Not all laptop owners know how to properly turn off the device. Many of them believe that it is enough to close the lid. But it's not! This article will discuss how to turn off a laptop with any operating systems and under different circumstances.
Not everyone knows that after closing the lid, the laptop will turn on. But in order to completely turn it off, this is not enough. It is important to save information and not lose the work process, and for this you need to know how to turn off the laptop correctly. Even a child can figure it out.
How to turn off laptop. The easy way
Any computer user is undoubtedly aware of such elementary things as shutting down. Turning off the laptop is no different from To do this, just click the "Start" button in the left corner of the screen and select the "Shut down" item.
In Windows XP and Windows 7 operating systems, this process is the same:
- First you need to close all programs and windows, as well as turn off USB devices such as speakers, scanners, printers, etc. Free up the drive and remove the flash drives.
- After that, you can click the "Start" button and click "Shut down".
- After the screen goes blank and the laptop stops making noise, you can close the lid.
How to turn off a laptop in Windows 8. Several ways
So, with Windows 7, everything is very clear. But many laptop users with new operating systems are confused because the familiar Start button is simply missing in its place. And the interface of the system is significantly different from previous versions.
There are about a dozen various ways how to turn off laptop in windows 8.1. The easiest of them is to open a hidden panel by moving the mouse cursor to the right side of the monitor. Then select "Shutdown" and "Shut down". You should know that this panel also opens by pressing the Win + I keys. This method is standard, and for advanced users it may seem boring.
Another method is to turn off through the lock screen. This is necessary when the user started the laptop and realized that in this moment not going to work for him. There is nothing complicated in this shutdown method, since it is identical to the previous one. You should press the shutdown button and select the desired action. The lock screen can be called up by pressing Win + L on the keyboard.
Lesser Known Ways to Shut Down a Laptop
Windows developers have worked hard to ensure that users have many options for how to turn off a laptop.
Briefly about those methods that are unknown to many computer scientists:
- Shutdown with Alt+F4 keys. When you press this combination, a system update window will appear prompting you to shut down.
- Shutdown after command line, which is opened by pressing the Win + R keys. In the window that appears, write the command shutdown / s.
- Shutdown using the additional Start menu, which can be called up by pressing the Win + X keys. Further, as in the standard method, it remains to select the desired items.
- Scheduled laptop shutdown. The method is quite simple and it will not be difficult even for a beginner to understand it. In order to daily at the same time (for example, at 00:00), you need to call the command line (Win + R) and enter the following command:
Schtasks.exe /Create/RL Highest/TN Shutdown/SC Daily/ST 23:57/TR "%WINDIR%\system32\shutdown.exe /s/t 180/c.
Here the number 180 indicates the seconds before shutdown. In this case, 3 minutes (180 seconds) is set.
To stop the schedule, the following phrase is entered into the command line: shutdown /a. This command cancels the shutdown schedule.
- Turning off the laptop through a shortcut. What is it and how to create, every user knows. The label can be placed in a convenient place and when double click on it, the gadget will turn off. At the command line, you need to enter shutdown / s / t0, where 0 is the time until shutdown, which can be set at your discretion.
How to turn off the laptop if it freezes?
It happens that during operation the system suddenly stops responding. It may be related to freezing specific program or Windows itself. In this case, you need to try to turn off the laptop through the Ctrl + Alt + Delete combination. This will open a menu with a choice of actions. If the program freezes, then you need to select the task manager and close it. Then switch off in the usual way. If you need to immediately turn off the laptop, then you should select the already familiar "Shut down" button.
When the system freezes tightly and does not even respond to the above key combination, shutdown is possible in only one way, hard. To do this, hold down the power key for a few seconds and the laptop will turn off.
Turning off a laptop with the latest OS version installed
At the moment, the latest operating system is Windows 10. And most users have already switched to using it. There are no special ways to turn off a laptop on Windows 10. To do this, just use one of the methods described in this article.
When installing new version operating system Windows and series basic programs, the user may notice that their computer does not turn off after shutting down and selecting the appropriate item from the Start menu. This problem is relevant for both desktop computers and laptops. Most often, it manifests itself immediately after Windows installation, and it is difficult for the user to solve it due to the lack of the possibility of .
There are two main reasons why the computer may not turn off after shutting down. In most cases, failures occur at the software level due to a conflict between installed applications and operating system.
Such problems can be caused by drivers if they are installed from a common package, such as Sam Driver. This is due to the fact that the computer user does not always download current version collection of drivers. For example, the computer may not turn off after shutdown if non-optimized drivers are installed on Windows 10 from previous versions of the operating system.
Also, the problem with turning off the computer can manifest itself when installing new hardware that conflicts with the operating system. Along with connecting peripherals, drivers are automatically installed on the computer, which may not be supported by the current version of the operating system.
In no case should this problem be left unattended by turning off the computer with the power button held down. In the event of an emergency power off, there is a risk of damage soon HDD, which will result in data loss on the computer.
What to do if the computer does not turn off when shutting down Windows
A similar problem can be solved independently, without contacting specialists. Some of the users believe that the computer will turn off steadily at shutdown if they reinstall the operating system. This does not always help if exactly the same version of the operating system is installed on the computer, and then drivers and programs are installed that caused a conflict.
Check System Stability Log
When a conflict arises between one of the installed programs and operating system, the correct solution is to check the stability log to find out the specific cause of the problem. In the operating room Windows system a special application "System stability monitor" is provided, which allows you to look at conflicting programs and windows services. To start it this application write the command perfmon /rel in search on Windows 10 (Windows 8) or in running as administrator.
After the command is written, press Enter, which will launch the System Reliability Monitor application. It allows you to conveniently see what kind of application failures are present on your computer, windows errors and other malfunctions. 
Having determined through the "Reliability Monitor" the reason why the computer does not turn off at shutdown Windows work, it can be corrected. Most often, to resolve the conflict, you need to uninstall one of the applications or disable the Windows service.
Make power settings for USB ports
The method described below often helps if the laptop does not turn off after shutting down. It provides for setting the computer's power management mode. To fix the problem with the laptop not wanting to turn off after shutting down, go to the "Device Manager". To do this, press the key combination Windows + R on your keyboard. Next, write the command in the line that opens devmgmt.msc and press Enter. 
The "Device Manager" tab will open, in which you need to expand the menu " USB controllers". Now you need to do the following for each of the items that have the name "USB Root Hub" or "Generic USB Hub":
After that, close the "Device Manager" and try turning off the computer or laptop again.
What to do if the computer turns off for a long time
If the computer takes a long time to shut down after shutting down, you need to change the registry settings that are responsible for the waiting time when closing programs. by the most convenient way to do this is to create an executable file. To do this, write notepad in the search, then right-click on the found result and select "Run as administrator".
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 "AutoEndTasks"="1" "WaitToKillServiceTimeout"="5000" "HungAppTimeout"="5000" "WaitToKillAppTimeout"="5000"
When the code is copied, save the notepad file to any convenient place in .reg resolution (or after saving). When the file is saved in the required extension, double-click on it with the left mouse button and confirm your intention to make changes to the registry.
Good day.
Relatively often, laptop users (less often PCs) face one problem: when the device is turned off, it continues to work (that is, it either does not react at all, or, for example, the screen goes blank, and the laptop itself continues to work (you can hear running coolers and see burning LEDs on the device)).
This can happen for various reasons, in this article I want to analyze some of the most common. So…
To turn off the laptop - just hold down the power button for 5-10 seconds. I do not recommend leaving the laptop in a semi-off state for a long time.
1) Checking and setting the shutdown buttons
Most users turn off the laptop using the power button on the front panel next to the keyboard. By default, it is often configured not to turn off the laptop, but to put it into sleep mode. If you are also used to turning off through this button, I recommend that you first check: what settings and parameters are set for this button.
To do this, go to the panel Windows controls(relevant for Windows 7, 8, 10) at: Control Panel\Hardware and Sound\Power Options
Rice. 2. Setting to "Shut down" - that is, turn off the computer.
2) Disabling fast startup
The second thing I recommend to do if the laptop does not turn off is to turn off quick launch. This is also done in the power settings in the same section as in the first step of this article - “Setting the power buttons”. On fig. 2 (slightly higher), by the way, you can see the link " Change settings that are currently unavailable"- that's what you need to press it!
Next, uncheck the box next to " Enable fast startup (recommended)» and save the settings. The fact is that this option often conflicts with some drivers of laptops running Windows 7, 8 (I personally encountered it on ASUS and Dell). By the way, in this case, sometimes it helps to replace Windows with another version (for example, replace Windows 8 with Windows 7) and install other drivers for the new OS.
Rice. 3. Disable Fast Startup
3) Change USB power settings
Also very common cause improper shutdown (as well as sleep and hibernation) operation of USB ports. Therefore, if the previous tips did not work, I recommend trying to turn off energy saving when USB operation(This will slightly reduce the laptop battery life, by an average of 3-6%).
To disable this option, you need to open the device manager: Control Panel\Hardware and Sound\Device Manager(see Fig. 4).
Rice. 4. Launch Device Manager
Rice. 5. Properties of USB controllers
In the device properties, open the " Power Management” and uncheck the box next to “ Allow this device to turn off to save power» (see fig. 6).
Rice. 6. Allow device to turn off to save power
Then save the settings and go to the second USB device in the USB Controllers tab (similarly, uncheck all USB devices on the USB Controllers tab).
After that, try turning off your laptop. If the problem was related to USB - it starts working as it should.
4) Turn off hibernation
Moreover, important point, you need to disable hibernation not in the Windows control panel in the power section, but through the command line (with administrator rights) by entering the command: powercfg / h off
Let's consider in more detail.
In Windows 8.1, 10, just click right button mouse on the "Start" menu and select " Command Prompt (Admin)". In Windows 7, the command line can be launched from the Start menu by finding the appropriate section in it.
Rice. 8. Disable hibernation
Often, such a simple tip will help get your laptop back to normal!
5) Blocking shutdown by some programs and services
Some services and programs may block the computer from turning off. Although, the computer closes all services and programs within 20 seconds. - without errors, this does not always happen ...
It is not always easy to unambiguously determine the exact process that is blocking the system. If you had no problems with turning it off / on before, and after installing some programs, this problem- then the definition of the culprit is quite simple 🙂 In addition, often Windows, before shutting down, notifies that such and such a program is still running and whether you definitely want to terminate it.
In cases where it is not clearly visible which program is blocking the shutdown, you can try to look at the log. In Windows 7, 8, 10 - it is located at the following address: Control Panel\System and Security\Action Center\System Reliability Monitor
By selecting a specific date, you can find critical system messages. Surely this list will include your program that blocks the shutdown of the PC.
If nothing helped...
Very often, it is because of the conflict of these that this problem occurs. Personally, I have encountered one problem many times: the laptop works fine with Windows 7, then you upgrade it to Windows 10 - and the problems begin. In these cases, rolling back to the old OS and old drivers helps (not always everything is new - it's better than the old one).
2) The problem in some cases can be solved by updating the BIOS (more on this:). By the way, manufacturers themselves sometimes write in updates that such errors have been fixed (on a new laptop, I do not recommend updating it yourself - you risk losing the manufacturer's warranty).
3) On one Dell laptop observed a similar picture: after pressing the power button, the screen turned off, and the laptop itself continued to work. After a long search, it was found that the whole thing was in the CD / DVD drive. After turning it off - the laptop began to work in normal mode.
4) Also on some models of Acer and Asus faced a similar problem due to the Bluetooth module. I think that many do not even use it - so I recommend disabling it completely and checking the operation of the laptop.
5) And the last ... If you use different builds of Windows- you can try to install the license. Very often, "collectors" will do this :) ...
Best…
Is the user's laptop frozen? What to do? We will have to answer this question next. After all, each user may encounter an operating system freeze. Often, in the case of laptops, you can reboot the PC using a more extensive list of tricks. They will be discussed further. Unfortunately, restarting the OS in case of "glitches" is not always safe. And this must be taken into account in the first place. Therefore, we will try to study first safer methods of rebooting.
Sources of problems
Laptop problems can happen at any time. Typically, this leads to slow work OS, and then to a complete freeze of the computer.
Most often, the causes of "glitches" are the following factors:
- software incompatibility;
- a lack of random access memory;
- processor load;
- system failures;
- viruses;
- incorrectly installed operating system;
- broken OS settings.
Often, a system rollback or an increase in RAM helps to correct the situation. But first you have to turn off the PC. Laptop stuck? What to do? How to reboot or shutdown laptop? About all options developments will be discussed below.
Normal reboot
Let's start by learning how to simply restart your computer. It helps only when the OS responds to user actions, but very slowly.
You must perform the following steps (using Windows 7 as an example):
- In the lower left corner, click on the Windows icon.
- Click on the arrow near the "Shut down" line.
All that's left to do now is wait. The computer will end all processes and then restart the operating system. Laptop stuck? What to do in this case?
Forced reboot
If the computer is "bugged out" and does not restart in the usual way, it is necessary to force restart the OS. This is a normal phenomenon, the technique is used in practice quite often.
You need to act like this:
- Press Ctrl + Alt + Del on the keyboard.
- Click the arrow button in the lower right corner. Next to it will be an image of turning off the PC.
- Select "Reboot" from the menu that appears.
It is done. In fact, everything is not as difficult as it seems. And now it’s clear what to do if the laptop has a black screen or a simple freeze. But this is only the beginning. In fact, there are several more ways to deal with laptop glitches.
Reboot without shutting down
Laptop stuck? What to do? If the operating system is still responsive, you can try to restart without turning off the computer. This practice exists, but it is not used very often.
So, it is proposed to act like this:
- Open in any way (via "Start" or Ctrl + Alt + Del) the functional menu.
- Select the "Log out" option.
- Wait a while.
So the user will be able to restart the operating system without turning off the computer. Although, as practice shows, exiting the OS is rarely used in practice.
Power buttons
How to restart a laptop if it freezes? Sometimes it happens that the operating system stops responding to any user actions. In this case, as a rule, a reboot does not help. You have to turn off your laptop.
This can also be done in several ways. We found out why the laptop freezes. Regardless of the cause of the "glitches", in some cases the user must urgently shut down the OS. To do this, just press the laptop power button and hold it in a similar position for several seconds (5-10).
What will happen? The computer will be shut down in an emergency. After turning it on, the user will be offered several options for loading the operating system - for example, in safe mode and in the usual.
Battery help
What should I do if my laptop has a black screen? The above steps will help you fix the situation. But what if they didn't work?
Under certain circumstances, the user may try to shut down the laptop like this:
- Disconnect the power cord.
- Turn over the laptop.
- Disconnect the battery from the main body.
- Insert it back.
It is done! After these steps, the user can turn on the computer again. This technique is not relevant for all laptops. It is not suitable for devices whose batteries are not removable. Therefore, removing the battery does not always help to get rid of "glitches" and freezing.
Power off
Laptop frozen and won't turn off? The following advice may be suitable for users who work with laptops without batteries, that is, with the battery disconnected.
If it was not possible to restart the computer, it must be turned off. Not the best, but very effective method is to disconnect the laptop from the power supply.
talking in simple words, the user will simply have to remove the power cord from the laptop. If the laptop was not initially connected to the battery, an emergency shutdown of the OS will occur.
Attention: this technique is used in extreme cases. It can cause quite serious damage to the computer and the operating system as a whole.
This does not mean at all that turning off the power of the laptop is contraindicated. Sometimes this approach is the only way to solve a problem. Therefore, every modern user should know about it.
Food and waiting
How to restart a laptop if it freezes and does not respond to user actions? Everything depends on the circumstances. Indeed, sometimes it is possible to reboot by simply disconnecting the laptop from the network.
What if the laptop has non-removable battery and is it powered directly? Such circumstances, if we exclude turning off using the Power button, provide only one scenario for the development of events - waiting.
What does it mean? You need to follow these instructions:
- Disconnect laptop from power cord.
- Try to restart the computer using the previously listed methods (using the keyboard).
- Wait a few hours.
You can do without step 2. That is, just turn off the laptop from the power supply and wait. True, you need to be patient - the wait will be long. Until the battery of the device is completely discharged. Even in a state of freezing, the OS consumes a supply of energy.
What will happen? The computer will simply discharge and turn off. After that, it remains just to connect the laptop to power through the wire, wait a few minutes (not necessary, but desirable), and then turn it on using the Power button.
Old OS and reboot
We managed to find out why the laptop freezes. And we also had to familiarize ourselves with the main methods of rebooting the OS. How exactly to act? Each user decides on his own, taking into account the situation that has arisen.
Laptop stuck? What to do? If a we are talking For older operating systems, you can only restart your computer using the keyboard. Not always, but very often.
The user just needs to press Ctrl + Alt + Del several times (with short pauses). After that, an emergency reboot of the PC will be carried out.
For desktop computers
We figured out what to do if the laptop freezes. And why do such situations arise? A few words about what additional trick can be used only on stationary computers.
On the back system block(at the power supply) there is a special toggle switch. Simply turn it off and then turn it back on. The computer will be turned off. Then you can turn it on and continue working with the operating system.
Usually, users are faced with the problem of laptop operation when it is less common for users, on the contrary, the laptop stops turning off. After you click "Shutdown", all programs may be terminated, but the laptop continues to work. Another behavior is also possible, when the laptop screen goes blank, and the noise of the running fans indicates that the device has not turned off. Consider possible reasons this behavior of the laptop and how you can get rid of such problems.
Reasons for freezing on shutdown
Most often, the problem with turning off the laptop is a program conflict or too many running applications. If you have a large number of programs running during shutdown, they will be terminated one by one by the system, saving the necessary data. Therefore, the shutdown process can be quite lengthy in this case. At the same time, some applications can actively work with the system, which often leads to a conflict and the system fails to terminate such an application.
A malfunction of the system can bring and.
Viruses can infect system files and block system actions, including the completion of these processes when the laptop is turned off.
Also, a problem with turning off the computer may occur after updating the operating system or. So, after updating the system, conflicts with old applications or drivers may occur, which leads to malfunctions and system freezes. Incorrect installed drivers cause laptop devices to malfunction, resulting in crashes when the laptop is turned off.
There are frequent cases when, due to overheating of laptop components, problems arise in the operation of both the device itself (constant freezes) and when the device is turned off, which lasts for a very long time.
How to turn off a frozen laptop
If your laptop freezes at the shutdown stage, then you can turn it off in several ways. The first, most radical way -> unplug the power supply cord and pull it out battery from the compartment. Turning off the laptop in this way is highly not recommended, as damage is possible. hard drive and, in some cases, data loss.
The next one is simpler, but no less destructive - pressing and holding the power button for a few seconds. After a few seconds, the laptop will turn off, but such a shutdown will not be correct.
To configure a softer shutdown, you need to open the USB Controllers section in the list, where for each device named USB Root Hub, check the box in the properties on the Power Management tab next to the option "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power".
If the laptop stopped turning off correctly after a recent system update or after installing the program, and before that it worked properly, then it makes sense to use. Go to the start menu, type search line"System Restore" and run the found utility. In the System Restore Wizard, you will need to select an earlier restore point when the laptop was stable. After that, the wizard will start and the system will be restored to the previous state.
Optimization of free space and processes
Next, you should clean the laptop, freeing disk space system disk from temporary and junk files. You should remove unused applications, excluding from it those that are not used regularly service utilities and applications. After that, you should check the hard drive for viruses and other malware. software. I recommend an excellent utility for cleaning up space and autoloading - CCleaner.
It is also worth cleaning the laptop from dust, and in some cases (with intense heating), replace the thermal paste. Only after performing such procedures, the laptop usually starts to work more stably and shutdown problems may no longer be observed.
