How to schedule computer to shut down at a certain time in the night.

Anonymous
2010-07-13T20:52:46+00:00

How can I get my system to shut down(turn off) at a certain time every night?

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Settings

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2016-10-25T22:53:57+00:00

Hi Daan,

To set an automatic shutdown of your PC, please follow the steps below:

  • Open Task Scheduler and Click Create Basic Task...

  • Type the name of the task and description if needed.

  • Set the date and time.

  • Select Start a program and click Next>

  • Locate the shutdown.exe or type " C:\Windows\System32\shutdown.exe ". Add arguments "  -s -t 0  "

  • Before clicking Finish, tick Open the Properties dialog for this task when i click Finish.

  • Under Gene r al, tick the box on Run with highest privileges.

  • Under Conditions, Uncheck Start the task only if the computer is on AC power.

  • Under Settings, tick Run task as soon as possible after a scheduled start is missed.

That should enable shutting down your PC automatically.

Please post back with results for further assistance.

Was this answer helpful?

600+ people found this answer helpful.
0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
LemP 74,970 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
2014-06-01T18:11:31+00:00

/s means shutdown the computer (the shutdown.exe program can do more than that).

In a Command Prompt window, type

       shutdown /?

After you press Enter, you'll see the following, where the brackets [ ] mean something is optional and the vertical lines | mean "you can pick one of these".  For more explanation, see http://pcsupport.about.com/od/commandlinereference/a/command-syntax.htm

Usage: shutdown [/i | /l | /s | /r | /g | /a | /p | /h | /e] [/f]

    [/m \computer][/t xxx][/d [p|u:]xx:yy [/c "comment"]]

    No args    Display help. This is the same as typing /?.

    /?         Display help. This is the same as not typing any options.

    /i         Display the graphical user interface (GUI).

               This must be the first option.

    /l         Log off. This cannot be used with /m or /d options.

    /s         Shutdown the computer.

    /r         Shutdown and restart the computer.

    /g         Shutdown and restart the computer. After the system is

               rebooted, restart any registered applications.

    /a         Abort a system shutdown.

               This can only be used during the time-out period.

    /p         Turn off the local computer with no time-out or warning.

               Can be used with /d and /f options.

    /h         Hibernate the local computer.

               Can be used with the /f option.

    /e         Document the reason for an unexpected shutdown of a computer.

    /m \computer Specify the target computer.

    /t xxx     Set the time-out period before shutdown to xxx seconds.

               The valid range is 0-315360000 (10 years), with a default of 30.

               If the timeout period is greater than 0, the /f parameter is

               implied.

    /c "comment" Comment on the reason for the restart or shutdown.

               Maximum of 512 characters allowed.

    /f         Force running applications to close without forewarning users.

               The /f parameter is implied when a value greater than 0 is

               specified for the /t parameter.

    /d [p|u:]xx:yy  Provide the reason for the restart or shutdown.

               p indicates that the restart or shutdown is planned.

               u indicates that the reason is user defined.

               If neither p nor u is specified the restart or shutdown is

               unplanned.

               xx is the major reason number (positive integer less than 256).

               yy is the minor reason number (positive integer less than 65536)

Reasons on this computer:

(E = Expected U = Unexpected P = planned, C = customer defined)

Type    Major   Minor   Title

 U      0       0       Other (Unplanned)

E       0       0       Other (Unplanned)

E P     0       0       Other (Planned)

 U      0       5       Other Failure: System Unresponsive

E       1       1       Hardware: Maintenance (Unplanned)

E P     1       1       Hardware: Maintenance (Planned)

E       1       2       Hardware: Installation (Unplanned)

E P     1       2       Hardware: Installation (Planned)

E       2       2       Operating System: Recovery (Planned)

E P     2       2       Operating System: Recovery (Planned)

  P     2       3       Operating System: Upgrade (Planned)

E       2       4       Operating System: Reconfiguration (Unplanned)

E P     2       4       Operating System: Reconfiguration (Planned)

  P     2       16      Operating System: Service pack (Planned)

        2       17      Operating System: Hot fix (Unplanned)

  P     2       17      Operating System: Hot fix (Planned)

        2       18      Operating System: Security fix (Unplanned)

  P     2       18      Operating System: Security fix (Planned)

E       4       1       Application: Maintenance (Unplanned)

E P     4       1       Application: Maintenance (Planned)

E P     4       2       Application: Installation (Planned)

E       4       5       Application: Unresponsive

E       4       6       Application: Unstable

 U      5       15      System Failure: Stop error

 U      5       19      Security issue

E       5       19      Security issue

E P     5       19      Security issue

E       5       20      Loss of network connectivity (Unplanned)

 U      6       11      Power Failure: Cord Unplugged

 U      6       12      Power Failure: Environment

  P     7       0       Legacy API shutdown

Was this answer helpful?

100+ people found this answer helpful.
0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2010-07-14T16:35:50+00:00

Hi thomasreister,

What Operating System is installed in your machine?

If using Windows 7, follow these steps to schedule your PC(Personal Computer) to shut down at a certain time at night:

  1. Go to Start > Control Panel > System and Security > Administrative Tools and click on the Task Scheduler.
  2. From the Action menu in Task Scheduler, click "Create Basic Task..."
  3. In the "Create Basic Task Wizard" windows that pops up, Type in a title and a description. Something basic like "PC Shutdown."
  4. Click "Next."
  5. On the "Task Trigger" screen, choose the frequency with which you want the Shutdown PC to run. For nightly shutdown, click on "daily" and click the Next" button.

6.On the "Daily" screen, enter the date and time you want your PC to shutdown. Click "Next."

  1. On the "Action" screen, choose "Start a program" and click "Next."
  2. On the "Start a Program" screen, type C:\Windows\System32\shutdown.exe in the "Program/script" text field.
  3. In the Add arguments text field type /s.
  4. Click "Next."
  5. Confirm your settings on the Summary screen and click "Finish."

Now your Windows 7 computer will automatically shutdown at the same time every day/night.

Azeez Nadeem - Microsoft Support

[If this post was helpful, please click the "Vote as Helpful" (green triangle) button. If it helps in resolving your issue, click "Propose As Answer" or "Mark as Answer" button. By proposing/marking a post as Answered, or Helpful you help others find the answer faster.]

Was this answer helpful?

70+ people found this answer helpful.
0 comments

113 additional answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2015-05-31T13:39:32+00:00

    Naiden,

    Your question, or the circumstances affecting possible solutions, are not the same as that asked by the individual who started this thread.  In addition to which, threads with questions from multiple users get too mixed up - the fact that some posts have been made by different users is not noticed so information gets misunderstood and misleading advice is given. 

    I cannot tell what your circumstances are or just what the specifics of your question are.  Please start your own question.  [or look at the top of this page, click on Participate then select Ask a question]  You can get a better response that way.

    In your question, explain

    • what the problem is,
    • what the circumstances are &
    • what you have already tried to do

    Here is some guidance in compiling questions firstly by the forum users ZigZag and also by Microsoft.  People reading your post cannot see over your shoulder.

    The information you give will enable somebody to explain how to achieve what you want.  I often play audio recordings last thing at night and have the computer play music as an alarm call  in the morning.  If the details of what you want match my situation then I will have to explain about power plans, about how to use a command line tool to modify a built-in power plan, how to set screensaving, hot to set up and use the Task scheduler.  I am happy to do that but only if it is all relevant.  Please note that my response will not involve altering anything in your BIOS but, because the issue has been raised, I will explain an undocumented limitation in Task scheduler that appears to contradict BIOS settings.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2015-05-31T08:56:34+00:00

    Hi Naiden,

    Thank you for posting your query on Microsoft Community.

    To assist you better, provide us the following information:

    When you say that “my pc i really like to sleep on music and maybe to wake up with music”, are referring to keep a music setting for sleep functionality?

    Regarding for automatic start up after the Computer is shut down, refer to the below steps.

    To automatically start your computer up at a specific time of day, you'll actually need to edit your BIOS settings. To do this:

    1. Boot up your computer and enter your BIOS setup. Usually this involves pressing the Delete keyas your computer boots (your computer should say Press DEL to Enter Setup or something similar as you turn it on).
    2. Navigate to the Power Options. If your BIOS supports it, there should be a function for automatically starting up your computer at a certain time of day. It might show as "Resume by Alarm", but depending on Different BIOS settings. It may display different on your Computer.
    3. Enable that setting and set the time you want your computer to start every day. Save and Exit the BIOS, and your computer should follow that schedule from now on.

    BIOS Disclaimer:

    Modifying BIOS/ Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) settings incorrectly can cause serious problems that may prevent your computer from booting properly. Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems resulting from the configuring of BIOS/CMOS settings can be solved. Modifications of the settings are done at your own risk. 

    Reply to us with the information, so that we can resolve the issue.

    For any Windows related assistance in the future, feel free to contact us and we will be glad to help.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments