Save your work, use your operating system’s Shut down command, and wait for the computer to finish. On Windows, choose Start > Power > Shut down. On a Mac, choose Apple menu > Shut Down. Holding the power button is for a computer that will not respond—not the normal way to turn it off—because unsaved changes may be lost.
Before you shut down
- Save open documents and other work.
- Close apps normally, responding to any prompts to save changes. Microsoft explains that Windows applications receive shutdown notifications and may need time to close; forcing them to close without warning can lose unsaved data. Microsoft Learn: Shutting Down.
- Use the operating system’s built-in Shut down command rather than cutting power or holding the power button when the computer is responding.
How to turn off a Windows computer
These steps apply to Windows 10 and Windows 11, according to Microsoft Support:
- Select Start.
- Select Power.
- Select Shut down.
Wait while Windows closes apps and completes shutdown. If an app asks whether to save changes, save them if needed before allowing it to close. See Microsoft Support’s Windows shutdown instructions.
How to turn off a Mac
- Save your work and close apps, handling any save prompts.
- Choose Apple menu > Shut Down.
- Wait for the Mac to finish shutting down. Apple says the screen is black when shutdown is complete; some models may not have an active power light or make fan or drive noise.
If you use a Mac laptop, do not close its display while it is shutting down. Apple warns that doing so may prevent proper shutdown and make the next startup take longer. See Apple Support: Shut down or restart your Mac.
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What to do if the computer is frozen
If the computer is unresponsive and you cannot use its normal shutdown controls, a forced shutdown may be necessary. It can discard unsaved work, so use it only when the computer will not shut down normally.
On a Mac
Press and hold the power button until the Mac shuts down. Apple warns that you may lose unsaved changes in open documents.
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On Windows
First try the normal shutdown controls if they still respond. Microsoft documents that the Windows /f shutdown option forces running applications to close without warning and may cause unsaved data loss; it is not the routine way to shut down. The option is described in Microsoft Learn’s shutdown command reference.
Shut down, restart, and sleep are different
Shut down ends the current session and powers the computer off. Restart shuts it down and then starts a new session. Windows documents hibernation as a separate operation from shutdown and restart in its system shutdown reference. The exact sleep and hibernation behavior depends on the operating system and device, so do not treat those options as interchangeable with Shut down.
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Microsoft Learn describes system shutdown as bringing the computer to a state in which it is safe to turn it off, with file-system buffers flushed to disk. That is why the built-in shutdown action is the right routine choice instead of cutting power while the machine is running.
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