How to Make a Shutdown Shortcut in Windows

If you are shutting down your computer using the Start menu, you’re doing too much work! Create a shortcut to make your computing life a little easier. This is even more useful in Windows 8, where the Shutdown option is hidden behind several menus. Follow this guide to create a shutdown shortcut in any version of Windows.

Method 1 of 2: Windows XP/Vista/7

 1Right-click on your desktop. Hover the cursor over "New" and click "Shortcut" on the next menu that appears.

 

2

Enter the shutdown command. Copy and paste the following into the text field: shutdown.exe -s

• To create a restart shortcut, replace -s with -r (shutdown.exe -r).

 

3

Adjust the shutdown timer. Without changing any settings, the shutdown shortcut will shut down the computer after 30 seconds. To change the timer, add -t XXX to the end of the command. XXX represents the number of seconds delay you want prior to shutdown. For example: shutdown -s -t 45 will create a shortcut that shuts down after 45 seconds.

• To add a "goodbye" message, type -c "your message" (including the quotation marks) at the end.

 

4

Type a name for the shortcut. Click "Finish" when done.

 

5

Change the icon. If you’d rather have a custom icon instead of the default Program icon that Windows assigns, right-click the shortcut and choose "Properties". In the Shortcut tab, click the Change Icon button. Choose an appropriate icon and then press OK to confirm.

 

6

Double-click the shortcut to initiate shutdown. You'll see a window counting down and your message will be shown. Once the timer runs out, all your programs will start to close and Windows will shut down.

Method 2 of 2: Windows 8

 

1

Open Desktop Mode. You can access the Desktop by clicking on the Desktop tile on the Start screen or by pressing the Windows key + D. This will open the desktop, where you will see several icons.

 

2

Right-click on the Desktop. Select New, and then choose Shortcut from the submenu. This will open the Create Shortcut window.

3

Enter the shutdown command. In the field labeled “Type the location of the item”, enter shutdown /s This will create a shortcut that will shut down the computer after a 30-second default timer.

• If you want to adjust the timer, add the /t XXX command to the end of the line. XXX represents the number of seconds delay you want prior to shutdown. For example: shutdown /s /t 45 will create a shortcut that shuts down after 45 seconds.
• Setting the timer to 0 will shut down the computer immediately after the shortcut is run.

 

Method 2 of 2: Windows 8

1. 
   1
   Open Desktop Mode. You can access the Desktop by clicking on the Desktop tile on the Start screen or by pressing the Windows key + D. This will open the desktop, where you will see several icons.
2. 
   2
   Right-click on the Desktop. Select New, and then choose Shortcut from the submenu. This will open the Create Shortcut window.
3. 
   3
   Enter the shutdown command. In the field labeled “Type the location of the item”, enter shutdown /s This will create a shortcut that will shut down the computer after a 30-second default timer.

   • If you want to adjust the timer, add the /t XXX command to the end of the line. XXX represents the number of seconds delay you want prior to shutdown. For example: shutdown /s /t 45 will create a shortcut that shuts down after 45 seconds.
   • Setting the timer to 0 will shut down the computer immediately after the shortcut is run.
4. 
   Edit step
   4
   Rename your shortcut. By default the shortcut will be named “shutdown”. You can change the name to whatever you’d like in the next window.

 

5

Change the icon. Windows will use the default Program icon for your new shortcut. You can change this by right-clicking on it and selecting Properties. In the Shortcut tab, select Change Icon… This will open a list of available icons. Find one that better matches your shutdown shortcut.

 

6

Pin it to your Start screen. Once the shortcut is complete, you can add it to your Start screen by right-clicking the shortcut and select Pin to Start. This will create a tile on your Start screen that you can click to shut down your computer.