Make Vista shutdown easier
With Vista, Microsoft decided that the default power down option available on the Start menu should put your computer into sleep mode. Personally, I liked the XP method better whereby the Shutdown menu gave you several options to Shutdown, Sleep or Hibernate, pretty simple. Vista went and made it more complicated.
I only used basically two of them, Shutdown or Hibernate. In Vista you will find no less than 7 options for turning off your computer or putting it into one of several “standby†modes. In addition to the secondary power off menu (which is accessed by the small arrow at the bottom of the Start menu) there is the Power button on the start menu.
The Power button does not turn off your computer in its default settings; it places your computer into “sleep†mode. Sleep mode offers a very quick resume of less than two seconds but the Sleep and Hibernate options have a problem in Vista. After resuming from either mode do not be surprised if your CPU usage is exceedingly high. This is why it is nearly impossible for me to use either mode on any of my computers so now they are just either completely on or completely off.
Besides, the Power button should shut down the computer anyway, right, so let’s go ahead and take care of that. The easiest way to get to the Power Options is to just type power in the Start menu search box or find Power Options in the control panel (I’d just use the search feature to get to it).
Now, click on the power plan currently in use and go to Change Plan Settings and then to Advanced Power Settings. Click the “+†sign next to Power buttons and lids and then do the same next to Start menu and power buttons, select the shutdown option. You can do this for only the plan currently in use but I set it on all plans so Vista doesn’t try to surprise me.
If you want a video of how to do this head on over to Cnet Videos and let them walk you through it.
I think it’s kind of cool that after changing the power button from sleep to shutdown it changes color from Yellow to Red as seen below:
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April 24th, 2007
[...] Make Vista shutdown easier With Vista, Microsoft decided that the default power down option available on the Start menu should put your computer into sleep mode. Personally, I liked the XP method better whereby the Shutdown menu gave you several options to Shutdown, Sleep or Hibernate, pretty simple. Vista went and made it more complicated. I only used basically two of them, Shutdown or Hibernate. In Vista you will find no less than 7 options for turning off your computer or putting it into one of several “standby” modes. In addition to the secondary power off menu (which is accessed by the small arrow at the bottom of the Start menu) there is the Power button on the start menu. The Power button does not turn off your computer in its default settings; it places your computer into “sleep” mode. Sleep mode offers a very quick resume of less than two seconds but the Sleep and Hibernate options have a problem in Vista. After resuming from either mode do not be surprised if your CPU usage is exceedingly high. This is why it is nearly impossible for me to use either mode on any of my computers so now they are just either completely on or completely off. Besides, the Power button should shut down the computer anyway, right, so let’s go ahead and take care of that. The easiest way to get to the Power Options is to just type power in the Start menu search box or find Power Options in the control panel (I’d just use the search feature to get to it). Now, click on the power plan currently in use and go to Change Plan Settings and then to Advanced Power Settings. Click the “+” sign next to Power buttons and lids and then do the same next to Start menu and power buttons, select the shutdown option. You can do this for only the plan currently in use but I set it on all plans so Vista doesn’t try to surprise me. If you want a video of how to do this head on over to Cnet Videos and let them walk you through it. I think it’s kind of cool that after changing the power button from sleep to shutdown it changes color from Yellow to Red as seen below: Source:VISTA.BLORGE.com » Blog Archive » Make Vista shutdown easier [...]
April 24th, 2007
[...] Full article here: Source [...]
May 5th, 2007
Fantastic – Can’t believe it’s this simple – I was expecting to have to do registry editing or something!
May 5th, 2007
Glad to be of help, steve.
May 23rd, 2007
fantastic – much easier for my clients to use now!
June 4th, 2007
This site was referenced by annoyances.org, I’m glad it was. It was so simple and I don’t like computer dictating what options I have, thanks for the help, it was a bother to me.
July 25th, 2007
Nice one – thats been bugging me for months!
Adam
September 3rd, 2007
My-PC-Help.com has a similar article.
http://www.my-pc-help.com/Articles/KnowledgeBase/tabid/147/topic/Vista+Powerdown+to+Shutdown/Default.aspx
Thanks for posting this! I love your site.
September 4th, 2007
press the power button that you see in front of your CPU casing and windows should shutdown
September 17th, 2007
thanks, just what i was looking for!
October 21st, 2007
This will probably solve a lot of problems, along with wireless internet connection loss.
October 26th, 2007
Thanks… that was annoying.
December 6th, 2007
Everyone, I went to the Windoes Help (Search for “What happened to the Shut Down option”)and at the bottom it ask if this was helpful. I put down No and told then that this is should be up to the user and not them and to make it easier to modife the buttons.
The only what they will change is if enough people let them know that they did something that is not useful to their needs.
December 30th, 2007
Very Fantastic, Very simple. Thanks
February 7th, 2008
Thanks if we all work togetter well bet this Vista rubbish
March 28th, 2008
THANK YOU! This has been bugging me since day one!
April 29th, 2008
thank you very much. Very useful article. Thank you again.
June 9th, 2008
This was way to simple. I agree that Microsoft just complicated a simple process.
Thanks.
July 9th, 2008
THANK you!
what a silly thing to have as a default.
M
August 14th, 2008
“With Vista, Microsoft decided …” That says it all doesn’t it? Microsoft changed something for no apparent reason, and not only that, they changed it to something completely illogical. How many users do you think Microsoft asked first? I reckon they didn’t ask anyone, I think that “With Vista, Microsoft decided …”. Did they do this for anyone’s benefit, or because there was something wrong with the way things were done in the past? No, they did it because “With Vista, Microsoft decided …”. It is generally the case that commercial software is written to be sold, and so it has to be of a certain standard to succeed in the market place. However, the mighty monopolist Microsoft writes software to be rammed down the collective throat of the locked-in user base, and the software can be anything that Microsoft wants it to be. This nonsense with the power button is a perfect example of that. Microsoft are obviously far removed from the real world – I mean, what moron designs a power button that doesn’t turn off the power? Some hold that Microsoft hires the “best and brightest” – do the best and brightest give you an off switch that doesn’t turn the PC off?
The concluding statement that “I think it’s kind of cool that after changing the power button from sleep to shutdown it changes color from Yellow to Red as seen below” … well, what can I say?. For my part, I think it would be “kind of cool” if Microsoft could design an intuitive GUI.
October 21st, 2008
Is there a way to set my laptop (Vista Ultimate) so that it log off everyone when I shut it down? I noticed that my family members are still logged on when I restart my laptop after they have just shut it down without logging off.
Thank you!
October 29th, 2008
thanks a lot mate!
really helpful!
November 18th, 2008
Hmmm… you know, if I absolutely HAD to try and point out anything remotely positive about Microsoft’s move here, it would have to be that I never would’ve realized that button was customizable if it had defaultes to shutdown.
That being said, if it had defaulted to shutdown, I never would’ve needed to customize it.
January 21st, 2009
[...] am i being thick?? See the illustration here: http://vista.blorge.com/2007/04/23/m…utdown-easier/ This web site also tells you how to make the standby button a shutdown button instead. — Richard [...]
March 6th, 2009
Jonathan, The sleep default has been driving my wife bonkers since I bought her her new laptop. She’s delighted. Thanks so much
Simon
June 30th, 2009
[...] hey maybe this is the problem, try shutting down using the arrow near the shuttdown button. coz vistas default mode is to sleep not shutdown check this site to change the settings Make Vista shutdown easier – VISTA.BLORGE [...]
August 4th, 2009
thanks!! god that sleep option annoyed me, i could live with it but now its a thing in the past thanks!