Shutdown is an exciting command line program available in the Windows
Server family, and also
Windows 7 and Vista. I say exciting both in the sense that everyone loves this
command, and also exiting in the sense it has a dramatic effect - downs the
server. So take care when experimenting with this command.
Twenty dollars gets you fifty, that sooner or later you shoot yourself in
the foot and accidentally shutdown your own machine instead of the machine
you really wish to restart. So pay close attention to the syntax.
Shutdown /a Remember this is your get out of jail card, it aborts shutdown
Shutdown is a built-in executable in XP and the Windows Server family. Your
first decision is do you want a simple shutdown? If so, use Shutdown
/s. Alternatively, should you desire the machine to restart then type
Shutdown /r.
After you issue the /s or /r, a dialog box appears with a 30 second count
down, remember to issue the Shutdown /a if you are just testing, or have
made a mistake. Watch out for the dialog box disappearing as you issue
the Shutdown /a instruction.
Now for the 'Remote' switch /r. The full command would
be: Shutdown /r /m \\victim. The slashes look slightly
strange, but that's how it works, in this example, 'victim' is the remote
machine name. None of this is case sensitive so sHUTDOWN /R /m \\ViCTim would work.
Note: There is no space between the backslashes and the computername \\ victim would be a
mistake.
For the local machine, try 127.0.0.1 e.g shutdown /s /m \\127.0.0.1. Useful in batch files.
Examples of Windows 2003 Remote Shutdown switch
shutdown /s /m \\victim - Shuts down a remote machine called 'victim'
shutdown /r /m \\exchange - Reboots a remote
machine called 'Exchange'
Note: For once the sequence of switches is important shutdown /m /s \\ machine does not work.
Guy
Recommends:
SolarWinds Free Wake-On-LAN Utility
Encouraging computers to sleep when they're not in use is a great idea -
until you are away from your desk and need a file on that remote sleeping machine!
WOL also has business uses for example, rousing machines so that
they can have update patches applied. My real reason for recommending
you download this free tool is because it's so much fun sending those 'Magic
Packets'. Give WOL a try - it's free.
/t for time. Is 30 seconds too short (or too long) a time?
You can adjust with /t: 60 to display the dialog box one minute. Maximum is
600 seconds.
/f for force. 'Mr Nasty', is coming - ready or not! Shutdown
/r /f as you may have guessed, restarts the machine and closes any programs
without warning.
/c for comment. Would you like to put your stamp on the shutdown?
Let people know who is in charge! /c " Guy
is shutting you down for an update"
/d p:4:1 reason. Personally, I would avoid this switch, the syntax
is tricky the numbers obscure and worst of all it does nothing exciting.
That said the idea is sound, it enters a reason for the shutdown in the
event log. If you activate shutdown's help, then you will get a whole
list of major and minor reasons that you could employ with this switch.
For me, this switch is an option, an option that I do not take.
Note 1: Shutdown's switches work equally well with a dash, for example, -d, -r or -a (instead of /d, /r or /a)
Some poeple prefer the graphical interface of shutdown, to access this try:
Shutdown /i
How To Stop Users Shutting Down Computers
Every company has mischief makers. If you want to stop people
shutting down other workers machines by abusing shutdown -r, then
you can set a Group Policy which prevents 'Force Shutdown From A Remote Machine'.
Launch GPMC or SECPOL.MSC Navigate to Local Policies User Rights
Assignment.
Experiment by assigning just your account, rather than all
administrators.
Guy
Recommends: Permissions Analyzer - Free Active Directory Tool
I like the
Permissions Monitor because it enables me to see quickly WHO has permissions
to do WHAT. When you launch this tool it analyzes a users effective NTFS
permissions for a specific file or folder, takes into account network share
access, then displays the results in a nifty desktop dashboard!
Think of all the frustration that this free utility saves when you are
troubleshooting authorization problems for users access to a resource.
Give this permissions monitor a try - it's free!
YourServer: The computer is processing another action and thus cannot be
shut down. Wait until the computer has finished its action, and then try
again.(21)
This problem is caused by a Remote Desktop Connection using the /console
switch to the Windows Server 2003 computer.
Solution, either get a hotfix for a permanent solution, else check the
server's remote connections for a temporary work-around.
This section deals with a completely different setting. Imagine that you wish
to disable the annoying shutdown tracker found on Windows Server 2003.
As is so often the case, when you do not like a feature there is hidden
way of turning it off. In order to disable the Shutdown Dialog box,
check out your group policy. Ask yourself, would this be a Computer
policy or a User policy? The answer is Shutdown Event Tracker is a
Computer policy. Armed with this knowledge make sure that:
a) You
select the OU which containers the Windows 2003 server.
b) You navigate to
the Computer not the user part of group policy.
Complete Group Policy path to disable Shutdown Event Tracker:
Local Computer Policy
Computer
Configuration
Administrative Templates
System
Guy Recommends:
SolarWinds' NPM - Network Performance Monitor
SolarWinds' performance monitor is designed for detecting network outages,
making it easy to see what's working, and what needs your attention.
This utility guides you through creating network maps; it also helps
identifying whether the
root cause is faulty equipment, or resource overload. Give NPM a try.
Shutdown /a Remember this is your get out of jail card, it aborts shutdown
For the local machine, try 127.0.0.1 e.g shutdown /s /m \\127.0.0.1. Useful in batch files.
