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Shutting down your computer when it's not being used can conserve energy. While this may be an easy job for individuals or in smaller companies, it is a lot harder when a company has hundreds of computers in use. One solution is to use the Windows Task Scheduler to shut each PC down automatically at a certain time if the computer is still running. This eliminates the problem of users leaving their computers running, and ensures that all computers shut down to save energy.
Instructions
1. Click on "Start" and "All Programs." Click on the "Accessories" folder, then "System Tools" and "Task Scheduler."
2. Click "Create Basic Task" from the "Actions" panel on the right of the Task Scheduler window.
3. Type in the name you want to assign the task, such as "Automatic Shut down," then click the "Next" button. Add an optional description, if desired.
4. Select "Daily" from the list of triggers to run the task each day, then click "Next." Check that the "Start" date is correct -- this is the first date on which the task will run. Set the time to the required shutdown time, which should be late enough to ensure that no one will be using the computer. Click "Next" to store the new settings.
5. Click on "Start a Program" from the "Action" menu. At the specified time, the task scheduler will run the Windows "shutdown" command to shut down the computer. Click "Next."
6 .Type "shutdown" in the "Program / Script" text box. The command is part of the Windows system, so no path is needed. Type "--s --f --t 0" in the "Add Arguments" box to pass to the shutdown command as parameters. The parameter meanings are as follows:
-s = Shut down the computer
-f = Force running applications to close
-t 0 = Set the time delay to zero
Click "Next" to save the settings.
7. Click "Finish" on the task confirmation screen to create the scheduled task and add it to the Task Scheduler Library. The task will first run on the date and time specified, and will then trigger on a daily basis.
Instructions
1. Click on "Start" and "All Programs." Click on the "Accessories" folder, then "System Tools" and "Task Scheduler."
2. Click "Create Basic Task" from the "Actions" panel on the right of the Task Scheduler window.
3. Type in the name you want to assign the task, such as "Automatic Shut down," then click the "Next" button. Add an optional description, if desired.
4. Select "Daily" from the list of triggers to run the task each day, then click "Next." Check that the "Start" date is correct -- this is the first date on which the task will run. Set the time to the required shutdown time, which should be late enough to ensure that no one will be using the computer. Click "Next" to store the new settings.
5. Click on "Start a Program" from the "Action" menu. At the specified time, the task scheduler will run the Windows "shutdown" command to shut down the computer. Click "Next."
6 .Type "shutdown" in the "Program / Script" text box. The command is part of the Windows system, so no path is needed. Type "--s --f --t 0" in the "Add Arguments" box to pass to the shutdown command as parameters. The parameter meanings are as follows:
-s = Shut down the computer
-f = Force running applications to close
-t 0 = Set the time delay to zero
Click "Next" to save the settings.
7. Click "Finish" on the task confirmation screen to create the scheduled task and add it to the Task Scheduler Library. The task will first run on the date and time specified, and will then trigger on a daily basis.