People normally like to power off their PCs when they are not using it. Do you ever forget and leave it on? Here is our guide on how to configure Windows to automatically power down at night, but only if you’re not using the PC at the time.
This setup is very simple using Windows Task Scheduler combines a scheduled shutdown with a recurring idleness check.
Create a Task Scheduler Job to Shut Down the PC
Open Task Scheduler to create a new job, after opening click the Create Task link on the right-hand side.
Then give the task a name, and make sure to check the box for “Run with highest privileges”, since the shutdown utility requires admin access.
Then you have to switch to the Triggers tab, click New, and then setup a schedule that is perfect for you, like every night at midnight.
Now switch over to the Actions tab, click New, and then enter shutdown into the Program box, and /S into the parameters box. If you want to force a shutdown and kill every app, you can use /S /F to force it to happen right away.
Then click the Conditions tab, and make sure to check the box to only start the task if the computer is idle for more than x minutes. You can also choose to stop the task if the PC isn’t idle to help make sure it doesn’t kick in if you are on the PC.
Lastly, head to the Settings tab, and you can choose to restart the task every 30 minutes if the task fails—that way, if you are on the PC for a while past the normal time, the job will start up later on and shut down the PC.
Once you’re done, your PC will shut down automatically. 😀
