Users often encounter the auto-shutdown problem. It occurs when you need to download large files at night, when it is profitable to do this, since providers provide unlimited traffic at this time. If the download ends at three in the morning, then the computer is uselessly idle until the morning.

You may also need to turn off your computer when you are at work, for example at 11 pm or later. It may well be that you want to watch a movie in the evening, but it needs to be converted to another format. This task may take time. Then, before leaving for work, you launch the converter and a program that somehow instructs the computer to turn off after a certain time.

Some programs that run for a long time have a function to shut down the computer, but unfortunately, not all. Here we will look at how to solve this problem, first by means of the operating system. It's very simple.

How to set a sleep timer using Windows

Windows 10 OS has a shutdown utility that can be launched from the command line. This program is included in the system out of the box; you don’t need to search for or install it. You can use this method at any time if you have administrator rights, and for any home user this is always the case. The command itself in this case looks like this:

shutdown -s -t 3600

shutdown /s /t 3600

and means the computer turns off after an hour (the time is indicated in seconds. To make it clearer, let’s look at a practical example of shutting down using shutdown. You don’t have to rack your brains, it’s all very simple.

Let's say that in the evening you gave your computer the task of downloading large files. Knowing the size of the files and the speed of your network, you confidently expect that everything will be ready at three in the morning. Someone needs to turn off the computer. But at this time you will be sleeping and do not want to be disturbed. Then you need to do the following.

Look at the clock:

Since the shutdown utility requires time in seconds, there is a slight inconvenience. We need to solve a small arithmetic problem. It's a quarter past ten, or twenty-two fifteen in military style. Until three o'clock in the morning four full hour and another forty-five minutes. You need to calculate the number of minutes and convert it to seconds:

We set the shutdown after the calculated number of seconds. To do this, in the Start menu, find the command processor cmd.exe and run this program. A window will appear with command line and we are ready to start the timer. Let's enter the command name and specify the keys. The /s switch (or -s as in Unix) tells the computer to shut down. If you want to put it into hibernation mode while saving the session, then just use h (from the word hibernate) instead of s.

The /t (time) switch indicates the delay time, in our case it is 17100 seconds. If we hesitate a little, the computer will turn off a little later, but this does not matter in this case.

It must be said that the same thing could be done using the Windows Task Scheduler by adding a new task to its schedule. But this way is unlikely to be better, even if it saves us from counting time. You will have to click the mouse several times more, and in the end, everything will come down to calling the same shutdown -s, only without specifying the time (it is already known to the scheduler).

Another way to solve the problem on the command line:

at 3:00 shutdown -s

The task will appear in the scheduler. What could be simpler? Unfortunately, the at command is not considered safe because it can be used to schedule unexpected actions. But a home user has nothing to worry about if his system is protected by a firewall and antivirus software.

How to disable auto shutdown

If for some reason you decide to do without auto shutdown, then this is also very easy to do. We cancel the existing task with the command:

shutdown -a

shutdown/a

We proceed similarly to the previous section, launch cmd.exe and issue the appropriate command in its window. The task is canceled and the computer will not turn off, but will continue to work as if nothing had happened.

Review of programs for auto-shutdown of the computer

Surprisingly, many users still have some kind of superstitious fear of the command line. For them, software developers create windowed applications that do the same thing, but from GUI. Such utilities can also have a number of conveniences, for example, not just setting the number of seconds, but indicating the time, which, of course, is noticeably more convenient for users.

Ultimately, they also need to be configured to turn off the PC in the desired manner and at the right time. The PowerOff program is quite popular, but not among those who like simplicity. This program has many functions, but also a rather confusing interface with seven tabs.

If your task is only to turn off the computer at a given time, then you can easily do this using uSleepTimer. This one is very simple program requires you to specify the time AFTER which you need to turn off the computer. Another inconvenience.

The OffTimer program is very simple and requires you to specify the time at which the computer should be turned off. It is very comfortable. Unfortunately, it shuts down the machine without saving application data. But it is better for the user to decide for himself. If he is confident that his task will be solved by the specified time, then he can be calm.

The SM Timer utility does the same as the previous one, but allows you to choose between IN and THROUGH. The time can be set using the sliders or by clicking on the “up” or “down” buttons. This and the two previous utilities do not require installation due to their simplicity. There are a lot of similar programs on the Internet. They help users who want to use computers but are not at all interested in them and want to get solutions to their problems in the simplest ways.

The Windows 10 operating system has a feature that allows you to start a timer to shut down your computer after a specified time. Shutdown Windows computer 10 will happen automatically, without user intervention.

The Windows 10 computer shutdown timer performs a complete system shutdown; it does not put the PC into sleep or hibernation mode. This ability to turn off the computer is often sought after by users for various reasons.

It often happens that the user needs to go away, but work on the PC is not yet completed. At the same time, it is not possible to interrupt the execution of any actions, due to the specifics of the operations being performed.

For example, a large file is downloaded to a computer; this process takes quite a long time, and the user cannot, for some reason, wait until the file download is completed. After a forced shutdown of the PC, the download will have to start again, which is not very productive.

The way out of this predicament is to turn off the computer at a time preset by the user. Personal Computer will automatically complete the job after a certain amount of time, enough to complete the current job.

How to set a computer shutdown timer in Windows 10? The operating system has built-in tools to perform this task. The user can use alternative option: third party applications.

In this article we will look at instructions on how to set a timer to turn off your computer using system tools. Most methods assume that the user will need to set a certain period of time, after which the system will shut down.

There are options where you can set a specific time to turn off your PC. You will also learn how to disable the computer shutdown timer if you no longer need to shut down.

How to set a timer to turn off a Windows computer using the “Run” command - method 1

By performing a certain task, you can set the time to turn off the computer.

1. Press the “Win” + “R” keys on your keyboard.
2. In the Run dialog box, enter the command: “shutdown -s -t X” (without quotes). “X” is the time in seconds until the system shuts down.
3. Click on the "OK" button.

A message will appear on the right side of the screen near the notification area informing the user that the Windows 10 session has ended after a specified period of time.

How to disable computer shutdown in Windows 10 using a command in the Run window

Plans can suddenly change and you no longer need to turn off your computer. In this case, you need to run another command to cancel the automatic shutdown of the PC.

1. To open the Run window, press the Win + R keys simultaneously.
2. In the Run window, enter the command: “shutdown -a” (without quotes).

The scheduled automatic shutdown of the operating system will be cancelled.

How to turn off your computer using a Windows 10 timer using a shortcut - method 2

If the previous method causes certain difficulties for the user, you can simplify the task by creating a special shortcut to start a countdown timer until the PC shuts down.

1. Right-click on the Desktop.
2. From the context menu, select New and then Shortcut.
3. In the “Create Shortcut” window, enter the path to the location of the object “C:\Windows\System32\shutdown.exe -s -t X” (without quotes). “X” is the time in seconds before the computer turns off.
4. Click on the "Next" button.

1. In the next window, enter a custom name for the shortcut. For the shortcut name, choose something clear, such as “Shutdown PC” or the like.
2. Click on the "Done" button.

The created shortcut will appear on the computer desktop.

It makes sense to choose an image for the shortcut so that the purpose of the shortcut is visually clear to the user.

1. Right-click on the shortcut.
2. In the context menu that opens, select “Properties”.
3. In the shortcut properties window, open the “Shortcut” tab, and then click on the “Change icon...” button.
4. In the warning window, click on the “OK” button.
5. In the “Change Icon” window, select the appropriate icon, and then click on the “OK” button.

1. In the "Shortcut Properties" window, click the "OK" button.

The shortcut on the Desktop for turning off the system by timer will change its icon.

Now, to start the time countdown, you just need to double-click on the shortcut on the Desktop.

You can change the timer start time as follows:

1. Right-click on the shortcut, click on “Properties”.
2. In the “Properties” window, in the “Shortcut” tab, in the “Object” field, change the time in seconds to another time period.

1. Click on the "OK" button.

How to turn off the computer shutdown timer in the shortcut properties

To disable scheduled shutdown using a special shortcut on the Desktop, follow these steps:

1. Right-click on the shortcut and select “Properties” from the context menu.
2. In the “Properties” window, in the “Shortcut” tab, in the “Object” field, remove after “shutdown.exe” the symbols “-s -t X”, where “X” is the time in seconds before the computer turns off.
3. Instead, add a space followed by the "-a" argument. The path to the object should look like this: “C:\Windows\System32\shutdown.exe -a” (without quotes).
4. Click on the "OK" button.
5. Double-click on the shortcut to cancel automatic shutdown of the operating system.

Shutdown the computer using the command line - method 3

The user can start a timer to shut down the system from the command line.

Launch Command Prompt in Windows 10. With default settings, Command Prompt is hidden in the Start menu. Therefore, read how to open the Command Prompt in Windows 10 in different ways.

In the command prompt window, enter the command, and then press the “Enter” key on your keyboard:

Shutdown -s -t X

“X” is the time in seconds before the PC turns off.

After the command is executed, the countdown will begin until shutdown windows 10.

If you need to set an exact time to shut down the system, enter this command:

At XX:XX shutdown /s /f

Instead of "XX:XX", enter a suitable exact time, for example "23:30".

Cancel system shutdown via command line

To cancel shutting down your computer, follow these steps:

1. Launch Command Prompt.
2. In the command line interpreter window, enter the command and press the Enter key:

shutdown -a

Starting the PC shutdown timer in Windows PowerShell - method 4

In this way, you can automatically shut down the system in Windows PowerShell:

1. Open a Windows PowerShell window, for example from the Start menu.
2. Execute the command, press "Enter":

shutdown -s -t X

“X” is the time in seconds before the computer turns off.

How to stop your computer from automatically shutting down in Windows PowerShell

To cancel a Windows session logout Windows window PowerShell type the command and then press Enter:

Shutdown -a

Turning off the computer using a timer in Windows 10 using a bat file - method 5

Another way is to automatically turn off the PC after a specified time using the executable batch file with the extension ".bat". The user needs to create a special "bat" file and then run it to start the countdown timer until the system shuts down. We will create a file using Notepad. Enter one of the following codes into the Notepad window:

Shutdown.exe -s -t X -c "message text" shutdown.exe -s -t X

“X” is the time in seconds before Windows shuts down. Instead of the text: “message text”, you need to enter some text on English language, for example, “computer off timer”, which will be displayed on the computer screen.

When using the second command, the display will not display a warning about automatic shutdown of the system.

Save the file, select “All files” in the “File type” field, and name the file with the “.bat” extension in the “File name” field, for example, “Shutdown PC.bat” (without quotes).

At the desired time, click on the created file to start the computer shutdown timer.

Automatic shutdown of the system in the Task Scheduler - method 6

Using the Task Scheduler, you can schedule an exact time to automatically shut down the Windows 10 operating system.

1. You will need to launch the Task Scheduler in one of the following ways.
2. In the application window, in the “Actions” column, click on the “Create a simple task...” option.

1. The Create a Simple Task Wizard will launch. In the “Create a simple task” window, in the “Name” field, enter any name for the task, for example, “Shutting down the PC” (without quotes).
2. In the “Task Trigger” window, activate the “One time” option to run the task once.
3. In the Once window, select a date and time to automatically turn off your computer.
4. In the Action window, select the Run a program option.
5. In the next “Run a program” window, in the “Program or script” field, enter the full path to the file, or select the file using the “Browse...” button:

C:\Windows\System32\shutdown.exe

1. In the "Add arguments (optional)" box, enter "-s" (without the quotes).

1. The Summary window displays all the settings for the scheduled task; click the Finish button to run the task.

How to turn off the computer shutdown timer in Task Scheduler

In the Task Scheduler window, in the left column, click on the “Task Scheduler Library” option. In the list of tasks by task name, find the task to turn off the PC at the scheduled time.

Right-click on the task, and then select “Disable” from the context menu that opens.

Conclusions of the article

If the user needs to automatically shut down the computer running Windows system 10 after a certain time, you can use system tools: by entering a command in the “Run” window, creating a special shortcut, executing commands in the command line or in Windows PowerShell, using an executable “.bat” file, create a task to turn off the PC in the Scheduler tasks.

Experienced PC and Internet user

I am more than sure that many of you have not thought about what methods exist quick shutdown computer. Whatever, clicked “Shut Down” and you were done. But there are situations when the PC freezes, the Start menu glitches, etc.

For such cases, we will tell you how you can turn off your computer under Windows control 10 (some methods are also relevant for previous versions of the operating system).

Method 1. Using the additional menu Start

Few people know that the auxiliary menu has returned in the latest editions of Windows. Start. To open it, right-click on the icon.

Method 2: Using a desktop shortcut

To avoid going to the Start menu, you can create a special shortcut to turn off your PC on your desktop.

To do this, click on free space on the desktop with the right mouse button, Create -> Label. Enter this text %windir%\System32\shutdown.exe /s /t 0 into the field. We complete the creation of the shortcut. After this, you can double-click to turn off your PC.

Method 3. Using hotkeys

There is another option to quickly turn off your PC. To do this, just press the key combination Alt+F4. In the context menu, you can choose to either switch to sleep mode or turn off the computer. Next time, just press Enter and your PC will shut down.

Method 4: Reconfiguring the power button

Most quick way- press the power button. There are 2 modes, programmable and emergency. Use the latter only if your PC is frozen - press the power button for about 5 seconds, the computer suddenly turns off.

Programmable way:

Step 1. Let's go to Control Panel -> All Control Panel Elements -> Power supply.

Step 2. Open the tab What the power buttons do.

Step 3. Let's go to Change settings that are currently unavailable.

Step 4. Select “Shutdown” and click save.

That's it, these 4 methods will help you turn off your computer faster.

The Windows 10 computer shutdown timer is a convenient option for users who often leave working or downloading processes while they are away or asleep. It allows you to set the moment when the equipment will automatically turn off. This is necessary when you download programs at night, limit the time your child plays on the PC while you are away, or simply to save energy.

There are three ways to determine the duration of the shutdown.

Command execution window

You can set the shutdown using shutdown commands, which sets this “alarm clock”.

1. Press +[R] at the same time.
2. Enter the line shutdown -s –t and specify the time in seconds. For example, an hour is 3600, 2 is 7200, etc.

1. Click “Ok” to confirm.

In our example, the PC will turn off after two hours.

This is not final as disable the shutdown timer Windows computer 10 can be accessed at any time using the shutdown – a command.

The same actions can be done via the command line.

In the top ten, command options are written using “/”, although the old syntax is also supported.

A warning will appear shortly before shutdown.

You cannot set the Windows 10 computer shutdown timer twice in a row - an error will appear.

Task Scheduler

This convenient service can be used to automate any actions on a PC: you can enter commands in it, specify programs to be launched on time, etc. You can set a timer to shut down your computer on Windows 10 in the scheduler using the same shutdown directive.

1. Open the action window and enter taskschd.msc.

1. In the window, click on the “Action” menu and select create a simple task.

1. Then enter a name for it and click Next.

1. Select the execution frequency. You can run it every day or on certain days, or just once.

1. Specify the time when you want to turn off your computer Windows timer 10.

1. Leave program launch selected.

1. In line "Script/program" enter the shutdown command itself, and specify –s as an argument in the field below.

1. To confirm, click “Done”.

1. Click F 5 to update the data in the window. Yours will also appear among the system tasks.

We see how easy it is to set a shutdown timer for a Windows 10 computer - you only need to know one directive. If you want to know what it is needed for, follow the link and read the article on this topic.

Using this tool, you can write your own bat file, which you specify instead of a directive in the “Script” field. You can specify a set of commands in it, for example, taskkill /f /im<ИМЯ ФАЙЛА ПРОГРАММЫ> will close the specified process, and the familiar one shutdown /s/ organizes computer shutdown Windows timer 10.

Removing a previously created option is even easier:

1. Select a line with one click.

1. Tap the right key on the manipulator.

1. A context menu will appear.

1. Point to "Delete" and click.

You will find out what to do if the SuperFetch service in Windows 10 loads the disk

Many people have had situations when they had to wait for some program on their computer to complete its work. For example: converting video, watching a movie, downloading files, and so on. In fact, you don’t have to wait—you can set a timer to turn off your computer. Today, taking into account the development of various applications and the operating system itself, there are a huge number of ways to configure automatic shutdown of your PC, including built-in Windows capabilities.

In order to configure automatic shutdown of the computer using the console, you must complete the following steps:

1. Open your console. For example, using the keyboard shortcut Win + X. Next, select the highlighted item.

If you have another one installed Windows version 10, then there instead Windows PowerShell will be written.

1. Type the following command.

shutdown.exe /s /f /t 7200

1. Press the Enter key.
2. The following notification should appear in the bottom right corner of the screen.

Team Shutdown has a large number of parameters that allow you to set the instructions you need when turning off or restarting your computer. For example, the number 7200 means after what time the device needs to be turned off. Measured in seconds. 1 hour is equal to 3600 seconds.

Is it possible to cancel shutdown?

It's easy to schedule your computer or laptop to shut down. But sometimes there are times when it is necessary to cancel this command. For example, if you first decided to set the time to 2 o'clock, and then changed your mind and wanted to set a different time.

When re-entering shutdownexe /s/f/t 7200(or any other time) the following message will appear.

To cancel the schedule, enter the following command.

Please note that after each entry you must press the Enter key. Immediately after this, the following notification will appear.

Now you can re-specify the shutdown at any time convenient for you.

It should be noted that when you enter the command shutdown it is not necessary to always specify the extension in the console . exe.

To view additional logout options, simply enter the following statement:

shutdown/?

Shortcut to desktop

If you need to constantly turn off your computer after a certain time interval, then it is recommended to automate this process as much as possible. You can start the sleep timer through a shortcut. It's easy to create. All you need to do is follow these steps:

1. Right-click on the desktop. In the context menu that appears, select items “Create” – “Shortcut”.

1. A shortcut will be created on the desktop. You will be prompted to specify additional parameters.

1. In the highlighted column you need to indicate the following line.

C:\Windows\System32\shutdown.exe /s /f /t 7200

1. Proceed to the next step using the button "Further".
2. In the window that appears, you will be asked to enter a name for the shortcut. The default is the team name. For beauty, you can enter any name convenient for you.

1. Save settings by pressing the button "Ready".

The code described above can be used in other places. For example, in the Run utility. To launch it, press the Win + R keys simultaneously.

Initially, the input field is empty. But if you have already used this program before, then the old command will be saved there. Write the above code here but without the full path.

shutdown.exe /s /f /t 7200

After this, press the Enter key or the button « OK".

As a result, you will see the following notification in the lower right corner of your screen.

If this message is not present, then you have done something wrong.

Delayed shutdown in Windows Scheduler

You can also set the timer in a special system scheduler. To do this, follow these steps.

1. Launch the Run utility as described above.
2. Enter the command there msc and click on the button « OK» .

1. In the window that appears, you need to select the item “Create a simple task...”.

1. Next, specify the name of the task and click on the “ Further".

1. After you click the " Further", you will move to the final stage.

Press Ready. Now your computer will turn off every day at exactly 11 pm.

Please note that you can turn off your laptop in the same way.

Automatically shut down your computer using third-party applications

How to set a timer to turn off a computer on Windows 10 using other programs? You can download a computer shutdown timer on the Internet. There are a lot of such applications. For example:

• Wise Auto Shutdown;
• Airytec Switch Off;
• Sleep timer;
• PowerOff;
• Auto Power OFF;
• SM Timer;
• and many others.

You can download any of them for free in Russian. The timer program works on exactly the same principle as the system scheduler in Windows.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are a large number of methods by which you can restart or shut down your desktop computer or laptop. Choose the option that you like best. If you only need to turn off the device once, then it is not necessary to use a scheduler or any gadgets. It is much more convenient to enter a command into the console than to install an entire application.

Video instruction

If you still don’t understand how to set a timer, then it is recommended to watch a video in which everything is demonstrated step by step with additional comments.