How to Set Up Auto Shutdown in Windows 10 (No Software)

Auto shutdown is an important feature that allows a Windows user to set up a computer to shut down at a specific time. This comes in handy when you want to schedule your computer shutdowns automatically. There are many 3^rd party software that allow a Windows user to schedule an auto shutdown. However, in this step by step tutorial, we will set up an auto shutdown without any additional software.

Method #1:Set up auto shutdown using Run

Step 1

Double press ‘Windows key + R’ to open Run. You now need to type and run ‘shutdown -s -t 3600’ as shown below.

Note: You can change the duration to the auto shutdown by changing 3600. 3600 is the number of seconds in an hour. You can calculate the number of seconds you need then replace with 3600. If you leave the command as shown in the illustration below, your computer will shut down in 1 hour.

Step 2

The notification/ alert below will appear with the time left to sign out

Method #2: Set up auto shutdown via Command Prompt

Step 1

Hit the search icon at the taskbar the search for ‘cmd’ as shown below. You now need to open the Command Prompt using admin privileges.

Step 2

Copy and paste the command below into the command line and hit ‘Enter.’

Shutdown -s -t 3600

Your computer will automatically shut down in 1 hour.

Method #3: Set up auto shutdown via Windows PowerShell

Step 1

Click the search icon on the taskbar as shown below. Type and search ‘PowerShell’ as illustrated below. You need to run the result as administrator as shown in the image below:

Step 2

Copy and paste the command below into the command line and hit ‘Enter.’

Shutdown -s -t 3600

Your computer will automatically shut down in 1 hour.

Method #4: Schedule a basic task for shutdown

Step 1

Open file explorer then right-click ‘This PC’ as shown below. Select the manage option as illustrated below:

Step 2

You now need to select ‘Task Scheduler’ on the left panel then choose ‘Create Basic Task..’ on the right panel as shown in the image below:

Step 3

Give the task a name then click ‘Next’ to proceed as shown below;

Step 4

Chose when you want the auto shut down to start. You can choose ‘One time’ if you only want the shut down to occur once. You can change the interval to fit your need then hit ‘Next’ to proceed.

Step 5

Set up the time you want the auto shutdown to happen then click ‘Next’ to proceed as shown below:

Step 6

Ensure the first option is to select then click ‘Next’ to proceed

Step 7

Browse for the ‘shutdown’ program as shown below then click ‘Open.’

Step 8

Add argument ‘-s’ as shown below then click ‘Next.’

Step 9

Confirm the details of your basic task then click ‘Finish’ to enable the new task.

Deactivate a preset auto shutdown

In case you need to disable a scheduled auto shutdown, you should copy and paste the code below onto Run, Command Prompt or the PowerShell.

Shutdown -a

Once you run the command, you should see a prompt like the one below:

Conclusion

You now know how to schedule auto shutdown in Windows 10. Which method worked best for you? Let us know in the comments below.