Windows 8 Shortcuts to Shutdown and Restart

A few months back, I purchased a laptop with Windows 8 pre-installed.  This laptop does not have a touch screen, so I was forced to figure out how to use Windows 8 with a mouse.  Frustrating is the only word I can think of to describe this experience.  While there are things that I like about Windows 8, there are far more things that I don’t like about it.  At the top of my “dislike” list is the Modern UI (previously known as “Metro UI”).  Why any computer manufacturer would ever consider pre-installing this OS on a non-touch screen device is beyond me.  While I could sit here and tell you about the many things I don’t like about Windows 8, I’ll narrow it down to this, don’t buy it.  But if you do, and you find yourself in the same situation as I did, here are a few little tricks I’ve learned that help ease the pain:

Shutting down.  Why has this become such a chore?  First you must point your mouse to a corner of the screen to call up the Charms Bar, then click on Settings, then click on Power, then click on Shutdown.  Really, Microsoft, really?  Here are a few shortcuts:

Use keyboard shortcut Windows key + i

Add a Desktop Shortcut to shut down:

1. Right click on the Desktop and select New / Shortcut.
2. Type:  shutdown /s /t 0
3. Click Next
4. Name your shortcut “Shutdown” (or whatever you like).
5. Click Finish.

Change your shortcut icon:

1. Right click on your shortcut, and then select Properties.
2. On the Shortcut tab, click Change Icon.
3. Click OK in the warning box that says “choose an icon from the list or specify a different file”.
4. Browse and select an icon of your choice and then click OK twice.

Tip:  Right click your shortcut and select Pin to Taskbar to add the button to your Taskbar.

Create a Desktop Shortcut to Restart Windows 8

Follow the steps above for creating a shutdown shortcut and replace step #2 with:  shutdown /r /t 0