Schedule a system shutdown operation

Windows XP allows you to automate the shutdown of your system. This is especially handy if you want to schedule your system to shut down after it backs up files from a personal folder to a shared server folder after hours.

To help you with this type of operation, XP comes with a command-line utility called Shutdown.exe, which you can configure to run at a specified time within the Scheduled Tasks tool. Here's how:

1. Open Control Panel and double-click Scheduled Tasks.
2. Select Add Scheduled Task to launch the Scheduled Task Wizard.
3. Click Next.
4. Click the Browse button to access the Windows\System32 folder.
5. Select Shutdown.exe and click Open.
6. Follow the wizard through the next two screens to give the task a name and choose a schedule.
7. Enter the name and password of your user account and click Next.
8. Select the Open Advanced Properties For This Task When I Click Finish check box, and then click Finish.
9. In the Task tab of Advanced Properties, add the following parameters to the end of the command line in the Run text box:
-s -t 00
Be sure to include a space between the last character in the command name and the first character in the parameter list, such as C:\Windows\System32\Shutdown.exe -s -t 00. In this case, the -s parameter indicates shutting down the local computer and the -t parameter sets a timer that's measured in seconds for the shutdown operation, where zero specifies immediate shutdown.
10. Click OK.
11. Enter the name and password of your user account and click OK.
When the Shutdown utility runs, a small dialog box will display on the screen before the system powers down.

Note: On some older systems, the Shutdown.exe command shuts down Windows but doesn't power down the computer. Instead, it displays the message "It is now safe to turn off your computer."