How to Make a Shortcut to Shutdown on Windows Vista

One click shutdown

Irritated that the shutdown shortcut I used to shutdown XP (Windows Key, U, U) was no longer useful in Vista, I had taken to actually having to use the mouse (*gasp*) to shut down. Eventually, I set up the power button on the start menu to shutdown which allows for the keyboard shortcut Windows key, right arrow. I still didn’t like it, plus, if I want to do anything else, like sleep or hibernate my computer, it would take many more key strokes. So, I resolved to create a icon that will immediately shut down the computer. Once placed in the quickstart toolbar, it’s a one click solution; assign a Shortcut key, and it’s one keystroke.

To create a shutdown shortcut:

1. Right-click on the desktop
2. Go to New
3. Click shortcut
4. The prompt will ask you for the location. Enter the following
   C:\Windows\System32\shutdown.exe -s -t 01
5. Click Next and choose a name for the shortcut.
6. The new shortcut will now appear on your desktop.

For additional points, you can right click on the icon, select Properties, then click the Change Icon button. Using the default Vista icon set, you should be able to find the shutdown icon like the one in the picture above.

The idea is simple. It creates a shortcut to the shutdown.exe that Windows uses to initiate the shutdown sequence. The switches I have are -s and -t, which sets the process to shutdown (as opposed to restart) and sets the delay to one second, respectively. To customize your shutdown experience, use the switches:

Switches for shutdown.exe

• -s | Shutdown
• -r | Restart
• -l | Log off user
• -t nn | Delay in number of seconds. If this switch isn’t used, the default is 30 seconds.
• -f | Forces close of programs immediately without warning the programs (Can result in data loss and corruption).
• -a | Aborts the shutdown process.