Window PCs can be turned off in more than one way. You can use a keyboard instead of a mouse. You may instead use your computer. On top of that, computer shortcuts are faster, easier to learn, and can even help you get around some issues if your mouse is broken.
In both Windows 10 and Windows 11, here are the tools you can use to turn off your computer.
Methods for quickly powering down a computer using shortcut keys
Step 1: Before you do anything else, close all of the open apps. It’s not necessary, but it would be wise to do this. In order for this to work, you will need to be on the Windows home screen and not in any apps.
Step 2: If you need to, make sure that your keyboard’s FN key is on. It usually has a light that lets you know if it’s on or off. For this method to work, the FN key must be pressed.
Step 3: Press Alt and F4. This should bring up a stop menu on your PC right away. To shut down Windows 10 as quickly as possible with your keyboard, press the Enter key. Windows will then shut down and update itself if it needs to.
Step 4: To power off your computer, hit the Tab and Arrow keys simultaneously. This will take you to the drop-down menu, where you can choose what to do. It may be better to do this with your mouse. From the menu, you can choose to sleep, restart immediately, and switch users. Choose what you want and then click OK to start.
When you put your computer to sleep, it saves what it was doing so that you can quickly get to it again when you turn it back on. It can help you save some time, especially on machines that could be faster.
Step 5: If you want to try something else, press Win (the Windows key) + X. This will show you the system menu. The Arrow keys will take you to the power choices. From there, you can choose how you want Windows to sleep or turn off. This choice does the same thing as the last one; the interface is just a little different.
What if the keyboard isn’t responding?
In the event that your PC is so frozen that you are unable to use the computer, you will need to restart it. Your PC’s manual Power button should be pressed and held until it entirely shuts down. You shouldn’t do this every time you want to turn off your computer, but it works fine if something is wrong and other keys are stuck… even though you’ll also want to find out what’s wrong.
Windows apps could be closed by pressing Alt + F4.
Alt + F4 is a general method that is used to shut down the computer. Suppose you press Alt + F4 while in an app; it will try to close it right away the app it can. But if you are on the Windows home screen and an app is closed or shrunk, it will show you the PC shutdown menu instead. That’s one reason why you should close all of your apps before starting.
Why are there no sleep options in Windows 10/11?
There should be, but if the sleep choice is no longer in the Start menu, it’s likely due to a bug. The sleep choice might only work some of the time after some Windows updates or changes, but sometimes it does. It’s good that you can turn it back on.
Step 1: Go to the Control panel as the first step. If you don’t need to find out where it is, look for it.
Step 2: Go to Hardware and Sound and then choose Power Choices.
Step 3: Pick what you want the power button to do.
Step 4: Look at the bottom of the window. There are choices for shutting down. Check that the Sleep box is checked. Why might you not be able to find it right now? If you don’t check it, it won’t show up in the Power menu.
We have a guide that will answer some of your questions about whether or not it’s worth switching to Windows 11 right now if you haven’t still need to do so.
Frequently asked questions
How do I manually shut down my computer?
Press the Power button on Windows 11 or 10 PCs by navigating to the Start menu and then clicking on the Power button. When prompted, select “shut down” from the list of options.
This works for both macOS Ventura and Sonoma: Go to the Apple menu and pick “Shut down.”
How can I shut down my PC with a keyboard?
When you want to turn off a Windows PC with a keyboard, you can do a few different things. These are two:
- Please close or shrink your apps first, and then press either Alt + F4 or Alt + Fn + F4. This should open a window with a shutdown choice. If “Shut down” is already chosen, all you have to do is press the “Enter” key.
- If not, use the arrow keys and Tab keys to get to the drop-down menu and select “Shut down.” Then press “Enter.”
- Hold down the Windows key and press the X key. Then, use the arrow keys to get to Shut down or sign out >
- Shut down in the menu that comes up. Use the arrow keys to choose “Shut down,” then press “Enter.”
What are some other useful Windows keyboard shortcuts I should know?
You should also know these other useful Windows keyboard shortcuts:
- The Quick Settings in Windows 11 allow you to adjust the volume and brightness, among other things: Press Windows and A.
- To launch File Explorer, press the Windows key plus E.
- With the PrtScn key, you can take a picture and copy it to the clipboard.
- For more information on Windows keyboard shortcuts, you can refer to our guide on Windows 10 and Windows 11 shortcuts.
