hello!

i was wondering if any of you guys know how to configure my computer to make an automatic complete computer shutdown at certain times (like night time or something).

i tried looking into the powersavings settings but it doesnt work at all :( .

im using win2000 btw.

i was able to find a nifty little program at downloads.com called shutdown machine. pretty good actually if anyone wants to know.

You can actually do it through the powersaving method too, but since you already have a program then there isn't much point.

i tried doing the power saving program but it didnt seem to work which was abit wierd. ah well. thanks anyway [img]smile.gif[/img]

<font color=cccccc>Win2K is not user friendly. Does not like for people to manipulate it. Will not tolerate real world activities. And well, is just an all around pain. With that said, were you able to configure, and observe the 'shutdown computer' program work?

A little history. Win2K, is the 2nd gen of Windows NT "neanderthal technology", and was designed for the business world, therefore it has a much more stable base = no real world user input. Therfore, the daily requirment of machine cycling was deceased. Win2k is fully capable of going into power setting mode at the ITs whelm. Furthermore, the OS does not like to be told what, how, or when to accomplish tasks.</font>

<font color=FF0000> That infernal thing!
I now some people crap on XP as well and although it's not perfect, it's the best so far by far, from a lay persons point of view. </font>

Create a batchfile.

at 22:00 shutdown /l /y /c

This tells the computer to shut down at 10:00pm. The /l switch is used for the local computer, the /y forces yes to all questions, and the /c quits all running programs.

Use notepad and then save it is "shutdown.bat" or something similiar. Whenever you want to schedule a shutdown, just run the batchfile. You can change the time to whatever you wish using the 24hr clock.

Can't it be automated. Sounds annoying that you've got to run it yourself everytime.

I suppose you could use task scheduler to run the batch file.

Yeah probably. Then it would work right [img]smile.gif[/img] Didn't know that windows had such a thing

this niftly little program is the one i am using at the moment. its pretty good actually

http://www.download.com/Shutdown-Mac...ml?tag=lst-0-2

you just have to run it everytime if you want to shut down. it even has a countdown before shutting down. pretty good and stable.

If you have to run it every time you want to shut down... what is the benefit of not just shutting down the computer yourself?

err.. no.. thats not how it works.. i have to run it to set the time so it can shut down for me.

for example: i can set the program to shut down for me at 4 am in the morning when i am asleep. ;) i cant be bothered to wake up at 4am to shut down my computer myself ;)

Ah...

So it doesn't set the computer to shut down every day at the same time... makes sense now! :D

Think I'll get me one a dem! :D

Sorry...I don't see the point of this program. Can't you just shut down the computer yourself before going to bed?

well yes you can BUT..

for example:
when i am downloading something or defraging my computer or scanning my computer.. i know that it would take like around 3-4 hours to finish. so if i would start at 12 midnight, i of course, would not like to wait for it to finish and wanting to go to bed. I also dont want to waste electricity or for my situation, (this is real), having my house losing power for like 10 seconds every morning for some wierd reason. That also messes up my computer (hard disk to be more specific) for not having a proper shutdown.

Thats when this little program comes in handy. i can shut down my computer properly without waking up and before the brown out starts.

another situation would be if a guy using dial-up downloads something that would take all night but would like to have his phone line free in the morning because sometimes he gets important phone calls in the morning. so without waking up, he can shut down his computer before the morning arrives.

edit: i actually read the 2nd example of the reviews of the program [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ 11-01-2004, 06:22 AM: Message edited by: Harkoliar ]

I am going to use it to listen to music until I fall asleep, and set it to shut down my computer an hour after I go to bed...

I never shut down either of my computers. I go to energy saving mode and that's it. If you use it every day you should leave it on. Otherwise you're just heating and cooling your system. This is hard on solder joints etc due to expanding and contracting and will shorten life or functionality of the PC.

While this may be true, I have heard from our school systems manager that computers need to have 'rest periods'... or something like that [img]tongue.gif[/img]

thats a good idea actually :D .

[ 11-01-2004, 07:31 AM: Message edited by: Harkoliar ]

Why thank you...

Just doing my bit for society ;)

energy saving mode or not.. it still uses up electricity. ;) . besides i dont think the contract and expand will shorten the computer's lifespan too much since after 4 years you HAVE to change your PC :D . ah wonders of everchanging technology

<font color=cccccc>Yes. A normal pc purchased from a store front, running Win2K is desinged to run 24x7. The night IT crew are the ones who perform routine maintenance, updates etc. When I'm displaced, as currently, and not physically on the internal LAN, I do my routine maintenance once a week. Usually the same day that I maintain my vehicle. It gets all of the other non-critical Win2K updates, 'Dell' specific updates, drivers, and Norton updates. From there it gets spyware checked, then adware checked, then a full disk clean-up, then into scan disc, de-frag, and then shut-down for about 4 hours.
Sure, there are automated ways to do this, but I prefer to do an occasional visual check. Also, some of these need user interaction, and by doing when I'm about allows it to be completed in a timely manner.
For the home user, I feel that Harkoliar is on a good route, especially experiencing 'brown outs' in the AM. Yes the daily routine of power down power up takes a negligible toll on system life, it would be preffered to the drastic effects of a loss of power on a routine basis. If money were the not an issue, maintaing the power up/energy saving mode with an uninterruptable power supply would be the best route.</font>

wow thanks! you just gave me an idea. I gonna download the program. :D