic shortcut, or you can find a great icon for the eight on the inonfinder.com server. Right-click on the created icon, select “Properties” and “Change Icon”. Then find our downloaded image or the classic shutdown.ico from system32.dll. Right-click on “Turn off” again. Select the option “Pin to Start Screen”. Ready.

How many ways to turn off a PC do you know? The Start button disappeared in Windows 8, and suddenly it became clear that for a number of users this became a huge problem on the way to shutting down the system. Today I will show you simple alternative methods that are just as good.

To be honest, it came as a huge surprise to me that readers my blogs complain about the inconvenience associated with turning off Windows 8. I’m even a little embarrassed to write about such simple and far from new things, because many of the options described below work even in Windows XP, not to mention newer OSes.

I think that you will not be able to name all these methods right away, but when you see them, you will certainly say: “I know all this!” Shall we check?

List of methods

1. Don't turn off your computer

It's 201x and you still turn off your computer? What don't you like about sleep and hibernation modes that allow you to get started working in Windows faster?

This is how my laptop is configured, but nothing prevents me from setting up a workstation the same way.

2. Use the power button or laptop lid

I do not rule out that you may have your own reasons for completely shutting down the system. But for this it is not at all necessary to use software.

Pressing the power button on your PC or closing the laptop lid shuts down Windows just as correctly as a system command.

You can customize what you do in Power Options, and you have a wide range of choices.

As you can see, my power button turns the laptop on and off, and closing the lid sends it into hibernation.

However, I am sure that there will be readers who will not want to crawl under the table to turn off their workstation. There are many more options for them ;)

3. Get to know the Win + I panel

This is a new Windows 8 keyboard shortcut for quick access to PC settings, including shutdown options.

On your tablet, swipe from the right screen to the center, and in the Charms bar, tap Options. Charms can also be accessed by hovering your mouse over the right corners of the screen.

4. Don’t forget about Ctrl + Alt + Delete

This keyboard shortcut traditionally opens the Windows Security Settings screen, as Task Manager was historically designed for Ctrl+Shift+Esc (a warning shot).

This screen has a button to turn off the computer.

By the way, this can also be done on a tablet, despite the lack of a keyboard. For me, this screen causes me to press the power and Windows buttons at the same time. It is unlikely that it will be different for you, but in any case, the box will open the user manual for your device.

5. Use your lock screen

You can get to the lock screen by pressing the key combination Win + L, or your avatar on the Windows 8 start screen. In it, you then need to pull the screen up, or press the Shift or Enter key on the keyboard.

6. Alt + F4 has not been canceled

Just press the Win + D key combination first, otherwise you will close the current application.

8. Schedule a shutdown

If you live by a strict daily schedule, you can set your computer to turn off at a certain time every day. One command with full rights is enough:

Schtasks.exe /Create /RL Highest /TN Shutdown /SC Daily /ST 23:57 /TR "%WINDIR%\system32\shutdown.exe /s /t 180 /c \"To cancel the shutdown, run shutdown / at the command line a\""

Job named Shutdown will be executed every day (/SC parameter) at 23:57 (/ST parameter), turning off the computer 3 minutes after startup (/t 180).

If you have a battery-powered mobile PC, open the task scheduler and in the task properties, on the Conditions tab, uncheck the “Run only when on mains power” checkbox.

Poll and discussion

At the same time Tell us what methods of turning off your PC you didn’t know about! By the way, maybe you know some other options for completing the job? Share them in the comments!

Finally, if you're still unhappy that Windows 8 doesn't have a Start button to turn off your computer, Explain in the comments why you are not satisfied with any of these methods, or why you find it difficult to explain any of them to people around you.

Let's take a look at how blog readers manage power for their computers. It is clear that you can have more than one of them, so the main one is implied.

Some users may encounter the following problem when working with a PC: the computer does not turn off after Windows shuts down. A similar problem can occur on absolutely any modern operating system. But, as a rule, computers and, even much more often, laptops running Windows 8 and 10 suffer from it.

There are many reasons why shutting down via Start may not work. But almost all problems can be solved on your own, without the help of professionals.

Laptop power supply

Very often, incomplete shutdown occurs on laptops with incorrectly configured power supplies. This option is possible when working with any operating system. But very often the problem occurs immediately after installing the Windows 10 operating system.

To start setting up the power supply, you need to press the Win+R combination and enter the command devmgmt.msc. This action will immediately send the user to Device Manager. Here you need to find and open the “USB Controllers” section.

In this section, the user will be presented with a number of lines under the names Generic USB Hub. There may also be several names “USB Root Hub”. With each of them it is necessary to carry out a set of actions:

  • Right-click on the line and go to “Properties”.
  • In the window that appears, enter the “Power Management” section.
  • Uncheck the only active box, as shown in the screenshot, and save the changes.

Disabling this option will slightly reduce the amount of time the laptop can run on battery power, but may also eliminate the problem with turning off via Start.

Disabling Fast Startup

Another solution is to disable Fast Computer Startup. This feature certainly makes the device turn on very quickly, but for some reason it may cause it to turn off incorrectly.

To stop the Quick Launch tool, you need to go to the Control Panel. To do this in Windows 10, just right-click on “Start” and select “Control Panel”. If you have Windows 8 installed, then you need to press the Win + R combination and type the word control.

Then go to the “Hardware and Sound” section, and from there to “Power Supplies”. After that, in the left menu, find the line “Actions of the power buttons.”

In this window, you must first click on “Change settings that are currently unavailable”, and then find the checkbox at the very bottom next to which it says “Enable fast startup” and uncheck it.

After this, you need to accept the changes made and hope that the problem is solved.

Blocking shutdowns by services or programs

There is a chance that the device is being prevented from shutting down by some active process. When you shut down, Windows tries to close all running programs and services, but in rare cases it fails. Therefore, the process does not stop and does not allow the computer to turn off.

To check this, you need to enter the Control Panel through Start in Windows 10 or in any other way for other operating systems. From there, go to the “System and Security” section. Then find the “Support Center”, open the “Maintenance” tab and click on “Show stability log”.

All problems with the stability of the device are displayed here - critical events, crashes of applications and Windows itself, warnings, and so on.

All messages are sorted by date, so you can find out which program prevented the shutdown - just click on the desired column and study the information under the diagram in the “Critical system messages” section.

What needs to be checked additionally

Often the manipulations done do not help, and turning off a device running Windows 8 or 10 through “Start” or in any other way other than holding the power button is impossible. In this case, you need to check all the reasons that may affect the operation of the device:

  • Infection of the device with viruses. It can often interfere with normal shutdown because the malware does not want to stop working, slowing down the entire PC. It is necessary to clean the system from all “pests” using an already installed antivirus or the Dr.Web CureIt! utility.
  • Driver conflict with the system. A very common problem: after installing Windows 10 on a device, for some reason the drivers are not updated as needed. Therefore, they begin to conflict with the operating system and interfere with its correct operation. You can download DriverPack Solution and use it to try updating the necessary drivers.

There is not enough space on the system disk. It is necessary that there are enough free gigabytes on drive C for the normal functioning of the operating system. As a rule, the minimum free space should be no less than twice the amount of RAM installed on the PC. You can also clean the registry. For removal and cleaning, CCleaner is considered the best program.

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Windows 8 is a new operating system, the interface is significantly different from previous versions. One of these differences is the absence of a Windows button. In version 8.1 it is available, but when you click it you just get to the tiled menu. Because of this, many users have a question: how to turn off a laptop on Windows 8? After all, as a rule, the function of turning off the PC is hidden in the start menu.

In this article we will look at all possible methods for turning off a laptop, including tools for setting a timer.

How to turn off a laptop with eight

In fact, there are many ways to turn off a laptop. Most of them worked in previous versions. Among them the following can be noted:

  • Key combination Alt+F4.
  • Simultaneously pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del.
  • Through computer settings.
  • By the same pressing the Windows button on the keyboard.
  • Assigning shutdown to the power button.
  • Using the Run dialog.
  • Using the command line.

In addition, there are other methods, for example. This is useful if you do not need to turn off the computer at the moment, but need to schedule a shutdown, for example, in an hour, but you will not be near the PC at that time. So, let's look at all these ways to turn off a Windows 8 laptop.

Turning off your PC using a key combination

First of all, it should be noted that key combinations were provided to simplify computer control. Therefore, this disconnection is the simplest and fastest. The first combination is pressing Alt and F4 at the same time. Pressing these buttons at the same time closes applications. But if you click them on the desktop, a menu will appear in which one of the options is to turn off the PC.

It is worth noting that before doing this, you need to close all running programs and save important data. And only after that proceed to shutdown. The second key combination is Ctrl+Alt+Del. Pressing these buttons at the same time opens a separate menu in which you can manage your account ( , launch the task manager, and so on). But among other things, in the same menu you can turn off the computer.

So, above we looked at the simplest method of turning off a laptop. But there are other options.

How to turn off a laptop through system parameters

There are two ways to open the parameters:

  • Move the cursor to the upper right corner and click on the “Options” button.
  • Using the Windows + I key combination.

In any case, you will be taken to a menu from which you can turn off the PC or restart it. As you can see, everything is extremely simple. Another way to disable it is by pressing the Windows key. In this case, you find yourself in the tiled menu of the operating system. Here in the upper right corner you will see an account icon, and a little to the right the power button. Click on it and select the appropriate item.

Turning off the PC using a key combination: Video

How to assign laptop shutdown to the power key

Every computer, including laptops, has a power button. When pressed, the device turns on. But in the case of laptops, when they are running, pressing this button does not turn off. The device enters Hibernation mode. This is similar to sleep mode, only in this case the PC saves all data in a file located on the hard drive. In this case, the RAM is completely freed.

This is similar to sleep mode, only in this case the PC saves all data in a file located on the hard drive. In this case, the RAM is completely freed.

The advantage of hibernation mode is that the computer requires much less energy to save settings than sleep mode. This suggests that, in principle, it is not necessary to turn off the laptop; it is quite enough to press the power button and send the device into hibernation mode. The computer can remain in this state for a very long time, since practically no energy is consumed.

Turning off the computer on Windows 8 using the power key: Video

But, if you are still determined to turn off the laptop every time, then you can assign a shutdown function to the power key. To do this, in the lower right corner (the so-called tray) we find the battery icon. When you click on it, a menu opens from which you can select a power plan.

In this menu, you must select the “Advanced power settings” item. Next, open “Actions of the power buttons.” In the menu that appears, you can select the actions that will occur when you press the power button, as well as when you close the laptop lid and press the sleep key.

This means that you can configure your device as you see fit. For example, when you close the lid, the laptop will turn off or go into sleep or hibernation.

How to shut down your computer using the command line and the Run menu

So, another way to turn off a laptop in Windows 8 is to write and execute a special command. First, let's open the command line. This is done by simultaneously pressing two keys – Windows + X. In the menu that appears, select “Command Prompt (Administrator).” Now you need to write the command - shutdown /s /t 0 /f. Here shutdown is a shutdown, /s /t 0 is shutdown after 0 seconds, and /f is closing all applications and tasks. Press "Enter". Thus, by running this command, you will close all programs and turn off the computer.

The same command can be entered in the “Run” dialog box, which is called up using the Windows + R key combination. Everything will happen in the same way as in the case of the command line. But it is worth noting that writing every time, even a simple command, is still not very convenient. Therefore, you can create a shortcut that will execute a known command.

To do this, right-click on an empty space on the desktop. In the menu that appears, select “Create” and then “Shortcut”. A window will open in which you will be asked to specify the path to the location of the object. Here we write our command - shutdown /s /t 0 /f.

Click “Next”. Now you need to come up with a name for the shortcut. It can be anything, so you can call it, for example, turning off the PC (to make it clear what it is). Click “Finish”. That's it, a new shortcut has appeared on the desktop, when launched, your laptop will turn off.

How to set a sleep timer

So, now you know all the ways to turn off a laptop running Windows 8. But what to do if you need to do this not right now, but, for example, in an hour, but you won’t be at home at the right time. The developers have provided this option. How to do it?
So, we already know how to create a shortcut to turn off the laptop. Everything is done by analogy, only when specifying the path to the location of the object (where we wrote the command shutdown /s /t 0 /f), instead of zero we need to write the number of seconds after which the computer should turn off.

For example, if you need to set a timer for one hour, then click on an empty space on the desktop. Select “Create/shortcut” and in the path line to the desired object write the following command - shutdown /s /t 3600 /f. In this case, 3600 is the number of seconds after which the action will occur. You can enter any number.

How to set sleep timer on Windows 8: Video