Skip to content
  • Home
  • Emerging Technology & News
  • Computer Help
  • Privacy and Security
  • Reimage Windows Repair
The Reimage Blog
Menu
  • Home
  • Emerging Technology & News
  • Computer Help
  • Privacy and Security
  • Reimage Windows Repair
Facebook Twitter
Home  /  Computer Help  /  How to schedule a Windows 10 shutdown for a specific date and time
PostedinComputer Help Posted on May 18, 2021

How to schedule a Windows 10 shutdown for a specific date and time

Posted By Shannon.Smith

Using the Windows 10’s built-in Task Scheduler, you can set up a process in which a computer will shut down automatically at a specific time.

For many businesses, it’s standard operating procedure for employees to leave their workstation computers on when they leave the office. Typically, at some point later in the evening, those workstation computers will slip into sleep or hibernation mode, which reduces power consumption—at least a little. But what if a business wants to reduce power consumption even more?

In Microsoft Windows 10, it is possible to set up a scheduled shutdown of a PC for a specific time. Theoretically, a computer that is completely shut down will consume less power and save a business considerable amounts of money, as well as reduce its carbon footprint. Arranging an after-hours shut down is accomplished with the aide of the Windows 10 Task Scheduler.

This tutorial shows you how to use the Windows Task Scheduler to start a shutdown sequence for a Windows 10 computer at a specific time.

Schedule a Windows 10 shut down for a specific date and time

Some version of the Task Scheduler application has been part of the Windows Administrative Tool Kit from the operating system’s first release. The Windows 10 version can be accessed by typing “task scheduler” into the desktop search box and then selecting the appropriate result. As you can see in Figure A, the Task Scheduler can perform many tasks and can be a bit intimidating at first glance.

Figure A

a-schedule-win10-shutdown.jpg
Figure A

In the left-hand navigation bar, click on the Task Scheduler Library to reveal a list of currently running tasks on your Windows 10 computer. In the example shown in Figure B, you can see tasks triggered by various events to update Adobe and Google apps, perform Dell maintenance and much more. At any one time, your PC could have dozens of potential tasks set to perform once a given event is triggered.

Figure B

windows10-task-scheduler-update.jpg

Our scheduled shut down is classified as a basic task, so click the Create Basic Task item in the right-hand window to start the creation process (Figure C).

Figure C

b-schedule-win10-shutdown.jpg
Figure B

Give your task a name and a description and then click the Next button to reach the Trigger screen (Figure D).

Figure D

c-schedule-win10-shutdown.jpg
Figure C

There are several choices shown. You could run this shutdown process every day, once a week or perhaps once a month. You can also ask the Task Scheduler to wait for a specific event. For our example, we will choose daily. Click Next when you have made your choice. If you chose daily, you will then be asked to specify a starting date and a time for execution (Figure E).

Figure E

d-schedule-win10-shutdown.jpg
Figure D

After making your choices, click the Next button to reach the Action screen (Figure F). There are three choices on this screen, but the one we will use is Start A Program.

Figure F

e-schedule-win10-shutdown.jpg
Figure E

Click Next to move to the screen shown in Figure G. This is where the main function of our task will be entered.

Figure G

f-schedule-win10-shutdown.jpg
Figure F

Enter “shutdown” into the script box and enter ” -s -f -t 60″ into the Add Arguments box. The arguments are part of the standard settings for the shutdown.exe program. The -s tells Windows to shut down, or you could use -r to have the PC restart instead. The -f forces running applications to close as part of the shutdown process and the -t 60 adds a 1-minute countdown. If you want to make it an immediate shutdown, change that argument to -t 0.

Click Next to reach the Finish screen (Figure H), where you will be presented with a summary of your task and given the opportunity to have the properties dialog open for this task after you click the Finish button.

Figure H

g-schedule-win10-shutdown.jpg
Figure G

When you are satisfied with the setting for your task, click the Finish button to save it and then close out the Task Scheduler. For our example, starting 11/12/2019 at 1:00am, our Windows 10 computer will close any running applications and shut down after a 1-minute countdown.

Sourcelink

Tags: Windows10
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter
Previous Article
Ransomware attackers are now using triple extortion tactics
Next Article
How to Fix Bluetooth Pairing Problems

About Author

Shannon.Smith

Related Posts

  • How to take advantage of Microsoft OneDrive in Windows 11

    March 23, 2023
  • How to easily see your open Chrome tabs on other computers

    March 21, 2023
  • How to Turn on Your Computer From Across the House With Wake-on-LAN

    February 17, 2023
Scan Now

Categories

  • Business
  • Computer Help
  • Emerging Technology & News
  • Privacy and Security
  • Reviews

Reviews

Reimage Social

Security

Popular Posts

  • PCWorld calls Reimage “A Fantastic Repair Utility “ July 26, 2011 Reviews
  • 4 Ways to Keep the Ghouls & Goblins Away From Your PC October 26, 2010 Archive
  • The PC Key to Happiness – A Properly Maintained OS September 2, 2010 Archive
  • Google says hacked websites were attacking iPhones for years September 12, 2019 Privacy and Security

Random Posts

  • Windows Defender crashes: Microsoft fixes bug causing full scans to fail April 17, 2020 Privacy and Security
  • Billions of passwords leaked online from past data breaches June 9, 2021 Privacy and Security
  • Excel is still a security headache after 30 years because of this one feature August 13, 2021 Privacy and Security
  • Reddit and Elon Musk sparked a GameStop stock surge. Why AMC and BlackBerry are next January 28, 2021 Business
© Copyright 2019
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website.Ok