Use CTRL + Alt Del
It is one of the most famous keyboard shortcuts in Microsoft’s operating system. We can do it both using the mouse and if we do not have it available. This allows us to directly access certain system options such as changing user, logging out, locking the computer or opening the task manager. However, in current versions of Windows we can see how in the lower right part of the screen that is shown when pressing this combination of keys, other icons appear, such as the one that indicates the system language, shows us the available Wifi networks, the one that allows us to enter the accessibility options of the system and the one that allows us to turn off the equipment.
Therefore, with the simple fact of press Ctrl + Alt + Del We will see a series of options: block, change user, log out, change a password, task manager and the “cancel” button to exit the menu. But in the lower right corner we will see a wireless connection icon, an accessibility icon and the icon to turn off or on. The latter is the one we must touch to turn off the computer. We can do it using the mouse or simply touching the arrows on the keyboard to move there and confirm the shutdown.
Shortcuts
Create a desktop shortcut or create a keyboard shortcut that will automatically shut down your computer.
Create a shortcut
Create a shortcut to shut down Windows 10 it is even more convenient, because just by clicking on it we can make the computer turn off. Even if we have a keyboard with programmable macros, we can assign a button on the keyboard for this purpose, although always away from the area we use so as not to press it accidentally. We can also do it with Cortana as we explain below.
To do this, we create a new Shortcut by right-clicking on any folder or on the desktop, and giving New – Direct access. In the first window we write shutdown.exe -s, and in the next one we put the name we want to the file. Now we can add it wherever we want, and when we run it, the computer will automatically shut down.
We also have another series of commands that we can use to automate certain actions, such as restarting the pc, changing user, or to cancel the shutdown if we have accidentally given it.
- Shutdown.exe –r to restart the computer
- Shutdown.exe –L to log out
- Rundll32.exe powrprof.dll, SetSuspendState to hibernate the computer
- Powrprof.dll rundll32.exe, SetSuspendState 0,1,0 to put the computer to sleep or sleep
- Rundll32.exe user32.dll, LockWorkStation to lock the device.
- Shutdown.exe –a to abort the shutdown if we have accidentally given it.
Create a custom shortcut
There is another more personalized way to turn off the computer from the keyboard and it involves creating a shortcut with the command that shuts down the computer (shutdown.exe) and assigning a keyboard shortcut for its execution. To do this, the first thing we have to do is click on a free area of our desktop with the right button of the mouse and select the option from the context menu New> shortcut.
Next, a window will open in which we have to indicate the path of the shutdown executable file (% windir% system32shutdown.exe -s) and in the next step, the name we want to give the shortcut. Once created, we click on the shortcut with the right mouse button and access its properties. There, we will find within the Shortcut tab the Shortcut key field, which is where we can indicate the keyboard shortcut that we want to use when launching the task that is going to turn off the computer. From now on, we only have to type the defined shortcut to execute the shortcut that we have just created and we will automatically be able to turn off the computer from the keyboard.
Other options for shutting down using the keyboard
Of the different ways that we can turn off the computer using the keyboard, perhaps the best known is using the keyboard shortcut Alt + F4, since it is a shortcut that we can also use to close any active window on the desktop. But it is not the only one and there are other options that we can use if we do not have a mouse and we do not want to force it to turn off by holding down the button on the device.
ALT + F4
When pressing Alt + F4 if there is no active window in the system, Windows itself will show us a window that will ask us what we want the computer to do. In it, a drop-down list will allow us to choose between the options Change user, Close session, Suspend, Shut down or Restart. By default the option will be marked To turn off, so, if it is what we want to do at that moment, it will be enough to press the Enter key to turn off the computer with just a couple of keystrokes.
If, on the other hand, we want to restart, log off or suspend the computer, then we can move between these options with the up and down arrow keys on the keyboard and press Enter again to select the option we want to execute.
From Win + X
Another of the places from where Windows allows us to turn off the computer is from the Win + X menu options or menu that is shown to us when we click with the right button of the mouse on the Start button of the system. Therefore, if what we want is turn off the computer from the keyboard, The only thing that we are going to have to do is press the combination of keys Win + X and then we move with the cursors between the different options until Shutting down or logging out.
Once we are located on this option, click on the right cursor and the options will automatically be shown to us Logout, Shutdown, Suspend, and Restart. We use the cursors again to move through these options, we choose Shutdown and press Enter. We can also select these options by pressing the «g» key and then the «a» key and we will also turn off the equipment.
Schedule or shutdown remotely
If you are one of those who always leaves it on, you have two options: learn how to schedule an automatic shutdown After a while or turn it off remotely from another computer or from your mobile phone when you go.
Timer
In a similar way to the one we have created to shut down Windows 10 with the shortcut, we can add a timer in seconds to the end of the command. Or first we must do is touch the mouse by right clicking on the desktop and choose “New” in the options menu that will appear. Among the elements that we can create, choose “Shortcut”. The message will appear “What item do you want to create a shortcut to?” and we have to write the location of the element in the same way that we have done in previous sections.
To do this, we create a shortcut with the same procedure, and add the following command, where XXX is the number of seconds. For example, “shutdown.exe -s -t 180” would be to schedule a shutdown for 3 minutes. We have to calculate the seconds we want it to take to shut down the computer.
shutdown.exe -s -t XXX
If we want to cancel the shutdown, we can create another shortcut that is “shutdown.exe -a” so that it returns to its usual state and eliminate it.
Remote form
Another alternative is to do it remotely. If you’ve already left and want to turn it off, you can do it with remote desktop as long as we have it configured. Of course, you must have configured it before:
- Let’s go to Settings on the computer
- We open the “System” section
- In the menu on the left, choose “Remote Desktop”
- Here we will see a button that will allow us to enable it
Once you enable it, you will see a series of data that indicates the name of the computer to connect from your device to remote desktop. We can download the client on iOS, Android, Windows or MacOS through applications or programs that give us access. But, yes, you must have it previously ready for when you want to turn off the computer.
When you have it, access from another device and write the team name (which you will also have to know by heart or have a note) Once you have done it, click on “connect” and you will be able to access it normally from another device and touch to turn it off so that it does not stay on. It is easy and useful and we can not only turn off but also manage all kinds of things.