How to Shut Down Windows 11

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By Oluwaseun Bamisile

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Are you looking for various ways to shut down your Windows 11 computer? This guide contains everything you need and more.

Option 1: Shut Down Through the Start Context Menu

One of the fastest methods to shut down your Windows 11 computer is through the Start context menu. The subsequent steps below demonstrate how to do that.

  1. Right-click the Start button (Windows logo) on the Windows 11 taskbar.
  1. Then, hover your mouse cursor on Shut down or sign out from the options that appear. Finally, click Shut down to turn off your computer.
Shut Down Windows 11 Through Start Context Menu

Option 2: Shut Down Through the Start Menu

Another fast method to shut down your Windows 11 computer is through the Start menu. To accomplish that, follow the subsequent procedures.

  1. Left-click the Start menu button on your Windows 11 taskbar. Then, click the power icon at the bottom right corner of the Windows 11 Start menu.
Shut Down Windows 11 Through Start Menu
  1. Following that, select Shut down from the displayed options to turn off your PC.

Option 3: Shut Down Using Keyboard Shortcut

You can also shut down your Windows 11 computer using a simple keyboard shortcut. The following procedures illustrate how to achieve that.

  1. Minimize or close every active window on your Windows 11 computer.
  2. Then, press the Alt + F4 keys on your computer’s keyboard. That will automatically open the Shut Down Windows window.
  3. Consequently, select Shut down from the What do you want the computer to do? drop-down.
  1. Finally, click the OK button at the bottom of the window or press the enter key on your keyboard to shut down your PC.
Shut Down Windows 11 Using Keyboard Shortcut

Option 4: Shut Down Using the Ctrl + Alt + Delete Shortcut

Interestingly, apart from the Alt + F4 keyboard shortcut, you can also turn off your Windows 11 computer using the Ctrl + Alt + Delete shortcut. To achieve that, use the steps below as your guide.

  1. Press the Ctrl + Alt + Delete keys on your computer’s keyboard.
Shut Down Windows 11 Using Ctrl + Alt + Delete Shortcut
  1. Then, click the Power icon on the bottom right corner of the black page that appears. Finally, select Shut down from the displayed options to shut down your computer.

Option 5: Shut Down via Command Prompt Or PowerShell

If you are a fan of Command Prompt, you should be glad to know that you can also turn off your Windows 11 PC through Command Prompt. The procedures and screenshots below explain how to accomplish that.

  1. Click the Search button on the taskbar. Then, type “cmd” in the search box and select the Command Prompt app from the search result.
Shut Down Windows 11 Via Command Prompt Or PowerShell
  1. When the Command Prompt app opens, input the command below and press the enter key to shut down your PC. You can also run this command line in Windows PowerShell to shut down your computer – see the second screenshot.
shutdown /s
Shut Down Windows 11 Via Command Prompt Or PowerShell
If you open PowerShell instead of the command prompt, you can run the Stop-Computer command.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do I turn off my Windows 11 PC?

a) Right-click the Start button (Windows logo) on the Windows 11 taskbar.
b) Then, hover your mouse cursor on Shut down or sign out from the options that appear. 
c) Finally, click Shut down to turn off your computer.

2. Can I force my computer to shut down?

Yes, by holding down the power button on your computer, you can force it to shut down.

3. Where is the start button on Windows 11?

The Start button on the Windows 11 OS is located on the taskbar.

4. What is the command to shut down in Windows 11?

The command line to shut down your Windows 11 computer is “shutdown /s” (without the quotes). You can run this command line in Command Prompt and Windows PowerShell.

5. What is the shortcut to shut down?

There are two keyboard shortcuts to shut down your Windows 11 computer. These are Alt + F4 and Ctrl + Alt + Delete.

Conclusion

Shutting down your PC after a long day of work is very important. Gladly, this guide shared numerous methods to shut down a Windows 11 computer.

To be specific, this guide taught us how to turn off a Windows 11 computer through the Start context menu and Start menu. We also discovered how to perform this task using multiple keyboard shortcuts and Command Prompt or Windows PowerShell.

I hope this Windows 11 guide was helpful to you. If you were, click on “Yes” beside the “Was this page helpful” question below.

You may also express your thoughts and opinions by using the “Leave a Comment” form at the bottom of this page.

Finally, for more Windows 11 guides, visit our Windows 11 How-To page. 

About the Author

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Oluwaseun Bamisile

Oluwaseun is the Lead Content Editor at Itechguides.com. He holds a National Diploma in Computer Science (currently studying part-time for his Higher National Diploma). An internet geek with a love for automobiles, he writes product reviews, tech articles, and how-to guides on the site.

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