How to shut down a computer

Shutting down a computer closes all open programs and exits the operating system safely so hardware isn't damaged and your operating system isn't corrupted. The sections below explain how to shut down a computer, with instructions for different operating systems.

Shut down in Windows 11

1. Press the Windows key on the keyboard, or click Start.
2. In the Start menu, click the Power icon in the lower-right corner, then select Shut down in the power menu.

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Press Ctrl+Alt+Del and click the power button in the bottom-right corner of the screen.

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From the Windows desktop, press Alt+F4 to get the Shut Down Windows screen shown here.

Shut down in Windows 10

1. Press the Windows key on the keyboard, or click Start. The Start menu opens.
2. In the Start menu, click the Power icon, then click Shut down.

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Press Ctrl+Alt+Del and click the power button in the bottom-right corner of the screen.

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From the Windows desktop, press Alt+F4 to get the Shut Down Windows screen shown here.

Shut down in Windows 8 and 8.1

Windows 8 and 8.1

Neither of these versions of Windows has the Start menu. However, with the 8.1 update, Microsoft added the power options button to the upper-right corner of the Start screen that allows users to restart their computer quickly. Click the power options icon (squared in red in the image) and select Restart from the drop-down menu that appears.

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Press Ctrl+Alt+Del and click the power button in the bottom-right corner of the screen.

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From the desktop, press Alt+F4 to get the Shut Down Windows screen.

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With Windows 8, Shut down is found in the Settings of the Windows Charms.

Shut down in Windows Vista and Windows 7

1. Press the Windows key on the keyboard or click Start.
2. Click the Shut down button.

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Press Ctrl+Alt+Del and click the power button in the bottom-right corner of the screen.

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From the Windows desktop, press Alt+F4 to get the Shut down Windows screen and select Shut down.

Shut down in Microsoft Windows 95, 98, NT, ME, 2000, and XP

All these versions of Microsoft Windows can be shut down through the Start menu.

1. Press the Windows key on the keyboard or click Start.
2. From the Start menu, click Shut Down.

Shut down in MS-DOS and the Windows command line

1. Press the Windows key, type cmd, and then press Enter to open the command line.
2. In the prompt that appears, type shutdown -s and press Enter.
3. After a few moments, the computer shuts down.

Shut down in a Chromebook

To shut down a Chromebook, follow these steps.

1. Click the digits showing the time in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
2. Click the Power button icon.

Shut down in Apple macOS

To shut down a macOS computer, follow these steps.

1. Click the Apple menu icon in the top-left corner of the screen.
2. In the Apple menu, click Shut Down.

How to force shut down a computer

If your computer does not shut down using the shut down options in the operating system, you may need to force a shut down. Sometimes a program gets stuck and does not stop running, hardware drivers may be causing issues, the operating system has corrupt system files, or the computer is frozen, and nothing works. Each of these cases may require a forced shut down to turn off the computer.

To force a computer to shut down, find the computer's power button. The picture is an example of a power button on a computer. Press and hold the power button until the computer turns off, then release the power button.