Powering down

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Guest

Hi, I am having difficulties getting my pc to shutdown after I choose 'turn
off hard disks after one hour' in Power Options Properties the disks don't
turn off and the computer remains active. I have set the power scheme to
'Home/Office Desk' I have also set the monitor to turn off after an hour,
this sometimes works but not always. Is there any way I can actually get the
computer to shut down after an hour?
 
Hi

I never use the 'hard disk turn off' option - seems to play havoc with my
systems. May I suggest that you use the monitor option only - as I do?

--


Will Denny
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User
Please reply to the News Groups
 
Wesley Vogel posted the following shutdown shortcut on 10/24/2004 9:18 AM
PST in response to a question regarding a desktop shutdown shortcut:

Desktop Shutdown Shortcut
Right click the desktop | New | Shortcut | Create Shortcut Wizard opens |
Type or paste: %windir%\System32\shutdown.exe -s -t 00 |
Next | Type name like: SHUTDOWN | Finish | Right click the new shortcut |
Make sure Start in has: %windir%

I tested Mr. Vogel's solution in a scheduled task set to execute "When idle"
for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, the system shutdown as expected. Ty, rather
than use the Power Option Properties, you may obtain your desired result by
creating a scheduled task to run this shortcut when your system has been idle
for an hour.

Thanks to Wesley Vogel for the shortcut syntax.
 
Thanks for that Curt but I'm still having troubles. I did everything you
suggested and it contains the %windir% in the properties of the shortcut.
When I try and add it to the task scheduler i get an error message that
reads...

The new task has been created, but may not run because the account
information could not be set. The specific error is: 0x80070005: Access is
denied. Try using the Task page Browse button to locate the application.

Am I doing the right thing by adding it to the task scheduler, or was this
not the step to take? Thanks again Curt, hope you can be of further
assistance!
 
Ty, I tested it and it worked for me with the following in the run box:
C:\WINDOWS\System32\shutdown.exe -s -t 00

Now, click the "Schedule" tab. Select "When idle" then "When the computer
has been idle for: 60 minutes(s)

Also, by default, Windows XP requires a password for a scheduled task.
However, you may disable this with the following registry change:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SYSTEM > CurrentControlSet > Control > Lsa

limitblankpassworduse
Change the value in the Value Data box from 1 to 0

Then, check the "Run only if logged on" box in the scheduled task.
 
Thanks Curt, i've done all you suggested but it's still not working properly.
I've done the regedit. I set the PC to shutdown when idle for 1 minute
(just to test) I leave the computer to do it's thing then all of a sudden
what looks like an MSDOS prompt screen pops up then dissapears very quickly
but the system still doesn't shut down, any further ideas? I feel I'm
getting closer to what I actually want it to do... Thanks for all your help
so far!
 
Ty, I tested this on my office machine (XP Pro) and home machine (XP Home)
and it worked fine. On my home machine, I did notice the same thing you
mentioned about what appeared to be a very quick DOS screen, but the system
then shutdown OK. Are you sure your scheduked task command looks like the
following?
C:\WINDOWS\System32\shutdown.exe -s -t 00
You might cut and paste the above and try it again. Good luck. Let me know
if it works for you.
 
It's working!! Thanks alot Curt, you've been a huge help! All very much
appriciated, Ty.
 
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