The procedure for shutting down a Windows computer varies depending on which version of the operating system you use. Regardless of OS version, however, one thing is true across the board: Shutting machines down is more complicated than it should be, and it takes longer than it should take.
Holding down the power button is a quicker option, but believe it or not, there’s actually a secret trick that will shut your system down even faster.
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As detailed by gHacks in a recent post, using the power button to shut down your system is a bad idea because problems can arise with open programs, the file system or even the Windows operating system if errors occur.
Instead, the site offers a great little trick that will take a couple of minutes to set up, but once you do it you'll have a new way to shut your Windows PC down almost instantly. It allows you to create a shortcut to force a near-instant shutdown that won’t even wait for programs to close.
The process involves four simple steps, as detailed by gHacks:
- Right-click on a free location on the desktop and select New > Shortcut.
- In the location field, type the following command: %windir%system32shutdown.exe -s -t 0
- Click Next to continue.
- Name the shortcut or keep the name. This is the icon description that appears underneath the shortcut on the desktop.
Now, when you click the new shortcut, your machine will shut down almost instantly. There are some additional tips that will let you customize this trick in a few different ways, and you'll find all the details by clicking here.
