How can I remotely log off from, reboot, or shut down a machine?

A. The Microsoft Windows 2000 Resource Kit and Microsoft Windows NT Resource Kit supply a shutdown.exe utility that you can use to shut down or reboot the local or a remote machine. This utility also lets you configure how to handle hung applications.

For example, the command:

C:> shutdown \morpheus /r /t:15 "bye bye"

would reboot (/r) the machine morpheus in 15 seconds (/t:15) with the helpful message “bye bye.”

Win2K includes the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) Computer Management snap-in that you typically use to manage services and local users, but you can also use the snap-in to shutdown or reboot by completing the following steps:

If you select Log off Current User from a terminal services session, the application logs off the user at the console, not your session, so choose this option with care.

You can use the Computer Management snap-in to attach to other computers. After you connect to the computers, you can perform the same steps as above to reboot or shutdown.

To connect to a remote machine, perform the following steps:

Select Properties, then the Advanced tab. Click the Startup and Recovery button, then the Shut Down button as before.