The Windows command prompt is a powerful tool from the old days of MS-DOS which today still accepts countless commands for special purposes. Behind the designation there is ultimately an executable program: the cmd.exe, which provides a line for the command input (the actual prompt). For shutting down your computer, another program addresses the command line tool: the “shutdown.exe”, for example, shuts off the computer immediately after the program is called up, restarts it or logs off the current user.
The advantages of command-based control are obvious: through Windows shutdown commands, you save yourself mouse clicks and don’t have to surf through menus. Detours across the Windows user interface are avoided. Should one issue a shutdown command, the computer can be shut down directly and quickly.
Other advantages include flexibility and adaptability. One can select from various shutdown options and as a result proceed in a number of various ways. A fine adjustment of the desired mode occurs through the addition of further control parameters. Each mode is intended for a specific use case. Due to their adaptability, shutdown routines play an important role in the administrative field. This means that geographically-remote PC and servers are remotely time-controlled via manual command entries. Also, special shutdown scripts are used for the automation of routines that are at times relatively easy to prepare.
Below, we will show you where one enters CMD commands and the specific syntax that one must observe. Furthermore, we will provide info on several shutdown options.