Tag Archives: shutdown

ProcOff Triggers PC Shutdown On Inactivity Of Specific Processes

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ProcOff is a process monitoring application for Windows that lets you automatically power off your computer when there is no activity in the specified processes. The tool is developed by JSutils - the makers of other similar tools that we have covered in the past, including AllOff and DownOff. ProcOff can monitor up to three processes at the same time, and auto initiates PC shutdown, restart, log off or hibernate process when there is no activity by the processes in a given amount of time. Although it’s very lightweight and comprises of a simple interface, there are wide array of configuration options that you can set according to your preferences, including delay time for auto-activation of monitoring, delay interval between idle activity of processes and the power off process, and an option to cancel shutdown activation manually. Read More

How To Properly Shutdown Windows 8 Without Disabling Hybrid Boot

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Earlier versions of Windows would save both kernel and user session when using the Hibernate option, but as mentioned in an earlier post on how to enable Hibernate option for Windows 8, when you shut down Windows 8 from the Charms Bar, the system actually only hibernates the kernel by saving its state to your hard disk. It completely skips the user session, which includes currently running apps and their data. This clever trick, along with support for multiple cores at bootup and strong support for UEFI device, significantly reduces boot time. Your PC only boots up the traditional way when you use the Restart option. Read More

Disable Auto-Termination Of Applications That Block Windows 8 Shutdown [Tip]

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You may know that Windows 8 comes with an auto-quit applications feature that looks for all active console & GUI based applications at system shutdown and restart, and forcibly closes them. Although this feature helps you quickly quit all those applications and processes, which are stuck in deadlock or livelocks, you often require to save all the changes made to currently running application before Windows shutdowns the system. Windows 8, just like previous versions of Windows, allows system administrators to change this system shutdown policy. If you’re an system administrator, you can set Windows to always suspend system shutdown/restart process until users manually close all the running console and GUI based utilities. Using the Microsoft Management Console snap-in namely Local Group Policy Editor, any user who belongs to Administrators group can disable auto-termination of programs at system shutdown. Read More

PowerSave Lite: Schedule Shutdown/ Reboot Sessions For PC & Programs

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Power management options in new computer machines and operating systems, like Windows 7, are a great way for saving on hefty electricity bills. Most of the time, we leave our computers running 24/7. However, what if you want to schedule the computer to turn off at a particular time, for say when you're at work or out with your friends? There are various software available that let you set a shutdown timer for your PC, along with restart or log off options, for instance, Chameleon Shutdown and TaskmgrPro Shutdown Scheduler. PowerSave Lite is another new and portable application, which offers more than simply restarting, shutting down or logging off your PC. Read on past the jump for details. Read More

NPowerTray: System Tray Shortcut For Windows 8 Power Options

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Since the Consumer Preview of Windows 8 got released, there have been a lot of complaints from users related to different menus and options missing, or moved to new locations. For instance, the Shutdown options, which were accessible directly from the Start Orb in Windows 7, now requires you to first open the Settings menu of Windows 8 from the Charms Bar in order to Shutdown, Restart, Sleep or put your computer in hibernate mode. We still don’t know if this is the final shape that the interface of Windows 8 is going to take, as Microsoft might make some small changes till the final version is released, based on user feedback. Till then, what the users of Windows 8 Consumer Preview can do, is use third party apps to get the features not available by default. If you are also one of those people who are annoyed by the "hard to access" nature of power options, try NPowerTray. It is an open source application for Windows 8 that adds a shutdown menu to the system tray of Desktop, and allows you to perform all the shutdown functions, including Shutdown, Reboot, Hibernate, Sleep, Lock and Log Off without having to open the Settings menu. Read More

Reduce Computer Turn Off Time With Speed Up Shutdown

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Sometimes, you might have noticed that your PC takes a lot of time to shutdown, which can be a bit annoying when you have to quickly leave and don’t want to leave your PC running. One solution is to shut it down by pressing down the power button, or by taking the plug out but that would be an improper way to shutdown the computer and you can lose any unsaved information in the programs currently running. One way to increase the shutdown process is to have a lower number of active processes, because the more programs that Windows needs to shutdown before turning the computer off, the more time it takes. What you can do to decrease the shutdown time, is to disable the options to erase the system’s virtual memory and hibernation cache at shutdown. If the PC is still taking a lot of time to shutdown, give Speed Up Shutdown a try. It is a portable application that has options to reduce the time to kill applications, time to kill services and disable clear Pagefile at shutdown. You have the option to select one or all options to optimize your shutdown.

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Smart PC Locker Pro: Shutdown PC After Set Number Of Invalid Login Attempts & More

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Screen locks come in handy in various situations, for example, when you are working on some important files containing sensitive information, and have to leave your PC for some reason, for instance, making coffee or answering a phone call. This is even considered a mandatory task at some financial organizations, such as banks, where confidential information can be easily compromised by unauthorized personnel. Thankfully, Windows lets you lock your PC during such instances. What you can do is use the default Windows Logoff function that locks your computer screen and lets you activate it only when you enter the password. However that doesn’t let you do anything else, for let's say, set a different wallpaper or shutdown the computer, in case someone is repeatedly entering the wrong password. To ease the job, you can take try Smart PC Locker Pro. Developed by NoVirusThanks, this nifty little portable application is designed to let you manually lock your system simply via a hotkey. In addition, it can automatically lock your system, shutdown the PC after a specified number of wrong password attempts, use a custom wallpaper, lock your computer's CD-ROM drives and disable task manager while computer is locked. More details on Smart PC locker Pro up ahead. Read More

Chameleon Shutdown Lets You Automate Shutdown With Multiple Conditions

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Chameleon Shutdown allows users to Shutdown, Restart, Sleep, Hibernate, Lock and Log off their PC either at once, or according to some parameters. You can define the action, edit conditions and when those conditions are met, the application will automatically perform the pre-defined action. You can even set multiple conditions and use And/Or logical conditions for execution to shutdown your computer. If your PC gets hanged due to some issue, the application can also initiate force shutdown. Read More

Remotely Control Your PC via Twitter With TwitControl

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Back in July, Aatif covered an application called Airytec Switch Off which lets you remotely control your PC via mobile or from any other computer located on remote location.  The application works seamlessly but a specific port has to be forwarded to control system and to execute some basic Windows functions. Today we discovered another application called TwitControl which offers the very same functionality without applying port forwarding techniques. It is developed for all the avid Twitter users out there, offering a simple mechanism to promptly control your system from any remote location. Whilst it has a set of pre-defined set of Windows commands (Shutdown, Restart, and Logoff), it comes with a Tweet monitoring system to check for any instructions/commands in all of your latest tweets to execute them on the fly. Read More

TaskmgrPro Shutdown Scheduler Integrates With Windows Task Manager To Schedule System Shutdown

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TaskmgrPro Shutdown Scheduler is an application which integrates with Windows Task Manager to let users schedule Windows shutdown and other related functions such as Restart, Hibernate, Windows Logoff, Lock, and Monitor Off/On. You can set a timer to trigger the specified functions and let it forcibly close all the running application after the countdown ends. Read More

MF Shutdown Manager: Schedule System Shutdown, Restart, Hibernate & Perform Other Related Tasks

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Scheduling system shutdown and other system functions comes in handy especially when you’re downloading or installing a big package which doesn’t require much attention but a lot of time. In such situations, MF Shutdown Manager may lend a helping hand to schedule system shutdown, locking workstation, system restart, hibernate, toggle monitor off/on and lot more. It lets user set a timer to trigger the specified task and offers numerous other useful features such as; system cleanup, monitor power saving, etc. Read More

Disable Install Updates And Shutdown Option In Windows 7/Vista

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If any updates have been downloaded and are available for your Windows operating system then you see the Install Updates and Shut Down popup notification option before shutting down the computer, but what if you don't need this option even if the updates are available. Below I have explained the step by step process to disable this setting, it involves some small changes in the Windows Registry.
Editor's Notes: I don't recommend disabling this option since keeping Windows up-to-date is the best way to secure the computer. This can only come useful to those professional users who have full control over their computer and don't want to install specific updates at the moment.
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How To Schedule System Shutdown With Shutdown Agent

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Are you in need of a good tool which can shutdown, restart, or logoff your system according to a schedule? If yes, then your search should end now. You can try a free and user-friendly software, Shutdown Agent which lets you schedule the shutdown, restart, suspend, hibernate, and logout events for your computer. It resides in the system tray for easier and faster access. The application offers a miniscule configuration console, containing all the event schedule settings such as Action (Shutdown, Logoff, Restart, Hibernate), Time interval and options to forcibly close all running processes before starting the event, blink icon before execution etc. You can also choose to hide the timer, and enable/disable it from configuration window.
This post has been updated to let you know that Shutdown Agent also supports Windows 8. The article was updated on April 2, 2012.
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Quick Shutdown/Restart Windows With Desktop Shortcuts

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Remember the tip we covered last year on speeding the Windows Shutdown process, it was too complicated for novice users and quite risky since it involves editing of registry. If you are an impatient person who can’t wait a minute for the Windows to shutdown properly, then you must be looking for a much easier way.

SuperFast Shutdown is a free tool for Windows that speeds up the Shutdown process, in fact it shuts down your system instantly. Although this tool is not new, the latest release has quite a number of bug fixes and improvements. It makes both Shutdown and Restart shortcuts on Desktop or/and Quick Launch.

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Auto ShutDown Windows At A Specific Date Or Time

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Editor’s Notes: Auto shut down is one important feature that Windows OS lack. It would be great if Microsoft adds support for Auto Shutdown in Windows 7. It will surely save the burden of having to use 3rd party tools for such basic function. Do you want to shut down your computer at a specific date or time? If you are a  computer or network administrator, you might sometimes need to shutdown, restart, or log off the system at a specific date or time. Morteins ShutDown is a free tool for Windows OS that lets you shut down, reboot, log off, and power off both local and remote computer at any specific date of time. Those running applications that prevent your system to shut down can also be automatically killed. You can also setup this tool to warn you a few minutes before initiating shut down. Read More

How To Stop Windows 7 From Automatic Reboot And Shutdown

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How many times have you seen a driver, system update, or an application restarting or shutting down your computer after installation without even asking for your permission? Automatic restart or shutdown has always annoyed me since the day I started learning to use Windows(that was almost a decade back). Read More

Monitor Your PC Or Laptop Temperature – Windows 7,Vista,XP

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Is your computer restarting itself more than often or is shutting down without any notice? One of the reasons might be that your computer has overheating problem. One of the best ways to monitor is to install temperature reading software that might help you actually know if the problem is causing by overheating. Coretemp is a tiny application which is low on resources and is surprisingly accurate. Intel and AMD's new technology known as DTS(Digital Temperature Signal) let these applications help monitor the temperature accurately. Read More

How To Speed Up Windows Shutdown Process

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Are you frustrated that your Windows XP takes to much time to shutdown when your rushing to go somewhere else? If this is the situation that you want to shutdown the computer in hurry, you can make some tweaking to your registry so that it will help you to speed the this process. We have written much about windows registry in the past couple of weeks that it is used to store information and system settings.

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