If you have multiple computers on your network, you can disable them remotely, regardless of operating system. If you are using Windows, you will need to set the computer to receive remote shutdown commands. After making the settings, you can turn off the computer from any computer, including from a Linux-based computer. If you're on a Mac, you can shut it down remotely with a simple Terminal command.
Step
Method 1 of 5: Enabling Remote Registry Service (Windows)
Step 1. Open the Start menu on the computer you want to remotely shut down
Before you can shut down a Windows computer over the network, you need to enable the Remote Services service. This service requires that you have administrator access on the computer.
Read the bottom of this article to turn off a Mac computer remotely
Step 2. Enter services.msc in the Start menu, then press Enter
The Services section of the Microsoft Management Console will open.
Step 3. On the list of services, find Remote Registry
By default, the list of services will be arranged alphabetically.
Step 4. Right-click Remote Registry, then click Properties. The Properties window for the Remote Registry service will appear.
Step 5. Select Automatic from the Startup type menu, then click OK or Apply to apply the changes
Step 6. Click Start, then enter "firewall
The Windows Firewall window will open.
Step 7. Click Allow an app or feature through Windows Firewall on the left side of the window
Step 8. Click Change settings to make changes to the list at the bottom of the window
Step 9. Check the Windows Management Instrumentation check box in the Private column
Method 2 of 5: Remotely Shutting Down a Windows Computer
Step 1. Open a command line window on the computer
You can use the Shutdown program to shut down computers on the network. The fastest way to access the Shutdown program is through a command line window.
- Windows 10 and 8.1 - Right-click the Windows button, then select Command Prompt.
- Windows 7 and below - Select Command Prompt from the Start menu.
Step 2. Enter the command shutdown /i, then press Enter
The Remote Shutdown program will appear in a new window.
Step 3. Click Add to add the computer that you want to shut down remotely
You can add more than one computer, as long as the computer you are adding is set to receive remote shutdown commands
Step 4. Enter the computer name, then click OK to add the computer to the list
Find the computer name in the System window. Access the window by pressing (⊞ Win+Pause)
Step 5. Set the option to turn off the computer
There are several shutdown options for you to choose from:
- You can choose to shut down or restart the computer.
- You can warn the user that the computer is about to shut down. This option is highly recommended if you know that the computer you are about to shut down is in use. You can also adjust the length of time that alerts appear.
- You can give reasons for shutting down the computer and comment at the bottom of the warning window. These reasons and comments will be recorded in the system log. This option is important if you have multiple administrators on your network, or if you need to watch your actions in the future.
Step 6. Click OK to turn off the computer remotely
If you set an alert time, the computer will shut down after the warning time expires. Otherwise, the computer will shut down immediately.
Method 3 of 5: Remotely Shutting Down Windows Computer via Linux Computer
Step 1. Enable the Remote Registry service on the computer that you want to remotely shut down before proceeding
Follow the guidelines in the first part of this article.
Step 2. Find the IP address of the computer you want to remotely shut down
You must know the IP address of the computer to be able to turn it off on Linux. You can find out the IP address of a remote computer in several ways:
- Open a command line window on the computer in question and enter the ipconfig command. Note the IPv4 address in the window.
- Go to the router's configuration page and find the DHCP Clients table. This table will show all computers connected to the network.
Step 3. Open Terminal on Linux computer
Make sure the Linux computer is on the same network as the Windows computer you want to shut down.
Step 4. Install Samba
This protocol is required to connect a Linux computer to a Windows computer. Use the following command to install Samba on Ubuntu Linux:
- sudo apt-get install samba-common
- You will be asked to enter the root password to continue the installation process.
Step 5. After installing Samba, run the following command to shut down the computer remotely:
- net rpc shutdown -I IP address -U username%password
- Replace the IP address with the IP address of the computer you want to shut down (e.g. 192.168.1.69)
- Replace username with the Windows computer's username.
- Replace the password with the Windows user password.
Method 4 of 5: Remotely Shutting Down Your Mac
Step 1. Open Terminal on another Mac computer on the same network
You can use Terminal to shut down other Macs on the network, as long as you have administrator access on the Mac you want to shut down.
- Find Terminal in the Utilities subfolder in the Applications folder.
- You can also shut down your Mac through Windows by using an SSH application, such as PuTTY. For more information, read guides on the internet. Once connected via SSH, you can use the same command to shut down your Mac.
Step 2. Enter the command ssh username@ipaddress
Replace username with your username on the computer you want to shut down, and ipaddress with the IP address of that computer.
Read this article to find out how to find an IP address on a Mac
Step 3. Enter your password on the remote computer when prompted
After entering the above command, you will be asked to enter the account password.
Step 4. Enter the command sudo /sbin/shutdown now and press Return
The remote computer will immediately shut down, and your SSH connection will be lost.
To restart the computer, add -r after shutdown
Method 5 of 5: Shutting Down Windows 10 Computer with Remote Desktop
Step 1. Click anywhere on the blank desktop
If the desktop is inactive, this command will close any open programs, instead of opening a menu to shut down the computer. Make sure your desktop is active, and all open programs are closed or minimized.
Step 2. Press Alt+F4 while the Remote Desktop session is active
If you are using Windows 10 Remote Desktop, you may notice that the Shut Down option is not available on the Power menu. If you need to shut down your computer, you can do so through the Shut Down Windows window.
Step 3. Select Shut down from the menu
You can also select other options, such as Restart, Sleep, and Sign out.
Step 4. Click OK to shut down the computer
After clicking OK, your connection to Remote Desktop will be lost.
