Software to shut down PC's?

[_Bat_]

If you like, I'll see if I can make you a new msi, just tell me:

What time do you want the computer to switch off?

What message would you like it to display?

How long would you like the message for display for?

Do you want a cancel option?

How long would you like the computer to have been idle for before initiating the shutdown message? (mine waits 15 minutes before popping the message up)

 

Hi eean, sorry about the (very) late response, been busy with other jobs and have only just got back around to focusing on this.

 

Thanks for the offer, but thinking about it, your current MSI settings are perfect. I have since figured out how to deploy MSIs over the network as well.

 

I had have one remaining question... will this task work on both win2k and win xp? We have both in our network. I seem to remember that the schtasks is a winxp only thing. Will this cause trouble with the MSI?

 

Thanks a lot for your help.

[eean]

Yes, unfortunately Schtasks IS only available on xp. The installer uses schtasks to set the permissions on the task to nt authority/system. You can't even install schtasks on the 2000 system first because it will come up with an error message. If you really want it, there are some instructions here about how to edit the exe to make it run on 2k.

You could possibly save the credentials of a network admin in the task - you'd need to test it. Also, I reckon that the msi will install the task and the file to c:\windows and won't handle c:\winnt.

Basically, all a bit of a pain! Sorry.

[chrbb]

Apologies for starting this topic again, do these scripts work if the workstation is logged off, I can't seem to get anything to work and shutdown the computers when they are logged off.

[sahmeepee]

Apologies for starting this topic again, do these scripts work if the workstation is logged off, I can't seem to get anything to work and shutdown the computers when they are logged off.

 

I can't speak for the other methods, but I use the builtin shutdown command to remotely shut down computer suites. It doesn't have any problem with computers being logged off at the time.

[_Bat_]

I had no problem getting the workstations to shutdown using psshutdown or beyondexec (I think thats what it was called) when they were logged off. The only trouble I had (and am still having) is when they are in standby. The issue I had is that most of the network is windows 2000 and therefore half the tools won't work as they were designed for XP.

[johnie65]

We had the following script wrote for shuting down our machines, feel free to alter it to your own computers, it work fine with XP machines

shutdown_computers.rar

[fooby]

In a startup script (on our image that is cloned / or in a group policy startup script)

 

REM Delete all tasks (not needed, butin case some evil person already has)
schtasks /delete /tn * /f 

REM Create a task for this computer to shut itself down at 6pm
schtasks /create /sc daily /st 18:00:00 /tn "Shutdown at 1800" /tr "shutdown -s -t 60 -c \"This computer is scheduled to automatically shutdown at this time.          You have 60 seconds to save all your work and logoff.\"" /ru system

 

This way theres no "I need a list of pc's" or "use this tool just search google all day" these are all in windows already and just need to be run once per machine - or placed carefully in a startup script. (Note, this is used on WinXP clients, with 2000 YMMV)

 

fooby

[_Bat_]

In a startup script (on our image that is cloned / or in a group policy startup script)

 

REM Delete all tasks (not needed, butin case some evil person already has)
schtasks /delete /tn * /f 

REM Create a task for this computer to shut itself down at 6pm
schtasks /create /sc daily /st 18:00:00 /tn "Shutdown at 1800" /tr "shutdown -s -t 60 -c \"This computer is scheduled to automatically shutdown at this time.          You have 60 seconds to save all your work and logoff.\"" /ru system

 

This way theres no "I need a list of pc's" or "use this tool just search google all day" these are all in windows already and just need to be run once per machine - or placed carefully in a startup script. (Note, this is used on WinXP clients, with 2000 YMMV)

 

fooby

 

Yeah, this won't work for win 2000 as it doesn't come with schtasks.exe. I was -very- tempted at one point just to rip off a hacked version of schtasks.exe from an XP machine and stick it on the 2000 machines via a startup script. The only reason I didn't was because I believe it is most likely illegal to do so.

[Midget]

why would it be illegal?

[_Bat_]

why would it be illegal?

 

I don't know - I just assumed it would be. Its not a file that comes with windows 2000 so wouldn't it be against the license agreement to copy the file from windows XP to all the 2000 machines? I know its only a minor thing, but where do you draw the line?

[timbo343]

We used to use emco remote shutdown (attached) but we now use lan veiwer. Emco doesnt need to be installed on each and every computer, just the one that you are working from.

The trouble is that lan viewer client needs to be installed on all the computers, it can be a bit of a drag but once they have it all on, it works fine and plus its free. Plus the wake on lan works too, once WOL has been enabled in the bios of each machine.

http://www.mst-software.co.uk/software/

 

T

[fooby]

At this site here there is a listing for schtasks for windows 2000. The schtasks isnt really the important part - anything that will schedule a task will complete the requirement. there is a utility called JT from MS themselves that should do the job

 

http://smallvoid.com/tweak/winnt/files.html

 

 

AFAIK shutdown.exe is on both O/S's

 

fooby

 

... yes it should be illegal since you have a license for windows 2000 on that box, not XP and all its utils ... even if they do work. best to err on the side of caution.

[eean]

Apologies for starting this topic again, do these scripts work if the workstation is logged off, I can't seem to get anything to work and shutdown the computers when they are logged off.

 

My MSI (see post on page 2) works fine when the workstation is logged off or when it is in standby. It uses the schtasks to create the task, so as above, you'll have an issue on win 2k.

It is also good because the scheduled task wont run until 6pm and then until computer has been idle for 15 minutes. It will keep retrying until the next day.

[chrbb]

Sorted now thanks, decided to run shutdown from windows/system32 as a scheduled task with a 2 minute delay and a message. Bit basic but am going to set it up individually on each machine (only22), at the same time am going to set up BGINFO, (idea also gleaned from this forum) Thanks!

[_Bat_]

there is a utility called JT from MS themselves that should do the job

 

I tried this a while back, but it confused me to no end. For some reason I could not get it to do what it was supposed to, but can't remember why. IIRC, there is next to no documentation available about it online or from microsoft at all, as it is such a little known tool. It comes officially unsupported from Microsoft I believe.

 

Has anyone messed around with this in the past and actually had any success?

 

Cheers

 

James

[eean]

Documentation here:

http://www.robvanderwoude.com/jthelp/jthelp.htm

 

Never used it myself.

[srochford]

Okay, tried eean's way but failed miserably. I just can't understand MSI's very well .

 

Okay, so back to stage one. I am determined to do this one way or another.

 

It's just this stupid standby issue... the script I made works 100% perfectly (I was impressed with how flexible and smooth it was) APART from when the computer is in standby. Why can't microsoft make a setting that does what it says, no more, no less? No matter what I do the computers still manage to end up in standby

 

I cannot get wake on lan to work, no matter what I do. I don't even need these 'magic packets' because I don't really want the computers going into standby at all, so I don't care if they wake up randomly. I keep reading on the net that I might have to make a hardware adjustment to the NICs...

 

Not sure if it will help here but in case anyone else is playing with WOL then check the card settings in Windows as well as in the BIOS - eg on the Intel 1000 card on the machine I'm using now, the driver properties dialogue has a page "power saver and wake on lan options" and I had to make sure that "wake on magic packet" was ticked. There are similar settings for most recent Intel and Broadcom cards that I've looked at.

[alonebfg]

what if you set the creds like pcname/admin and then the local password i know you woulds have to know all the local passwords and pc name but i think you can set it up with a bat file in psshutdown cant you

[goodhead]

We had the following script wrote for shuting down our machines, feel free to alter it to your own computers, it work fine with XP machines

 

i'm using your script and its working on our dell gx 620 pcs ok, but wont shut down older pcs like the dell sx 270.

 

i've checked settings in script etc. it pings the pcs from the list i exported from AD.

 

any help would be appriciated!!!!

[t_guest]

we use lan view 3

lan view 3

to do everything from shutdown logoff restart disble there internet Accsess and manny more.........

[timbo343]

I back lan view 3.. a useful piece of software...

[Grommit]

I found just using shutdown.exe unreliable if the computer had gone to sleep.

So, (similar to ajbritton)

Make a scheduled task and copy it. The advantage of this over using AT is you can make the task wake the computer up to run. You can also make it so it will only run if the computer has been idle for, say, 15 minutes and make it attempt to run every minute after each failed attempt. This way a computer won't shut down if someone is using it but will shut down 15 minutes after they stop. (then make it give up, after 12 hours).

Also, if you use PS Shutdown, you can add a cancel button. I have a 15 minute count down (that means a machine will have been left idle for 30 minutes - in which case they deserve to loose their work!).

Handy for late working teachers (there are 1 or 2 NQTs!).

All you need to do is copy the file into c:\windows\tasks and run the SCHTasks command to make it run as SYSTEM.

 

I have an MSI here, which is set to shut down the machine at 6. (+ 15 minute countdown)

 

It's gone

[ICTNUT]

I use Spec Ops GPUpdate tool:

 

http://www.specopssoft.com/products/specopsgpupdate/

 

It's free, add right click functionality to ADUC and works, I would highly recommend it.

[MkII]

It works very slowly for me tho' ICTNUT - and is not scriptable. On the Pcs with ABTutor installed it's an instant power off - I prefer that - at least I know it's done before I go home!

[eean]

Here it is. Only works for XP. Hope it works.

system_shutdown_v1.1.msi