Have you ever wanted your PC to shut down at a specific time? You might want to leave it on to download a large file at night or when you’re away from home.
It is in these situations that it becomes very practical to know how to program it so that it turns off. There is no official function that allows you to do this in Windows 10, but it is easy to do even without downloading any type of Software Additional.
How to schedule automatic shutdown of Windows 10: command prompt
The easiest way to configure your computer to turn off automatically is to use the Command Prompt program included with Windows 10:
1. In the search bar next to the start menu, search for “cmd” and click on the appropriate result.
2. In the window that appears, type “shutdown -s -t XXXX”, replacing “XXXX” with the number of seconds you want to pass before your PC shuts down. For example, if you want it to shut down in an hour, type “shutdown -s -t 3600”.
3. Press “Enter” and an alert should appear to confirm that you want your PC to shut down after this specified time.
It won’t affect anything you do on your device and you can even close the Command Prompt window without a problem. If you want the computer to restart (and not shut down), use the command “shutdown -r -t” and the corresponding seconds.
To cancel either action, open the same Command Prompt window, type “shutdown -a” and press “Enter.” You will be confirmed that the scheduled automatic shutdown (or restart) has been canceled.
How to create an automatic shutdown shortcut in Windows 10
If you often need to leave your computer on before it turns off, it’s worth making a shortcut to the process described above. The process is relatively straightforward:
1. Right click on any free space on your desktop.
2. Select “New”, then “Shortcut”.
3. In the window that appears, type the same command as before ‘shutdown -s -t (number of seconds) then click on’ Next ‘.
4. On the next screen, assign a name to this shortcut (for example, Stop 1 hour) and click “Finish”.
5. This icon will now appear on the desktop. If you double click, this command will be executed.
You can also create a similar shutdown shortcut to quickly undo that shutdown. Clicking on this icon and choosing “Properties” will allow you to customize its font and design to differentiate them.
On the other hand, you might want to use a Software external, such as the sleep timer. This program is completely free and works the same as the command prompt method.
For more tips on Windows automations, see our tips on managing programs that run automatically.
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