It can happen that, sometimes, you forget your PC turned on and it stays running all night. In this article, we see how to automatically turn off the PC at a scheduled time, appropriately setting Windows 11 and Windows 10.
Let's also see how to avoid and cancel the automatic shutdown if, at the set shutdown time, we were still working on the computer.
Command shutdown to shut down the computer
Let's start with some theory. To shut down the computer, we use the command shutdown. The syntax that we analyze, for the command shutdown, is as follows:
shutdown /s /f /t 600 /c "Messaggio personalizzato!"
where:
- the option /s indicates to turn off the computer (there are also other options for restarting and disconnecting the computer, but they are not relevant to our purpose);
- /f forces the closure of all applications - be careful: data might be lost if we haven't saved our work before leaving the computer! Windows applies the option /f, automatically, if it is indicated a time later /t;
- /t allows you to set a time, in seconds, after which the computer will automatically shut down (in this example, 600 seconds corresponds to 10 minutes);
- /c it gives the ability to customize the computer shutdown message.
Note for Windows 11: the screenshots in this guide were taken with Windows 10. The procedure described, the command shutdown and Task Scheduler are also valid for Windows 11. In Windows 11, the appearance of the Start menu and context menu may differ, as well as the way some tools are accessed.
It is possible to test the command shutdown, at the command prompt. From Menu Start; start the Command Prompt, which is located in Windows system.
from the window that opens type the shutdown, with all the options listed above.
Windows shows the custom warning message and the computer shuts down 10 minutes after the command is executed.
Some applications support automatic recovery of unsaved documents after Windows restarts.
Automatically shut down your PC at a scheduled time
But how do you automatically turn off your PC at a scheduled time, for example at 22:30?
It is very simple. To automatically turn off the computer at a scheduled time, the command must be included shutdown, with all the options indicated above, within theScheduler.
From the Menu Start, start theScheduler, which is located in Windows administration tools.
Set up an activity in theScheduler to turn off the computer at a set time
To automatically turn off the computer at the established time, a new activity must be created. From the window of theScheduler, we click on Create activities.
A new window opens: Create activities. Give the task a name, for example: Automatically turn off the computer. Select option: Run regardless of users' connection. In fact, the automatic shutdown of the computer at the set time must take place independently of the fact that we forgot the open session, or that we are disconnected.
We set the trigger condition of our planned action. Click on the table Activation, then click New.
From the window New activation, we set the time to automatically turn off the PC. As a start date, enter the current day. Select the option Daily. Given that the planned operation is activated: checkbox must be sprouted Activated. To confirm, you can press the OK.
From the table, we can therefore verify that the activity has been planned correctly. We must not press OK, in this window, but continue setting the other table tables.
We enter the command shutdown nell'Scheduler
We click on Actions, then click New.
The new action we set is the command itself shutdown. From the menu OperationChoose Program start. Next, we type shutdown in the text field Program or script. All the arguments and options that we have listed before, must be entered in the Add arguments (optional). For our goal, i.e. automatically turn off the PC at a scheduled time, the arguments are mandatory, and not optional.
To avoid typing mistakes, you can copy/paste texts.
Program or script:
shutdown
Add arguments:
/s /f /t 600 /c "Il computer sta per essere arrestato. Utilizzare l'icona sul desktop per annullare lo spegnimento!"
Press OK to confirm the data just entered.
From the table, we can therefore verify that the action has been inserted correctly. Here too, we must not press OK, but continue setting the other tables of the activity.
Automatically turn off the PC at a scheduled time: if we were still working?
We click on the table Conditions. The first option from which we must remove the check is: Start the activity only if the computer is powered by the electricity network. In fact, if we are using a laptop, we would like it to turn off automatically even (and above all) if it is battery powered.
Furthermore, we can indicate to turn off the computer only when Windows considers the computer to be idle. If we were working, the computer would wait for the idle state before automatically turning off. To automatically turn off the computer at a set time, only if the computer is inactive, click on: Start the task only if the computer is idle.
If, on the other hand, we still want to turn off the computer regardless of the state of use (remember that later I will explain how to create an icon on the desktop to cancel the automatic shutdown of the PC), we remove the check from: Start the task only if the computer is idle.
Again, we don't click on OK, but let's continue on the next table: Settings. Uncheck: Stop if done for longer. Finally we can press OK to save our planned task!
It may be that the computer requires the entry of the password. Type the user's password and click on OK.
Optimal! The planned operation to automatically turn off the computer at a certain time set, is now active and functioning. You can find it by clicking on Task Scheduler Library, along with other tasks that are already scheduled.
Modify or Delete the scheduled automatic shutdown of the PC at a set time
If you change your mind and want to cancel the settings you just made, no problem. You can delete the scheduled operation for the automatic shutdown of the computer. By clicking on Task Scheduler Library, you will find, in the list, the task we just set.
Through the right mouse button, we can decide to click on Property, to modify the task, rather than on Elimination to delete it.
The same commands Property and Remove is available at the bottom right. Changing the properties of the scheduled operation can be useful, for example, to change the set time for automatically shutting down the computer.
Automatically turn off the PC at a scheduled time: the test!
To test the procedure, you can schedule the shutdown a few minutes ahead of the current time. If you configured the task to run only when the computer is idle, allow enough time for the idle condition to be detected.
Reached the scheduled timetable, after the 10 minutes in which we can change your mind (set with the option /t 600 in command shutdown) the computer shows the shutdown screen. This is the shutdown screen of the computer when you are disconnected.
This, on the other hand, is the shutdown screen if you are logged in to your account.
Avoid automatic computer shutdown at the set time
Now let's see the command to cancel the automatic shutdown of the computer, if theScheduler had already started the procedure.
The command to type to cancel the automatic shutdown of the computer is:
shutdown /a
From the Command Prompt, you can try the shutdown /a after typing the power off command.
We can create an icon on the desktop containing the program to cancel the automatic shutdown of the computer at the set time. By right-clicking on an empty area of the desktop, select New and then Connection.
The window opens to create a new link. In the text box Enter the path for the link, type the command:
shutdown /a
Then continue, by clicking on Forward.
Type the name we want to assign to the shortcut, for example: Cancel PC shutdown. Finally, click on Done.
Here is the shortcut created on our desktop! If the computer is about to shut down automatically at the scheduled time, we have 10 minutes to click this shortcut and cancel the automatic shutdown.
By clicking on the new link with the right mouse button, we can view the PropertyFrom this window, we can also change the icon for the shortcut.
In conclusion
We learned how to use the command shutdown to turn off the computer.
Next, we saw how to bind the command shutdown to scheduled operations, to automatically turn off the PC at a scheduled time, both in Windows 11 and in Windows 10.
Finally, we have seen how to cancel the automatic shutdown of the computer.
Surely, we will no longer forget the computer turned on all night!