How to Turn Off a Personal Computer

Last Updated: May 26, 2022

In today's day and age, it is not necessary to turn off your computer unless if you are making changes to the hardware, booting into a different operating system, or trying to save battery, or if your computer is running slow. Turning off your computer is very simple, yet there are many ways to turn off your device. Here is how to turn off your computer.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Windows

Through Start

1
Click on the Start
button. It is in the bottom left hand corner, unless you moved your taskbar. Even then, your start button is located in the bottom left corner on Windows 8, it is just hidden.
2
Click on the power
button. This is where you will find a bunch of power options, including to shut down, restart, and sleep, as well as hibernate (Windows 7) and user options.

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3
Click on the appropriate option. Here are the options:
- Shut down - shuts down the computer, and installs any Windows Updates.
- Restart - shuts down the computer, installs any Windows Updates, and starts your computer again. Useful if your computer is having trouble with hardware and programs.
- Sleep - turns off your computer's display and temporarily halts any running programs.
- Hibernate - turns off your computer and saves your data to a hibernation file. Useful for airplanes where devices need to be powered down for a period of time.
4
Confirm that you want to shut down/restart your computer if other users are logged in. This can be done by clicking on Shutdown/Restart anyway or Yes.
5
Force a shut down/restart if programs are not responding. Click on Shutdown/Restart anyway or Force shutdown/restart to force a shutdown or restart.

From the Desktop or Taskbar

1
Press Alt+F4. This will not close your taskbar or desktop, it will bring a popup window.
2
Click on the appropriate option. Here are the options:
- Shut down - shuts down the computer, and installs any Windows Updates.
- Restart - shuts down the computer, installs any Windows Updates, and starts your computer again. Useful if your computer is having trouble with hardware and programs.
- Sleep - turns off your computer's display and temporarily halts any running programs.
- Hibernate - turns off your computer and saves your data to a hibernation file. Useful for airplanes where devices need to be powered down for a period of time.
3
Click on OK.
4
Confirm that you want to shut down/restart your computer if other users are logged in. This can be done by clicking on Shutdown/Restart anyway or Yes.
5
Force a shut down/restart if programs are not responding. Click on Shutdown/Restart anyway or Force shutdown/restart to force a shutdown or restart.

Through the Taskbar Right-click Menu

1
Locate the start button on the task bar. This is usually in the bottom left corner. Then, right-click.
2
On the right-click menu, choose "Shut down or sign out".
3
In the "Shut down or sign out" menu, choose Sleep, Shutdown or Restart.
4
Confirm that you want to shut down/restart your computer if other users are logged in. This can be done by clicking on Shutdown/Restart anyway or Yes.
5
Force a shut down/restart if programs are not responding. Click on Shutdown/Restart anyway or Force shutdown/restart to force a shutdown or restart.

From Command Prompt or Powershell

1
Open Command Prompt or Powershell. Type cmd.exe or powershell.exe to start either of the two respectively.
2
Type shutdown -action to shutdown your computer. Here are the codes.
- -s: shuts down your computer.
- -r: restarts your computer.
- -h: hibernates your computer.
3
Force a shut down/restart if programs are not responding. Click on Shutdown/Restart anyway or Force shutdown/restart to force a shutdown or restart.

From the Settings Charm

1
Open the charms bar. This is available on Windows 8 and Windows 8.1, and can be done by swiping left from the right, or by moving your mouse to either of the right corners. Then choose
Settings.
- You can also find the settings key on your keyboard to do this.
2
Choose
Power. Then choose the appropriate option:
- Shut down - shuts down the computer, and installs any Windows Updates.
- Restart - shuts down the computer, installs any Windows Updates, and starts your computer again. Useful if your computer is having trouble with hardware and programs.
- Sleep - turns off your computer's display and temporarily halts any running programs.
3
Confirm that you want to shut down/restart your computer if other users are logged in. This can be done by clicking on Shutdown/Restart anyway or Yes.
4
Force a shut down/restart if programs are not responding. Click on Shutdown/Restart anyway or Force shutdown/restart to force a shutdown or restart.

From the Lock Screen/Control-Alt-Delete Screen

1
Choose
Power in the bottom right corner. Then choose the appropriate option.
- To emergency restart (if you ran out of RAM or CPU processing), press Ctrl+Alt+Delete, hold Control while clicking power, then click on "Yes".
2
Click on the appropriate option. Here are the options:
- Shut down - shuts down the computer, and installs any Windows Updates.
- Restart - shuts down the computer, installs any Windows Updates, and starts your computer again. Useful if your computer is having trouble with hardware and programs.
- Sleep - turns off your computer's display and temporarily halts any running programs.
- Hibernate - turns off your computer and saves your data to a hibernation file. Useful for airplanes where devices need to be powered down for a period of time.
3
Confirm that you want to shut down/restart your computer if other users are logged in. This can be done by clicking on Shutdown/Restart anyway or Yes.
4
Force a shut down/restart if programs are not responding. Click on Shutdown/Restart anyway or Force shutdown/restart to force a shutdown or restart.

On InstantGo

1
Hold the power button of your computer for five seconds.
2
Drag the screen down.
3
Force a shut down/restart if programs are not responding. Click on Shutdown/Restart anyway or Force shutdown/restart to force a shutdown or restart.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Mac

From the Apple Menu

1
Click on the
Apple menu, then choose the appropriate option:
- Shut down - shuts down the computer, and installs any Windows Updates.
- Restart - shuts down the computer, installs any Windows Updates, and starts your computer again. Useful if your computer is having trouble with hardware and programs.
- Sleep - turns off your computer's display and temporarily halts any running programs.
2
Confirm that you want to shut down/restart your computer if other users are logged in. This can be done by entering an administrator username and password and clicking Shutdown/Restart

From the Login Screen

1
Click on the Shutdown, Restart, or Sleep button.
2
Confirm that you want to shut down/restart your computer if other users are logged in. This can be done by entering an administrator username and password and clicking Shutdown/Restart

From Terminal

1
Open Terminal.
2
Type sudo reboot to restart or sudo halt to shut down. You will not be prompted for the shutdown, but may be prompted for an administrator username and password.

Community Q&A

Question

My Windows 10 does not have an "All programs" feature, nor a power button. Can anyone help?

Community Answer

Right-click the Start button.
Question

Will I be able to turn the computer back on?

Community Answer

Unless something very wrong made your computer turn off, like a virus or electric charge that burned it, you should easily be able to turn it on by pressing the power button. It'll have the symbol of a circle with an opening at the top with a straight line going through it.
Question

How do I left click?

Community Answer

A left click is just a regular click on a mouse.