In order to program the shutdown of a computer running a Windows operating system, no additional software is required. You don't even need to be a programmer for this - all the necessary actions are performed using standard system tools.
Instructions
Step 1
Use the shutdown utility to program a shutdown of the computer. This command must be entered in the command line interface, so press the win + r keys at the same time, type cmd and press enter to open this interface.
Step 2
If you need to schedule a shutdown of the computer after some time, then in the command line, type the command itself and two additional switches: shutdown -s -t. Here, the -s switch means shutdown, and the -t switch - the delay in the execution of the program, and for it you need to enter the delay time interval in seconds after a space. For example, a pause of two hours will correspond to the number 60 * 60 * 2 = 7200. Then press the enter key and the shutdown time will begin.
Step 3
If you need to shut down the computer at a specified time of day, you should use the at command. As its parameters, you need to pass the execution time and the command line, which will be shutdown -s. For example, it might look like this: at 23:15 shutdown -s.
Step 4
Use the Windows Task Scheduler if you need to program a regular (daily, weekly, etc.) shutdown of your computer. To start it, press the win key, open the "All programs" section in the OS menu, go to the "Standard" subsection, and then in the "Service" section select the "Scheduled tasks" line.
Step 5
Double-click the Add Task line and a wizard will start to help you schedule a shutdown.
Step 6
Click the "Next" button in the first window of the wizard, and in the next click on the "Browse" button, go to the system folder of the OS - usually it is called windows. Open the windows32 directory in it, find the shutdown.exe file and click the "Open" button.
Step 7
Select the frequency of the shutdown program by checking the corresponding box. Click the Next button and specify the time of day for this task.
Step 8
Click on the "Next" button and enter twice the password of the user on whose behalf the shutdown command is to be executed.
Step 9
Click the "Next" button one last time, check the "Set advanced options" box and click the "Finish" button. The wizard will create a task and finish its work, and the screen will display the properties window of this task, where in the "Run" field you should add the -s switch to the entry it contains.
Step 10
Close the properties window by clicking OK. This completes the programming procedure for the regular shutdown of the computer.
