Powering down

[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?

 

[Will Denny]

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

 

[Guest]

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.

 

[Guest]

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!

 

[Guest]

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.

 

[Guest]

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!

 

[Guest]

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.

 

[Guest]

It's working!! Thanks alot Curt, you've been a huge help! All very much
appriciated, Ty.

 

[Guest]

Good! Glad I could help. Thanks again to Wesley Vogel for the shortcut
syntax.