Buzz
Learn how to quickly turn off your Windows computer using shortcut keys.
Important Information
Here are some keyboard shortcuts to shut down your PC:
Follow these steps to shut down your computer using keyboard shortcuts:
Using the Alt + F4 Shortcut
Press Alt + F4 on your desktop or in any active window to initiate shutdown.
Click the Shut down option.
Click OK to confirm and shut down your computer.
Using Control + Alt + Delete
Using Ctrl + Alt + Del
Click the Power button in the bottom-right corner to access power options.
Click Shut down to turn off your computer immediately.
Using Windows Key + X
Press Win + X to open a menu on your screen.
Click Shut down or sign out. This action will expand the section.
Click Shut down. This will shut down your computer immediately.
Using the Power Menu
Click the Power button. This will open a pop-up menu.
Click Shut down. This action will immediately shut down your computer.
Using Hard Shut Down
Hold down the Power button. Keep holding it until the screen goes black and you no longer hear the fans spinning.
- Use this method if your computer is frozen and you can't use the screen or keyboard shortcuts.
Creating a Shortcut for Shut Down
Right-click on your desktop. This will open a pop-up menu.
- Use this method if you want to create a shortcut icon for shutting down your computer or laptop.
Hover over 'New', then click Shortcut. This action will open a new window.
Type the shutdown code in the location field. Copy and paste the code below into the location field:
- %windir%\System32\shutdown.exe /s /t 0
Give your shortcut a name. You can choose a simple name like Shut down.
Click Finish. Your shutdown shortcut is now created.
Right-click the shortcut and select Properties. This action will open the Properties window.
- If you are not on the Shortcut tab, click on it to navigate there.
Assign a Shortcut key. By default, the Shortcut key field shows None.
- To change the key, click the Shortcut key field.
- The shortcut will be CTRL + ALT + a key of your choice. Press the desired key on your keyboard.
- Choose a letter from A-Z or a number from 0-9. Avoid keys that need 'Shift' to enter.
- To change the shortcut icon, click Change Icon….
Click Apply, then OK. You can locate this at the bottom-right corner of your window. This action will save your changes.
Use a Shortcut key to shut down your computer. For instance, if you choose the letter K, the shortcut will be CTRL + ALT + K.
- Your computer will shut down.
- You can also utilize Notepad or the Command Prompt to turn off your PC. If you have Remote Registry Service enabled, you can even shut it down remotely.
