Sometimes I need to do a shutdown on computers thru command-line, and every time I need to look for the correct parameters list. So I decided today to write here some hints.
The command needed to force a restart on a windows vista computer is:
shutdown /t 0 /f /r
Btw you can force a shutdown or restart also on remote computers, and in this case the command is
shutdown /t 0 /f /r /m \\computername
I noticed that depending on the OS version you will be using “-“ instead of “/” to prefix commands. So for example on Win Server 2000 you could be using:
shutdown -t 0 -f -r
And finally here’s a complete parameters list:
C:\>shutdown
Usage: shutdown [/i | /l | /s | /r | /g | /a | /p | /h | /e] [/f]
[/m \\computer][/t xxx][/d [p|u:]xx:yy [/c "comment"]]No args Display help. This is the same as typing /?.
/? Display help. This is the same as not typing any options.
/i Display the graphical user interface (GUI).
This must be the first option.
/l Log off. This cannot be used with /m or /d options.
/s Shutdown the computer.
/r Shutdown and restart the computer.
/g Shutdown and restart the computer. After the system is
rebooted, restart any registered applications.
/a Abort a system shutdown.
This can only be used during the time-out period.
/p Turn off the local computer with no time-out or warning.
Can be used with /d and /f options.
/h Hibernate the local computer.
Can be used with the /f option.
/e Document the reason for an unexpected shutdown of a computer.
/m \\computer Specify the target computer.
/t xxx Set the time-out period before shutdown to xxx seconds.
The valid range is 0-600, with a default of 30.
Using /t xxx implies the /f option.
/c "comment" Comment on the reason for the restart or shutdown.
Maximum of 512 characters allowed.
/f Force running applications to close without forewarning users.
/f is automatically set when used in conjunction with /t xxx.
/d [p|u:]xx:yy Provide the reason for the restart or shutdown.
p indicates that the restart or shutdown is planned.
u indicates that the reason is user defined.
if neither p nor u is specified the restart or shutdown is unplanned.
xx is the major reason number (positive integer less than 256).
yy is the minor reason number (positive integer less than 65536).
