Rebooting a Remote Computer

Provided by: Molly Pell, Technical Project Manager

Remote Desktop can be an invaluable tool—it lets you connect a computer at a remote location, and interact with it like you’re sitting right in front of it. However, the remote computer’s Start menu only shows options to “Log Off” and “Disconnect”—it does not include the standard “Shut Down” options (Log off, Shut down, Restart, Stand by, Hibernate). And using Ctrl+Alt+Del doesn’t work either—this command is captured by the local machine.

There are several ways to shut down the remote computer, but these 2 methods are the simplest I’ve found:

Use the Windows Security Window

Open “Windows Security” from the remote computer’s Start menu, and click [Shut Down] to see the standard Shut Down options.

Pressing Ctrl+Alt+ End also works to open the Windows Security window (just like Ctrl+Alt+Del, only on the remote computer).

Run a Command Line

Open “Windows Security” from the remote computer’s Start menu, select Run, and run a command line (and optional switch) to shut down the computer:

·          To shut down, run “shutdown”

·          To reboot, run “shutdown –r”

To log off, run “shutdown –l”

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