| Shut Down |
Shut down the system, restart the computer, or put it in power-saving mode.
Start
Ctrl-Alt-Del
A Windows XP machine should never be simply turned off because the system caches data in memory and needs time to write it out to disk before it is turned off. Always use Shut Down before you turn off the power.
Depending on your settings, you may see
"Turn off Computer" or
"Shut Down" at the bottom of your
Start menu. Both do the same thing, but the interface is slightly
different. "Shut Down" displays the
Shut Down dialog found in earlier versions of
Windows, allowing you to Log off, Shut down, Restart, or Stand by.
"Turn off Computer" displays the
same choices, except as new Windows XP-style buttons instead of a
drop-down listbox. To choose between these two Shut Down dialog
styles, go to Control Panel
If Windows displays the "It is now safe to turn off your computer" message instead of simply cutting power automatically, your computer is not properly set up for APM (Advanced Power Management). There are two requirements for auto-power off: your computer must have an ATX-compliant power supply and APM support must be enabled in your system BIOS. Check with your system or motherboard documentation for details.
Windows XP also has a new option that, at least in theory, will go
through the proper shutdown procedure when you press the
power button on your computer. Go to
Control Panel