Shutting down Windows 8
can be frustrating as it’s no longer possible to access all shut down
options with a click. In earlier versions of Windows, one could just
open the Start menu by pressing or clicking the Start orb to access all
shut down options.
In
Windows 8, one needs to open the Settings charm by moving mouse cursor
to the upper-right or lower-right corner of the screen, and then
clicking Settings to access shut down, restart, hibernate,
and sleep options. While it’s possible to access the settings charm
with the help of Windows logo key + I hotkey, users who prefer mouse
need two more seconds to access shut down options. Users can also access
Windows Shut Down dialog from desktop by clicking Alt + F4 keys.
There are a number of workarounds available to easily access shut down options in Windows 8. You could add shut down options to the Windows + X menu
(the menu that appears when you press Windows + X hotkey), add shut
down options to desktop context menu, or pin shut down to the Start
screen.
A
lot of Windows users like to pin shut down tile to the Start screen for
the quick access. Users who don’t mind installing a small program can
follow our how to pin shut down, restart, hibernate and sleep options to the Start screen.
But if you want add shut down option to the Start screen without using
third-party tools, you need to follow the given below procedure.
Procedure:
Step 1: First, we need to create a shortcut for shut down option. To do that, right-click on desktop, click New and then click Shortcut to open Create Shortcut wizard.
Step 2: In the location of the item you need to type the following value:
To create shutdown shortcut:
shutdown.exe -s -t 00 –f
(Use given below values if you want to create shortcuts for restart & hibernate)
To create restart shortcut:
%windir%\System32\shutdown.exe –r
To create hibernate shortcut:
C:\Windows\System32\rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,SetSuspendState 0,1,0(replace “C” with your Windows 8 drive letter)
Step 3: Click Next
button. Enter Shut down, Restart, or Hibernate (depending on for which
you’re creating shortcut) in type a name for the shortcut box and then
click Finish button.
Step 4: Once you have the shortcut on your desktop, right-click on the shortcut and click Properties.
Step 5: Under Shortcuts tab, click Change icon button to browse to an icon file that suites your shortcut. If you want metro-style icons, we suggest you check out our 500+ Metro-style icons for Windows article.
Step 6: Select an icon, click Ok button and then click Apply button.
Step 7: Finally, right-click on the shortcut and click Pin to Start
to create your own shut down tile on the Start screen. Your new tile
should now appear on the Start screen. You may move the tile from the
end to the beginning of the Start screen for quick access.
