How to shutdown, restart, logoff using the command prompt
You can shutdown restart and do many other similar tasks using the Windows Command Prompt. This will come to use many a times if you are using batch files a lot. And would like to automate some Windows tasks.
Go to Command Prompt (Start»All Programs»Accessories»Command Prompt ). In the command prompt type shutdown /? this brings the Help for shutdown command in windows. Here are the most frequently used ones
1. shutdown /? This displays the help for the shutdown command.
2. shutdown -s this command will SHUTDOWN the system.
3. shutdown -r This command RESTARTs the system.
4. shutdown -a This command aborts (cancel) any shutdown process in progress including those initiated by your system administrator.
This is a quick reference to most frequently used parameters for shutdown command. Here is the original help information on Microsoft© website.
Allows you to shut down or restart a local or remote computer. Used without parameters, shutdown will logoff the current user.
Syntax :
shutdown [{-l|-s|-r|-a}] [-f] [-m [\\ComputerName]] [-t xx] [-c "message"] [-d[u][p]:xx:yy]Parameters
-l : Logs off the current user, this is also the default.
-m : ComputerName takes precedence.
-s : Shuts down the local computer.
-r : Reboots after shutdown.
-a : Aborts shutdown. Ignores other parameters, except -l and ComputerName. You can only use -a during the time-out period.
-f : Forces running applications to close.
-m [\\ComputerName] : Specifies the computer that you want to shut down.
-t xx : Sets the timer for system shutdown in xx seconds. The default is 20 seconds.
-c “message” : Specifies a message to be displayed in the Message area of the System Shutdown window. You can use a maximum of 127 characters. You must enclose the message in quotation marks.
-d [u][p]:xx:yy : Lists the reason code for the shutdown. The following table lists the different values.
Value Description
u - Indicates a user code.
p - Indicates a planned shutdown code.
xx - Specifies the major reason code (0-255).
yy - Specifies the minor reason code (0-65536).
If you have some doubts about command prompt feel free to post a comment or
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Hello! When i am using any commands on my computer it works great, but if i’m trying to use it on a computer in a LAN it doesn’t word, it just syas that it can’t find the network adress.
I’m typing in the following command:
shutdown /s /m \\XXXXX /t 005
and i’ve checked that the computer name is correct.
Hi Arne please try the IP of the computer you are trying to shutdown. Use IP.IP.IP.IP instead of \\XXXXX The IP of the remote computer can be found easily by opening the command prompt and then typing “ping \\XXXXX” You can see the IP there. Please tell me if your problem have been resolved.
i know all this command but i cannot restart a pc in network. why? All you detail about this command are useful but i still cannot do it.
Hi Phalla,
can you please tell me the specific error shown when you type the command.. or better can you add a screen shot of the command prompt when you do this.