Windows 8 Win 8 CP Shutdown and Restart shortcuts and Tiles

[Medico]

I realize these were mentioned before, but for the life of me I could not find them so I am starting a new thread titled for these. They are important enough they deserve to be able to be found easily.

Add Shutdown and Restart shortcuts to your desktop:

Shutdown:

Right click empty spot on desktop and select New, Shortcut

Copy and paste the following in the Window that pops up:

C:\Windows\System32\shutdown.exe -s -t 00 -f

Click Next and Name this Shutdown, then click Finish

Restart:

Right click empty spot on desktop and select New, Shortcut

Copy and paste the following in the Window that pops up:

C:\Windows\System32\shutdown.exe -r -t 00 -f

Click Next and Name this Restart, then click Finish

The only difference in the 2 commands is the character in red.

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To add these same Tiles on the Metro Start Menu:

Navigate to: C:\Users\[USERNAME]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs

Right Click in this folder and select New Shortcut.

Duplicate the steps for Shutdown and Restart above.

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In each of the above shortcuts you can right click the short cuts and select properties. This will allow you to go to properties and change the icons to something slightly more appealing than the generic icons that Win 8 CP assigns.

These command switches are set as follows:

The -f is an extra command that was added in XP that forced running apps to close prior to a shutdown. This extra command appears not to be necessary in Win 7 or Win 8 but does not hurt to have included.

A list of commands can be found Link Removed. You can see the -r and -s commands as well. As you can see the -t switch sets the timer to 00 seconds (this can be set to what ever you specify in your shutdown/restart command)

 

[OldTimer]

I couldn't have said it any better!
GO TED!

I tried several different times instead of the "00" (Zero-Zero, not Oh! Oh!)
But that stalls the shutdown process with a little window counting down the time to Zero,
before the shutdown can actually take place. Somehow, that seems to just defeat the
whole idea of a "Quick Shutdown". Eh?

I've been using the Quick Shutdown icon, on my desktop, usually right above the START button,
going all the way back to Windows 98. The syntax has changed a little over the years with
different OS's. but the result is the same.

In Win-8, putting the Quick Shutdown icon at the left end of the Taskbar (force of habit) results
in a ONE CLICK shutdown. The official method of doing a shutdown in Win-8 is way beyond the
scope of an average home PC user. They would just turn off the power, in frustration.
Microshaft just HAS to make the shutdown process easier.

Cheers Mate!
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The Doctor

 

[OldTimer]

Addendum:

In my Registry Tweaks, there are several places in the registry, where delays in Shutdown can be removed.
Most people just never go there, and that's OK, but those tweaks DO work.

The following registry script, does two things, it shortens the time to kill services to one second,
(the time is entered in milliseconds, so 1000ms = 1 second) The OS will not accept any entry below 1000.
Then it directs the Kernel to be copied from the hard drive into RAM on boot. That greatly increases the
performance and efficiency of Windows. It's even more pronounced, on laptops that use a slower HD
than the HD's used on Desktop PC'.s.
So, minimizing HD use on a laptop, can greatly improve performance.
Another reason why, RAM should always be maxed out on a laptop.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control]
"WaitToKillServiceTimeout"="1000"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management]
"DisablePagingExecutive"="1"
"LargeSystemCache"="1"

Some so-called Experts have said "OH, that doesn't do any good".
Well, it don't hurt either! Eh?

Cheers Mates!Link Removed
The Doctor

 

[Medico]

I know what the experts say, but the experts also say in many cases that cleaning does not help speed. That may be so as well, but it can't hurt, and it may stop problems in the future between conflicts with leftover stuff in the registry. If these type problems may help, why not do them??? If cleaning may help, why not do it. There was a very detailed discussion on system maintenance in another forum a few weeks ago that was very lively and the general consensus was that this maintenance is a good thing. I also believe these speed up tips may be helpful so I also do them.

Thank you for reminding me of these two. or three.

 

[OldTimer]

I've never been one for running Benchmarking Software. Numbers were just never my thing.
I rely more on the Feel of something than gauges and numbers.

I know the feel of how my own computer runs and I can tell when another computer is running faster or slower.
I don't 'feel' any great improvement in Win-8 over Win-XP-Pro.

But when I sit down to do an install or tune-up on a customer's PC, I can tell whether it's running faster or slower than my own.
So I immediately get a 'feel' for how fast the computer is running. As I perform my Tweaks and tune-up tips, I can see or 'feel' that the computer is running faster. On PC's that have been running for a while, I get comments from my customers, like, "WOW! It didn't run that fast when it was new!". All I can say is "I know."
I spent the last 30+ years, perfecting my Computer Tune-Up and I know it can improve any PC's performance and efficiency.

Many computers are like a pickup truck, running around all the time with a ton of rocks in the bed. The driver gets used to the performance and after a while doesn't even question it any more. Then one day someone comes along and takes out the rocks and 'WOW!', what a difference that makes.

I have a real hard time with those who bad mouth everything that someone else wants to do, Including cleaning up their PC.
I work at least 20 different PC Help Forums and on every one, at least once a week, someone comes on and says that their computer is running "Slow". The answer is almost always the same thing...."Clean up your mess and it will run just like new again".
And at least 7 or 8 out of ten will get indignant and claim that they don't have a mess. BS!
They will want to blame the problem on drivers, or updates or some piece of software.

I recently went to one man's house where his PC was running really slow and the guy said he'd just done his cleanup.
I installed my XPCleanup.bat program with the file counter (it's on my web site) and ran it. It took out over 100,000 junk files, just from the same system folders that are present in every PC.
Then I ran another program that scours every folder on the HD for junk files and took out several thousand more.
Then I installed the Extended Disk Cleanup and got out even more.
There were over 200 pieces of spyware, five trojans and two Viruses, which were removed by AVG, "Spybot Search & Destroy" and "Malware Bytes".

When I got done doing the cleanup, his boot time was down to under one minute, from about 20 minutes and his shutdown time was down from about five minutes to about 8 seconds.
Yes, cleaning up one's mess, does make a difference!*

* If you're going to clean your registry, don't forget to re-compress it after the cleanup.
I use a little (FREE) program, "NTREGOPT" to do the re-compression. It makes the registry smaller, so it takes up less time to load and less space in RAM.
After I removed Office 2007 from my PC, I cleaned and re-compressed my registry and reduced the size by 1/3.
That 1/3 represented just over 30 megabytes.

No brag, just fact!

So Ted, just keep doing what you're doing.

Cheers Mate!
The Doctor

 

[Medico]

Thanks, I forgot about NTREGOPT. Have you tried it on Win 8 CP? Perhaps I will run my cleanup again right now. And I mean the same kind of cleanup you mean. Then I will try NTREGOPT. It works on Win 7, should work on Win 8 CP.

Edit: It does run on Win 8 CP but you get Access Denied errors on several registry hives. Many others optimize fine. Rebooted OK and seems to run fine. I do have a 2 day old Image so I'm pretty safe.

 

[OldTimer]

Oh, I've got a ton of things I've NOT tried yet.
I'll try it though, right after I make a Ghost backup........just in case. lol

I reinstalled Win-8/64 to fix a problem of the OS not wanting to remember where I put my desktop icons.
I think it was one of those Win-7 look a like programs that screwed it up.

So I did the re-install and installed a few of my favorite programs and now my browsers are all screwed up.
Something is causing that and I've not got a handle on just what's doing it.
So I'll re-instal again and see if I can determine what's causing the problems with the browsers. I'll have to document every step, when I first install Firefox and test it, then install one other program and test again, install another program and test again, etc. and write down every step. Once I determine what's causing the problem, I can post one of those "Don't do this....." things.

Laters,
Doc

 

[Medico]

Start a new thread with the problems and solutions. That's the kind of info that deserves an up front title so it's easy to see and find. I know my reinstallation was the 64 Bit version and seems to be working fine at this time.

 

[Medico]

I just Restarted my PC while trying to check my email (2 icons side by side) LOL. I may move the email and browser icons to the Taskbar and off the Quick Launch bar.

 

[Drew]

This arrangement seems to be not too bad, @ least for now. All the stuff @ the left is Quick launch w/ the Shutdown & Restart buttons @ the left end. Tried a few other locations... On the Taskbar, I could not seem to get them to a likable spot.

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Cheers,
Drew

 

[OldTimer]

I'm baaaaaaaaack!

I just did a full re-install in just 13 minutes, complete with a reformat of C:. Boy, this old PC is really cookin' tonight!
This six year old PC never ceases to amaze me!

Anyway, I got right to my desktop screen and ran I.E. and called up this web site. It came up in less than two seconds. VOILA!
Success!

Then I installed Firefox 10.0.2, with NO add-ons. It brought up this forum site in about one second. Voila! More success. This latest version of FF is really FAST, compared to early versions.

Now to make my first Ghost Backup, while everything is still working.
I can do a Ghost restore in about five to six minutes.

I'll be back...…

Doc

 

[Drew]

And to think there are ppl bashing Windows8... go figure

 

[OldTimer]

Ok, another update:

I've added AVG 2012 FREE (64bit version) and Spybot Search & Destroy (latest free version) and both I.E. and FF still working AOK.

Now it's time to make a new System Restore Point.

With that done it's time to add a few more programs.

I'll be baaaaaaaak!
Doc

 

[Drew]

You put AVG & Spybot on Windows8... why??

 

[OldTimer]

Because, That's what I have used for System Security for several years and they keep me and my customers malware free.

Obviously you don't, or you wouldn't ask that dumb question.

You use what you want and I'll use what history has proven to keep me safe. OK?

Don't ask again.

Doc

 

[Drew]

Try to be civil, please.

It was not a dumb question & could (no matter), like any question, be answered, decently, graciously & politely. No need to be nasty w/ people. Try to keep the/your attitude in check. While ppl try to be nice to you.

 

[OldTimer]

Drew, I'm trying to be civil, but I get tired of being questioned or criticized at every turn, about things I do for a living, have done for the past umpteen years and am very successful at it.
You're not stupid, and I'm not saying that but you sure have a lot to learn about how to win friends and influence people.

Don't tell me what software to run to keep my computer and the computers of my hundreds of customers safe and running efficiently and I won't have to seem un-civil. OK?
You run what you want to run and I'll run what I know works and we'll get along just fine. Eh?

The Doctor

 

[Drew]

Except I had only asked "why"... did NOT tell you what to do or not do or passed any judgement. So your whole reaction made/makes no sense & wasn't fitting or nice, @ all. There's no call or grounds for personal insults ("lot to learn about how to win friends and influence people."). Nobody was undermining your freedom "at every turn"... actually not, @ all.

And, I'll remind you, I'm an IT Pro Consultant/Tech w/ my own company & clients. Also, both me & the company are Microsoft Partners. I have been in the business for years but, even so, it's best not to be uppity or egotistical w/ people. Try to just relax.

And, an apology would be in order but, I won't hold my breath.

Cheers,
Drew

 

[catilley1092]

Ok, another update:

I've added AVG 2012 FREE (64bit version) and Spybot Search & Destroy (latest free version) and both I.E. and FF still working AOK.

Now it's time to make a new System Restore Point.

With that done it's time to add a few more programs.

I'll be baaaaaaaak!
Doc

Wished I'd known that you like AVG before I threw away that one that Newegg gave me with a wireless router purchase. It was the full AVG IS 2012.

Didn't run good on one of my PC installs (XP Pro x64), so I uninstalled it & placed it in the best place that I could think of, the trash can. The next time I get one, I'll PM you.

BTW, I normally run ESET Smart Security 5, but am running Avast Internet Security 7 on Windows 8 CP, so far, so good.

Cat

 

[Medico]

Gentlemen,

We all use the S/W we wish to use and that we are accustomed to using on our PC's. The key here is to have a security scheme that works! There are so many people that have no idea about security on their own PC's that it makes no sense to argue about what works for us.

I have found that in my security scheme a multi-layered approach is what works best for me. I use a little of what both of you use, and this seems to work for me. I believe Doc that you have Spybot set for manual scans only if I'm not mistaken, and so don't I. I also have Malwarebytes Antimalware installed and set for manual scans only. I however do use Windows Defender AV/AM as my real time protection as I believe Drew uses. We all use what we feel works for us.

My scheme involves a hardware firewall in my router (Linksys 4200e) a software firewall (presently using the Windows firewall, the aforementioned Windows Defender AV/AM running in real time with signatures updated daily, all Windows updates installed, Spybot Search and Destroy and Malwarebytes Antimalware installed for manual scans periodically.

This security scheme has kept out PC's, my mothers PC and my kids PC's clean and safe so far. I'm not in the business as you gentlemen are, sometimes I wish I were, but I believe I'm doing OK.

I do not believe these things are worth arguing about. We do what we think are correct for us. We do what we are comfortable with. Please let's continue to be civil. I respect both of your opinions very much.