Quick Links

Key Takeaways

  • To create a shutdown shortcut, right-click empty space on your desktop and go to New > Shortcut, then enter Shutdown.exe /s /t 00 into the shortcut creation wizard.
  • If you want to change the icon of your shortcut, right-click the shortcut, then navigate to Properties > Change Icon.
  • You can create multiple shortcuts for other commands like restart, sleep, hibernate, and locking your PC.

It's true that shutting down your Windows 10 PC the old-fashioned way only takes three clicks. But why spend the extra energy when you can do it in two? All you have to do is create a shutdown icon, and you'll save yourself some time.

Create a Shutdown Icon

To create a shutdown icon, right-click your Desktop, hover over "New," and then select "Shortcut."

RIght-click your desktop, then go to New > Shortcut.

The "Create Shortcut" menu appears. In the text box under "Type the location of the item," type the following command and then click "Next":

        Shutdown.exe /s /t 00
    
Enter shutdown command

In the next window, type a name for your new shortcut if you want. "Shutdown" is the default, so we'll leave it that for this example.

Click "Finish" to finish the setup process.

Name shortcut

Your new shutdown icon will appear on your Desktop.

A restart shortcut on the desktop.

Now, whenever you double-click the icon, your PC will shut down instantly.

If you'd like your icon to have a shortcut, just right-click the icon and select "Properties."

Right-click the restart button and click "Properties."

Click the "Change Icon" button, then select an icon from the default options available in Windows. Alternatively, you can make your own icon.

Click "Change Icon."

Other Useful Shortcuts

As you might have guessed, in addition to Shutdown, there are several other shortcuts you can create. The good news is you don’t have to sacrifice one shortcut to have another---you can create as many as you want.

The steps are the same as those we covered above, except you type different commands for each shortcut.

So, once again, just right-click your Desktop, hover over "New," and then select "Shortcut." Then, type any of the commands below to create the other shortcuts you want.

Command

Shortcut Icon Type

Shutdown.exe /r /t 00

Restart

rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,SetSuspendState 0,1,0

Sleep

rundll32.exe PowrProf.dll,SetSuspendState

Hibernate

Rundll32.exe User32.dll,LockWorkStation

Lock PC