Every time you try to shut down your computer, it just freezes up and won’t go away. You’ve got no choice but to either force it to shut down (which can be bad for your system), or to leave it on all night and morning, annoying everyone else in the house, right? Wrong! There are ways to be able to actually shut down Windows successfully every time you try, so that you don’t have to sit there watching your computer slow its own shutdown process down! Why You’re Never Gonna be Able to Shut Down Windows
What does shutting down mean?
Shutting down doesn’t actually mean shutting down—not in any way, shape, or form. In reality, all you’re doing is getting out of a single application and moving into a default screen that gives your computer permission to stop working until you press a key or move your mouse. So what does shutting down really mean? It means turning off (or rebooting) your computer.
The real reason you can’t shut down
The operating system is set up so that even if you shut down, most of it stays on. Only a small amount actually shuts down — other programs and processes are still running. Theoretically, if you turned off your computer before leaving for vacation, you’d want everything shut down before you left. This way, when someone else used your machine or came by to use it for a moment, there wouldn’t be any start-up time lost or files open from other people using it.
Right-clicking won’t work either
Right-clicking on a PC desktop actually doesn’t shut down the machine. In fact, it triggers an entirely different set of commands—one that prevents you from shutting down or logging off entirely. Instead, you need to hit Ctrl+Alt+Delete (or just press and hold those three keys together). This will open up your Start Menu and allow you to log out or shut down as normal.
But what if I hold Shift when clicking Restart?
It doesn’t matter how many times you click Restart, there’s no shutting down. Instead, your PC will reboot, and then start up again—which is really just an annoyance if all you wanted was a warm cup of coffee or bathroom break. If you hold Shift when clicking Restart (or shut down) it may look like your computer is truly shutting down. It isn’t.
So how do I shut down my computer?
Hold down Alt, Ctrl, and Del at once. Click on Shut down or Turn off computer. Wait for your computer to shut down normally.
In Conclusion
In a world of rapidly advancing technology, it can sometimes feel like you’re fighting an uphill battle just to get your work done. Fortunately, there are plenty of little tricks for Windows that can make things easier, from keyboard shortcuts and new methods of shutdown to all sorts of tools that automate tedious tasks. All of these details might seem like trivia or trivial tidbits, but together they add up and help ensure you have a smoother overall experience on your PC.