How to force Windows XP shut down

[SteveB_NI]

Can anyone recommend a way to force windows xp laptops to shut down after a certain time?

 

I notice Vista has the option to assign an action to shut down the machine when the laptop lid is closed - unfortunately this wonderful option is not included in Windows XP.

 

I've tried a lot of shut down programs but they don't work once the user has logged off (which is where I want the shut down to kick in). I have also tried a batch file which shuts down after a count down but this also fails to work once the user has logged out.

 

Using managed service Northgate so my options are limited

 

cheers

[Domino]

I notice Vista has the option to assign an action to shut down the machine when the laptop lid is closed - unfortunately this wonderful option is not included in Windows XP.

 

 

Actually it depends on the hardware/chipset if this is possible in XP - might be worth seeing if there's a driver/software update that can enable this

[powdarrmonkey]

Shutdownertron will shut them down at the end of the day for you, as long as they're awake, but it sounds like you want a timeout rather than a schedule.

[SpuffMonkey]

I just glare at them from afar...

[SteveBentley]

psshutdown run from a scheduled task on the machine, so nobody needs to be logged in.

[User3204]

How about making a scheduled task to run at whatever time that runs "shutdown -f" - or whatever the arg is.

[powdarrmonkey]

A scheduled task still only runs at a pre-defined time, not on a timeout.

[FN-GM]

I have a script that will do this, after a certain amount of time after logon it forces the user to log off. It can be easily be edited to make a shutdown

 

PM me if your interested.

[SteveBentley]

A scheduled task still only runs at a pre-defined time, not on a timeout.

 

Set the scheduled task to launch on startup, but in the Settings tab, there are:

 

Only start the task if the computer has been idle for at least [ 30 ] minutes

 

If the computer has not been idle that long, retry for up to: [ 600 ] minutes

 

Then it should shutdown if, within 10 hours of being started up, it does nothing for half an hour it will run the specified task (eg shutdown).