Windows 8 How to, uh, turn Windows 8 off

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(Credit: Screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET) Shutting off Windows used to be a simple matter of clicking the Start button and choosing the "Shut down" option. But the Windows 8 beta has no Start button. So how do you shut it down? Microsoft has concocted a series of manuevers and keyboard shortcuts to shut down the new OS. Though slower and clumsier than going through the Start button, the new ...

Source: Yahoo! News
 
Aw shucks Maynard, I been shuttin' down Winders with just one mouse click for years!
It ain't no big deal!
This little shortcut on yor' desktop will do the trick!

%windir%\System32\shutdown.exe -s -t 00 -f

Jus copy and paste that little line into a desktop shortcut and click on it for a really FAST shutdown.

I've had a Quick Shutdown on my desktop since the Winders 98 days! I thought everybody did. :sorrow:

Cheers Mate!
The Doctor :cool:
 
Help! I cannot shut down my computer. Charms/settings/power, does not work. The shortcut above will not work. I am using the mouse, because swiping my finger down my (new) touch screen on the right side will not bring up charms. Tapping the lower left corner will not do anything. and weather I use my finger or a mouse, sweeping from the top right to left bottom corner will not close apps. It does not matter weather I use the mouse or the screen.
 
Can you sign out of Windows and back in again? This might wake it up a little. If not, open the settings charm, change pc settings and then general. There's a restart in advanced mode button somewhere which will at least get you out of that lock up. Once out you can reboot again back to normal.
 
Thank you for your input. I followed your advice, to no avail. I can sign off, but cannot restart, or turn off the computer. Pressing the "Panic" button, and restarting the computer does not help.
Running:
Windows 8 With Media center, on a Dell Studio 17 with a 1.5 Tb external HD, USB Mouse, remote touch screen monitor and wireless keyboard. Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T6400 @ 2 Ghz, with 4 GB ram. The printer (HP Color Laserjet 2600n) is networked. Drivers for it have been installed. Removing the peripherals and working directly from the touch pad, and built in keyboard did not remedy the problem. UAC has been turned all the way down, and Libraries have been disabled. I have not cleared the index.dat files. I don't know what effect that would have in Windows 8, and I don't want to break it before I start. There are 2 other computers on the network with 6 shared folders total. 1 is running Win 7, and the other is running (Viva Siempre!) XP Media center edition. I have not tried disabling the network. I am NOT, NOT, NOT, using Home Group. I have had no problem transferring files across the network, and don't think that's the problem. I just want to give as much information as possible, in case something small I mention strikes a chord.

I don't know if anyone else is having the same problem, but any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.
 
Try rightclicking on cmd prompt, click run as admin and type:

shutdown -s

Then press enter. Hopefully that'll do the trick.
 
Thanks,
That didn't work either. I thought it might be a stuck TSR, so I uninstalled every program I didn't download from Microsoft. I noticed that there are very few installed programs from Microsoft in Programs and Features, and the Apps don't show up at all.
Now all I'm running is Media center, Office Evaluation Copy, and a few games I downloaded from the Apps store. I left Bonjur. I know what that is, and it should not hurt. There is also a Ricoh Media Driver I also didn't remove, because I didn't know what it is part of. It might be a left over from one of the UPNP servers I was evaluating, but I can't be sure.
I reset the computer after doing this using the "Panic" button. After it came back up, I still cannot shut down or restart. Any other ideas?
Thanks,
Scott
 
Scott could you post some more information like system spec, how windows 8 was installed etc...
 
hehehe, Sure!
"Windows 8 With Media center, on a Dell Studio 17 with a 1.5 Tb external HD, USB Mouse, remote touch screen monitor and wireless keyboard. Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T6400 @ 2 Ghz, with 4 GB ram. The printer (HP Color Laserjet 2600n) is networked. Drivers for it have been installed. Removing the peripherals and working directly from the touch pad, and built in keyboard did not remedy the problem."

I downloaded Windows 8 from the Microsoft site, and did not opt for the trial version. I paid for the key with a credit card. I opted for the clean install, applied for my Media Center Key and downloaded that per the instructions sent with the key. I then downloaded and installed the Office Trial. Anything else you need, Don't hesitate to ask.
 
I flashed the BIOS to the latest version. I had a small scare when the computer didn't reboot automatically. Then I remembered it will not shut down. I restarted it with the "Panic" Button, and after restart tried to shut it down normally. It didn't work. Dell has no software updates listed for my model under Windows 8. In fact, Windows 8 is not listed at all. I tried shutdown -f -s from an elevated command prompt. (Per the article you referred. thanks, worth a shot!) That didn't work either. It did however tend to rule out an errant program running in 8. It was shutting down normally under (Shudder) Vista. Any other Ideas out there?
BTW. Completely closing the Laptop lid does put it to sleep.
sjm
 
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This is most strange. Have you checked your power options in the control panel? Also please post how you installed windows 8. Upgrade or clean install? If you burnt an iso, how fast did you burn it?

I remembered that I have some icons created for shutdown and restart. I used them for preview but still work for the rtm. Just unzip the folder and then right click on each icon and pin to the start. Hope they help.

Oh and can you check the event viewer please.
 

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The install was an upgrade from Vista. The Power settings for Powered is Never on all fronts. The hard drive spins down after two hours. It seems to wake without problems. I'm plugged in while trying to shut down, although I did try unplugging it and tried to shut down while on battery.

I don't know who's not so bright Idea it was to hide the safe mode, but I found it and booted into it. The PC still would not shut down in the safe mode. This rules out quite a bit. On battery, the screen dims after 45 minutes, and the drive turns off after 30. The other advanced options, I left pretty much alone. Thank you for the Shutdown/Reboot files. I will try them tomorrow and update (Depending on what time I get home from work).
Thanks again,
Smee
 
Also try running the system file checker. Right click cmd prompt and run as admin, type:
sfc /scannow
Press enter and await results.

So when you installed win 8 you had downloaded it to your machine and performed the upgrade with it in situ. You didn't burn a disk or use a flash drive? If that is the case then this might be your issue. You might need to burn a disk and actually boot from that and then perform a clean install. I feel you have some corruption from the initial install but i could be wrong.. See how the file checker goes.
 
Well.... Hope you had a happy Thanksgiving. I lost my docking station when I was "asked" to put the laptop up. We hosted Thanksgiving this year, and every table was needed to seat someone.
Well, the System File Check turned up nothing. Others with the same problem are being told the best cure would be a reinstall.
 
I'm actually in the UK so Thanksgiving isn't celebrated here but I appreciate the good wishes all the same and hope you have a happy holidays too. As for the pc issue, it does sound like a clean or custom install should do the trick so good luck with that. Please post if you need further help or advice.
 
A clean install worked. I can now shut down. I'm going to reinstall my programs and Apps one at a time, and see if I can find out which one shot down my shut down. ;)
Thanks for the help - Scott
 
Hi Scott,

glad to hear you managed to cure the issue. If you do find the culprit I'd love to know..
 
It may take some time but I'll let you know if I find anything. I'm going to be slammed for the next two weeks, then pre holiday panic time will be upon us. I'll let you know one way or the other.
 
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