Setting a timer to automatically turn off your computer at the right time - nothing could be easier! How to automatically turn on your computer on a schedule. How to set your computer to turn off by time.

To ensure long-term uninterrupted operation of any computer, be it a home desktop PC or laptop, it is necessary to shut it down correctly. Many novice users neglect this point, not knowing or forgetting that incorrect actions at this stage can lead to the loss of working information. And over time, it threatens to require reinstalling the operating system. Not to mention the hardware failure of your PC. This happens quite rarely, but such a risk cannot be completely eliminated.

The shutdown procedure is very simple and can be done in several ways. Let's look into the details.


Do I need to turn off my computer?

You may think: why doesn’t someone turn it off? Yes, and there may be several reasons:

  • the computer is sent to sleep or hibernation mode rather than turned off;
  • the computer is simply not turned off so as not to waste time turning it on;
  • The computer is not turned off at night so that movies or other files can be downloaded at night.

However, there are plenty of objective reasons for switching off. Below are just a few of them:

  • Working modern computer A rather “gluttonous” device in terms of electricity consumption. Therefore, its aimless operation leads to a significant increase in the monthly electricity bill.
  • Light noise of coolers operating system unit, as well as illuminated system blog indicators at night can interfere with restful sleep (if the computer is in the bedroom). Therefore, it is better not to download large files (torrents, movies) at night.
  • It is undesirable to leave electrical appliances turned on in a house, apartment or office when no one is there.
  • Long-term continuous operation of the computer reduces the service life of the equipment.
  • All components of the system unit located in it are installed only with the power off. These are modules random access memory, sound cards, processor, majority hard drives etc. We understood the detailed structure of the system unit. Therefore, if you need to install an additional module in the system unit, the computer will need to be turned off.

Forced shutdown of the computer

Constantly using the methods described below to turn off the computer is extremely contraindicated for the “health” of the computer. However, many novice users, due to ignorance of the correct ways to handle computer equipment, abuse this method of turning off the computer, and then wonder why their computer does not start.

Unplug the cord from the outlet... Caution!!!

The usual action of pulling the plug of an electrical appliance from the socket is not applicable to a computer. No, of course, you can experiment...

But I can’t vouch for the continued normal functioning of the device!

The fact is that during operation, all the necessary data from operating system programs (find out what is operating system and why it is needed at all, you can in) and documents are stored in the computer’s RAM. Primarily used for permanent storage HDD, and to write data to it when turned off, you must follow the correct steps.

A sudden shutdown “from the socket” is an emergency option for stopping the computer, in which system files may be damaged, which will not allow the computer to start the next time.

Imagine that you are thinking about an important task and suddenly fall asleep! About the same effect will happen with a computer.

Similar consequences can occur if the uninterruptible power supply suddenly turns off. If you are not yet “familiar” with this life-saving device, then let’s briefly understand its purpose.

An uninterruptible power supply (aka UPS) can provide continuous power to your computer in the event of a sudden power failure. electric current online. Usually, it is not intended for long-term work, but only allows you to correctly save all open documents, close programs and turn off the computer within a few minutes. All working data will not be lost.

By the way, often in tests on computer literacy there is a question: “When you turn off the computer, all information is erased in...”

Answer: in RAM. Everything is saved on the hard drive.

Forcing the computer to shut down using the power button

You can turn off a frozen computer (which does not respond to keyboard or mouse presses) by pressing the power button (also known as the power button) on the system unit and holding it down. Shutdown will occur after approximately 3-4 seconds of holding the button pressed.

It is also undesirable to abuse this method, since this shutdown option is an emergency and can damage system files and lead to the loss of information important to you.

I use it only when the computer is really hopelessly frozen and does not respond to any actions for 15-20 minutes.

Therefore, I once again draw your attention!

Turning off the computer by unplugging the power cord from the socket, the button on the extension cord, or the uninterruptible power supply (UPS) button without shutting down the operating system correctly will result in the loss of all unsaved data, and eventually in the termination of normal operation operating system.

Modern operating systems will warn you about open programs before shutting down your computer.

Properly shutting down your computer

Preparation before shutdown

To ensure safety open documents and files that you directly worked with, before turning off the computer you need to perform a number of actions:

  • save the results of your work in open source software Oh;
  • remove the disk from the drive, if it is there;
  • close running applications/programs;
  • give a command to turn off the computer using one of the methods that we will discuss below.

How to turn off your computer in Windows 7 via the Start menu.

Click on the button. It's located in the Start menu:

If there are open programs and unsaved documents, after clicking the button, the system will issue a warning asking you to close the programs.

If unsaved documents are not important to you, then you can speed up the shutdown process by clicking on the “Force shutdown” button.

If the documents are important, click the “Cancel” button, save the documents and close the programs and again click on “Shut down” in the “Start” menu

Next, wait until the system unit turns off (the screen will go dark, the system unit will stop buzzing, and the system unit’s power indicator will go out). After which you can turn off the UPS (uninterruptible power supply), if available, or the power strip key.
By the way, to protect your computer, another useful acquisition can be a surge protector (), just don’t confuse it with a simple extension cord!

How to turn off your computer in Windows 8 via the Start menu

To turn off your computer in Windows 8, just click on the start button (usually in the lower left corner of the Desktop). And then click on the computer shutdown icon in the upper right corner of the window.

From the menu that opens, select “Shut down.”

We wait for the system unit to turn off and turn off the power by unplugging it from the outlet or using the surge protector button or on the UPS.

Alternative options

Method 1 - start shutdown by briefly pressing the shutdown button

You can turn off your desktop computer by briefly pressing the power button on the system unit. Further actions in case of open programs, the steps are similar to those described above.

If there are none, the computer will turn off automatically.

A short press on the computer's power button will begin the shutdown process (equivalent to selecting the "Shut Down" option in Windows, as described above).

Method 2 - How to turn off your computer using the keyboard

While on the Desktop, press the key combination “Alt+F4”. A shutdown window appears.

Click the “Ok” button. We wait for the system unit to turn off and turn it off

Turn off the laptop

When turning off the laptop, the methods discussed above are available, but there is an easier way. You simply close its lid. It automatically goes into “sleep” mode, and in case of further prolonged “rest” it will automatically turn off, saving everything stored in RAM to the hard drive. When you turn on the computer again, all data will be restored to the state it was when you closed the laptop lid. This is the default behavior of the laptop, however, it can be changed.

Be careful, your laptop may behave differently when closing the lid!

The behavior of the laptop when the lid is closed can be customized and we will talk about this in a separate article.

Automatic computer shutdown according to schedule (timer)

In your daily interactions with your computer, you may need to turn it off while you are away. For example, the process of copying a CD or defragmenting hard drive, or processing the video file takes a long time, and you need to leave or just go to bed. How to optimally organize the computer shutdown in this case?

There are several options:

  • Some programs have a well-thought-out function automatic shutdown computer after completing the assigned tasks (for example, in uTorrent, Download Master);
  • standard Windows tools allow you to configure shutdown automatically by time;
  • There are third-party programs to automatically shut down your computer.

If you are still wondering what is computer programs, read .

As part of our “dialogue”, we will only consider using the standard “Task Scheduler” of the Windows system to organize the daily shutdown of the computer at a certain time of day. This is convenient, for example, for turning off the computer in the evening or at the end of the working day without your participation.

To start working with this program, go to the “Start” menu -> “Accessories” -> “Utilities”, select “Task Scheduler”.

We left-click on it and in the window that appears, select “Create a simple task...”

We call it arbitrarily, but it is clear to us, the planned action. Click the “Next” button...

We define the task trigger, that is, we set the mode of its execution.

Let's specify the time parameters.

In the next window we determine the required action. We are interested in “Running programs”.

We indicate the command to be executed and its additional parameters.

In the next window, after checking the entered data and clicking the “Finish” button, we will create a new task for the system.

Double-clicking with the left mouse button on it will open the task properties for editing.

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Some users need to configure the computer to turn off by time or even on scheduled days at certain times. The reasons can be different and the most banal one is that you already start watching some movie at night and don’t want the computer to work until the morning if you suddenly fall asleep :) The same function is used by some on TVs and still follows the same rules reason.

And the most interesting thing is that such a function in a computer is far from lying on the surface. It seems like a computer is such an omnipotent device, but such a banal function is hidden somewhere that a beginner will never find it!

So, from this article you will learn how, using a simple command in the Windows console, you can configure the computer to turn off after a certain number of seconds, as well as how to configure the computer to turn off at a certain time on certain days!

Beginners should not be intimidated by the words “Console”, “Command Line” and the like, since we are not talking about programming and other complex tasks! I will show you an example and you will understand everything...

So, now we will look at 2 ways to turn off the computer on time:

    Simple shutdown of the computer after a specified number of seconds;

    Turn off the computer on a specified day and time.

How to set a timer to turn off the computer?

To implement this task, we only need the Windows command line.

Find on any operating system command line you can quickly through the search. For example, in Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7, open the Start menu and type “cmd” in the search at the bottom. The Command Prompt application appears in the list.

If you have Windows 8, then also open “Start”, then click on the search icon on the right:

In the field that appears, type “cmd” and the Command Prompt program will immediately appear in the search results:

And finally, if you have Microsoft's latest Windows 10, the default search icon will be located right next to the Start button. Click it, enter “cmd” and see the “Command Line” application:

To complete our task, you may need administrator rights, and therefore, in order not to later have to look for the reason why shutdown by timer may not work, let’s run the command line as an administrator. To do this, right-click on the program icon and select “Run as administrator”:

You should see a black command line window that looks like this:

Please note that if you have in this window instead of the path " C:\Windows\system32" the path to the user's folder is specified (for example, " C:\Users\Ivan"), then you did not run the command line as an administrator, but as regular user! In this case, it is better to close it and open it again as an administrator.

After the command line has been launched, all that remains is to enter one command correctly and you’re done!

To shut down and restart your computer, use the “shutdown” command in the Windows command line.

Type the following on the command line:

Where 3600 is the number of seconds after which your computer will shut down. If you press the “Enter” button on your keyboard now, your computer will be turned off in 1 hour, since one hour is exactly 3600 seconds. It’s very easy to calculate :) We know that there are 60 seconds in one minute, and since there are also 60 minutes in an hour, we multiply 60 by 60 and get 3600. For example, 1 hour 20 minutes is 4800 seconds.

Now regarding these characters “/s” and “/t”.

These are the 2 parameters that I specified for the shutdown command. The “/s” parameter means that the computer should shut down, and not reboot or simply log out. For example, to reboot you need to specify “/r” instead of “/s”. The “/t” parameter allows you to set the time before the command is executed. For example, if we specified the command without “/t”, i.e. like this “shutdown /s”, then the computer would turn off instantly.

Now, I think you understand everything. Just enter your time until you turn off your computer and press “Enter”!

The command line window will close and the timing will immediately begin. You will receive a warning message, for example:

A warning of this format is issued when there are only a few minutes left before the computer turns off.

But if you have set a long timer, for example, for an hour or more, then when it starts, you will simply receive a notification in the system area:

If you suddenly decide to cancel the timer, then you need to enter the command line again and run the following command there and press “Enter”:

At the same time, you will receive a notification in the system area that the scheduled shutdown has been cancelled:

This is what it looks like simple circuit turning off the computer using a timer.

Now let's look at a more interesting option - how to delay turning off the computer for a certain day and specified time.

How to configure the computer to turn off on the desired day and time?

To implement this feature, we need the system utility “Task Scheduler” and “Notepad”.

Through the Windows Task Scheduler, you can schedule the execution of any program on a specific day and time, and even set a recurring task for different periods, for example, daily, weekly.

There is only one catch: you won’t be able to open the command line through the scheduler, as was done, and enter a shutdown command there. This is because to run we need some kind of file that can be specified in the scheduler and which will contain a command to turn off the computer.

This issue can be resolved very simply! You need to open notepad, write “shutdown /s /t 000” there, resave Text Document to a file with the extension “.bat” (for example, “Shutdown.bat”), then point to this file in the task scheduler.

Now let’s look at it in detail, point by point:

    Open Windows Notepad. It is available by default in any Windows system and can be found in the “Start” menu, in the “Accessories” category, or by searching Windows and typing “Notepad”.

    In notepad we write: shutdown /s /t 000.

    Here, using the “shutdown” command, we specified the action to shut down/restart the computer or log out of the system.

    With the “/s” parameter we specify the action - shutdown the PC!

    With the “/t” parameter we specify the timer before shutdown - 0 seconds and this means that the computer will turn off instantly without delay.

    This is how it should look:

    Resave the notepad file into a file with the extension “.bat”. To do this, in Notepad, click “File” > “Save As”.

    In the save window, indicate the location where the file with the command to turn off the computer will be stored, after which we indicate any file name, but make sure there is “.bat” at the end and not “.txt”:

    For example, like mine - “Shutdown.bat”. The name before “.bat” can be anything!

    If you saved the file correctly, it will look like this on the system:

    If it looks like a regular text document, then you most likely forgot to specify the ".bat" extension when saving, so please do this step again.

    What is this BAT file such? A file with the “.bat” extension allows you to execute Windows commands one after another, as well as various scripts. In our case, only one command is written - turn off the computer immediately.

    Open the task scheduler and configure the launch of the created Bat file.

    The task scheduler is also built into all Windows systems by default and can be found by searching or through the control panel: “Control Panel” > “System and Security” > “Administrative Tools”.

    This is what the task scheduler looks like:

    In it on the right, in the “Actions” window, open the “Create a simple task” item:

    The wizard for setting up the scheduled task will open, where you need to go through several steps. In the first window that appears, enter the name of the task, for example, “Turn off the computer” and click “Next”:

    At the next step, you need to note when the planned task will be executed? It depends on when you want to turn off your computer. For example, you can configure a task to run daily and then you will need to specify the execution time. You can set up a weekly shutdown and then you can select specific days and times to complete the task.

    And if you just want to set up a one-time setup to turn off the computer on a certain day and time, then select the “One time” option.

    Now, depending on which shutdown period you set in the previous step, you will need to specify the shutdown month/days/time. If you specified a one-time execution of the task (“One time”), then you only need to select the shutdown day and time.

    You can enter the date manually using numbers or select it using a calendar.

    Having configured the shutdown date and time, click on the “Next” button:

    At the next stage, we select an action for the task. Check “Run the program” and click “Next”:

    In the next window, select our created file with the extension “.bat”, which contains the shutdown command. Click on the “Browse” button and select this file on your hard drive, then click “Next”:

    In the last window, select the item marked in the image below and click “Finish”:

    This option means that after clicking “Finish”, an additional properties window for the created task will open. We need this to enable the program to run with administrator rights.

    A window will open in which, on the first “General” tab, check the “Run with highest rights” item at the bottom and click “OK”:

All! The scheduled task has been created. Now, as soon as the date and time you specified arrives, the computer will immediately turn off.

If you suddenly want to change any parameters of a scheduled task, then open the task scheduler again, select “Task Scheduler Library” on the left side of the window, right-click on the task you created in the list in the center, and select “Properties” from the menu that opens :

A window will open where, on several tabs, you can change all the parameters that you configured!

In this way, you can configure the computer to turn off by time (timer), as well as schedule the shutdown for any day and time, and even set up the task to be performed regularly. I am sure that this opportunity may be useful to someone.

See you in the next articles :)

Surely every PC user sooner or later wondered what would be nice if the computer itself could stop working at a strictly defined time that we need.

Such a useful function may, for example, be needed when we download movies at night and go to bed, because it is no secret that in many regions of Russia night Internet traffic is much cheaper than daytime traffic or is not charged at all.

And in this case, we will have to try hard not to oversleep in the morning in order to turn off the PC in a timely manner and stop downloading files.

We may also simply forget to turn off our computer when we are late, for example, for work. In general, as they say, cases are different. Therefore, the function of automatically turning off a PC is absolutely necessary for everyone.

Setting a timer to automatically turn off your computer is an easily solved problem

In fact, there are an incredible variety of ways to solve this problem - from the built-in tools of the Windows operating system (all configurations - 7, 8, 10) to programs specially developed for this purpose.

The simplest and most accessible methods of how to set a shutdown timer on a computer or laptop and where you can download such a shutdown timer for free in Russian will be discussed in this article.

Set the shutdown timer using Windows tools

Probably the most accessible ways Timer settings for automatically shutting down our computer are provided in the operating system itself useful tools to resolve this issue. I'll tell you about the two simplest of them.

Method 1. Set the timer via the command line

So, first we need to open the command line. This can be done in two ways - either through the “Start” menu - “All Programs” - “Accessories” - “Run”, or by simultaneously pressing two “R + Win” keys on the keyboard.

Call up the “Run” window by simultaneously pressing “R” and “Win”

In the window that appears, enter the following: “ shutdown -s -t N."

Attention! N is the time value in seconds before the required automatic shutdown of the computer.

Let's say we need the PC to turn off after 10 minutes, therefore, through simple mathematical calculations in our heads, we get the value N = 600 seconds. We substitute this value into our formula “ shutdown -s -t 600″, which we enter in this form into the “Run” window, as shown in the photo:

Write the required command in the “Run” line

Thus, there are 10 minutes left before the computer automatically turns off. After this time, the PC will be turned off and all programs will be closed. In this case, we will be given the opportunity to save our work, as is done when we normally end the session and turn off the computer manually.

Note: In order to force all programs to close when the scheduled time expires, we add the “-f” parameter to our formula.

For forced shutdown computer without saving open documents, add the “-f” parameter

If for some reason you change your mind about turning off the computer using the set timer, then you can cancel your action by calling the command line again, in which you now need to enter the command “ shutdown -a".

After executing this command, we will see a pop-up window indicating that the automatic shutdown of the computer has been cancelled.

Naturally, this method of starting a timer is not entirely convenient for regular use. Therefore, it can be easily improved if you follow these instructions:


Note: In order to change the shortcut icon to any other one of your choice, right-click on our shortcut, then select “Properties”, then “Change Icon”.

Method 2: Windows Task Scheduler will help you shut down your PC automatically

Another simple way to set a time to automatically shut down your computer is to use the Windows Task Scheduler. To implement it, follow the step-by-step guide:

  1. Simultaneously press the “Win” and “R” keys and call the command line;
  2. In the line that appears, write the command “ taskschd.msc" and click “Ok”, thus calling the Windows system task scheduler;

    In the “Run” window, write the command “taskschd.msc” and click “OK”

  3. In the menu on the right of the “Task Scheduler”, select the option “Create a simple task”;

    In the task scheduler, click “Create a simple task”

  4. Now come up with a name for the task and click “Next”;
  5. We indicate the task trigger, for example, “one time” and click “Next”;
  6. Now set the date and time to run the task and click “Next”;
  7. Next, select the desired action - “Run the program”, continue “Next”;

    Select “Run a program” and click “Next”

  8. The last window of the Task Scheduler “Run a program” appears and the line “Program or script”, where we enter the command “shutdown”, and in the line “Add arguments” we write “-s”, click “Next”.

    Fill in the lines “Program or script” and “Add arguments”

Now strictly in specified time The task scheduler will run the program to automatically shut down the computer.

Universal timer programs for turning off a PC

Above we looked at ways of how, without resorting to third party programs, but only by means of the Windows system itself to achieve automatic shutdown of the computer or laptop at the appointed date and time. Now it’s worth telling that software, which will help solve this problem even easier.

The PowerOff program will help you cope with the task

And the first program that we will look at will be a small universal utility with a timer function PowerOff.

A multifunctional panel opens before us, with the help of which you can carry out not only a programmed shutdown of the computer, but also many other tasks.

Install the Shutdown Timer on your computer

After installation, a program shortcut appears on our screen, and the utility itself starts automatically.

The Timer interface is simple and concise, and in general the program is quite nice and copes with the functions assigned to it very well.

SM Timer will turn off your computer at the right time

Managing the program is incredibly simple - you just need to set the desired time and click the “OK” button, the utility takes care of the rest.

How to set an automatic shutdown timer for Windows - video

Turning off a computer using a timer is a very typical task that many users face. However, not everyone knows how this problem can be solved. In this article we will talk about how to turn off your computer using a timer in Windows 7, 8, 10 and XP. To solve this problem we will use the command line, task scheduler and third-party programs.

Turn off the computer using a timer using the command line

The simplest and quick way To turn off the computer using a timer is to use the “shutdown” command, which works equally well in Windows 7 and in others Windows versions. This command can be executed from the command line or using the Run menu.

The shutdown command has many parameters that allow you to fine-tune the process of shutting down your computer. Below we will look at the most basic of them:

  • /s – Shut down the computer;
  • /h – Switch to hibernation mode;
  • /f – Forces termination of all open programs without warning the user;
  • /t – Set the timer in seconds.

In order to shut down the computer using a timer using the shutdown command, we need to use the /s (shutdown the computer) and /t (set the timer) parameters. Thus, the command to turn off the computer will look like this:

  • Shutdown /s /t 60

After executing such a command through the Command Prompt or Run menu, the computer will shut down after 60 seconds.

If you want to reboot the computer using a timer, then instead of the /s parameter, you need to use the /r parameter. The same thing with hibernation mode. We use /h instead of /s and the computer, instead of turning on, will go into hibernation mode. You can also add the /f parameter. In this case, shutdown (reboot, hibernation) will begin immediately, and all running programs will be closed without warning the user.

The disadvantage of this method of shutting down the computer is that the shutdown task is created only for one time. If you need to turn off your computer on a timer daily, then you need to use Task Scheduler or third-party programs.

We use the scheduler to turn off the computer using a timer

In operating rooms Windows systems 7, 8, 10 and XP there is a very powerful tool available called Task Scheduler. You can use it to turn off your computer using a timer. To open Task Scheduler, launch the Start menu (or Start screen tiles if you're using Windows 8) and search for "Task Scheduler." You can also launch the Task Scheduler using the “taskschd.msc” command.

After starting the task scheduler, click on the “Create a simple task” button. This button is on the right side of the window.

Then we are asked to indicate when we want to complete this task. You can select "Once" if you want to timer off your computer only once. If you need to turn off your computer using a timer daily or in another mode, then you can choose another option that is more suitable for you.

At the next stage, you need to specify the triggering of this task.

After this we need to enter shutdown command as well as launch options. How the launch parameters of this command are used has already been discussed above.

That's it, the task to turn off the computer using a timer has been created. You can view it in the Assignment Library.

From context menu(right click with the mouse) you can manage the created task.

You can run, complete, disable, delete, or open the job properties.

Programs for turning off the computer using a timer

If the described methods for turning off a computer using a timer do not suit you or seem too complicated, then you can turn off the computer using programs from third-party developers. Below we will look at several such programs.

Powerful free program to turn off the computer using a timer. Using the PowerOff program you can configure almost any little thing. On the other hand, due to the huge number of functions, the interface of this program is too overloaded. Which can be very difficult to figure out.

A small program to turn off your computer. The Switch Off program is equipped with a small number of functions and has an easy and intuitive interface. The program is equipped with a built-in web server that allows you to turn off your computer by local network or via the Internet.

The developer of this program for turning off the computer using a timer claims to support only Windows 7, 8 and XP. Although it should work on Windows 10 without problems.

Automatic shutdown of the computer is an extremely useful option that will help you out more than once. It comes in handy in cases where your PC or laptop is busy with a long process and you need to leave. In this case, you can configure the computer to turn off - when the desired operation is completed, it will turn off on its own. And you can calmly go to bed, go to work or do your other things.

Most often, configuration is required if you:

  • check your PC for viruses;
  • convert video files;
  • install a computer game;
  • download large files;
  • copy important data, etc.

There are many options here, but the point should be clear.

The first is using built-in Windows tools. The second is using additional software. Read about the last method here:. And this article describes everything possible ways configure the computer to turn off at a specified time using built-in Windows tools.

All the methods below are universal and work on Windows 7, 8 and 10. Therefore, no matter what operating system you have, you can schedule your computer to shut down in any convenient way.

Setting your computer to turn off automatically

The first method on how you can enable automatic shutdown of a computer or laptop is to use the “Run” section. For this:

The following window will appear confirming that everything was done correctly.


The number 3600 is the number of seconds. It can be anything. This particular command activates the automatic shutdown of the PC after 1 hour. The procedure is one-time only. If you need to turn it off again, you must do it again.

Instead of the number 3600, you can write any other number:

  • 600 – shutdown after 10 minutes;
  • 1800 – after 30 minutes;
  • 5400 – in an hour and a half.

I think the principle is clear and you can calculate the required value yourself.

If you have already activated the computer to shut down and for some reason changed your mind, then call this window again and write the line shutdown -a . As a result, the scheduled automatic shutdown will be cancelled. If everything is done correctly, the following message will appear.


Shutting down the computer via the command line

Another very similar method is through the command line. To enable this option:


If you suddenly change your mind about performing this operation, then open this window again and enter – shutdown -a.


This command only works when you have already set the time to turn off the computer, but it has not yet arrived.

By the way, if this procedure needs to be performed regularly, then there is an easier way. To avoid opening the Run window or Command Prompt, create a shortcut (for example, on your desktop). And in the “Object Location” field write the following line C:\Windows\System32\shutdown.exe -s -t 5400(the number can be any). Click Next, then enter a name for the shortcut and click Finish.


Now, when you need to set your computer to shut down, just click on this shortcut. And this option is immediately activated (you will see a confirmation message).

For convenience, you can create another shortcut to remove turning off the computer (in case you need it). But here you need to write down the following: C:\Windows\System32\shutdown.exe -a(no period at the end).


Turn off the computer according to schedule

And the last method is to turn off the computer by time using the “Scheduler”. Suitable if you need to perform this procedure regularly: daily, weekly, etc. In order not to constantly launch the command line, you just need to set the time to turn off your computer or laptop once and that’s it.

To do this:

  1. Go to Start – Control Panel – Administrative Tools.
  2. Select Task Scheduler.
  3. In the right column, click on “Create a simple task”.
  4. Enter a name that you understand - for example, “Automatic shutdown of PC”.
  5. Indicate how often this procedure should be performed (if once, then it is better to choose one of the methods for automatically turning off the computer described above).
  6. Configure the shutdown of your computer or laptop (specify the start time and date).
  7. Select the first item - “Run program”.
  8. In the “Program” field, write shutdown , and in the “Arguments” field - -s -f (the -f switch forces programs to close in case they suddenly freeze).
  9. Click the "Done" button.


This is how you can set the computer shutdown time. Daily or monthly settings are carried out in approximately the same way. Some fields will be different, but there is nothing complicated there – you’ll figure it out.

What should I do if I need to edit or delete this task? In this case, go back to the “Scheduler” and open the “Library” tab. Find your task in the list here (by name) and double-click with the left button.


In the window that opens, go to the “Triggers” section and click on the “Edit” button.



If you no longer need to shut down your PC on a schedule, then go to the “Library”, select your task, right-click, and then click “Delete”.


A few words in conclusion

Many modern programs have a checkbox “Turn off the PC after finishing the procedure.” Most often, it is available in those utilities that take a long time to complete their work - for example, disk defragmentation, scanning a laptop or computer for viruses, etc.

Be sure to check that each program has this checkbox. If it is, then you will not need to configure the PC to turn off at a time. It's much easier and more convenient. If it is not there, then you will have to configure it manually.

By the way, how to correctly calculate the time when you need to turn off your PC? Usually programs show an approximate value when a specific procedure (virus scan or defragmentation) will be completed. Look at it and add another 20-30% (or more) on top. In any case, your PC will be turned off before you wake up in the morning or come home from work in the evening.

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