How to Shut Down Your Computer
(The “Proper” Way)
When you turn on your computer, does tell you it was shut down “improperly” and insist upon running Scandisk? We know there are times when a Windows computer freezes or hangs—all too common—and your only recourse is some form of a “hard boot” by way of the power or reset buttons.
But a lot of users we’ve seen do shut their PCs off “improperly”. Some believe turning off the monitor is sufficient—a sort of “out of sight, out of mind” thing—but, the computer is still on. Others go right for the source: the power button; this is what they mean by “improper”.
So let’s discuss, quite briefly, how to turn off you computer the “proper” way:
- Go to Start>Turn Off Computer
- A small dialogue box appears (see graphic) asking if you really want to shut down; you’ll also see options to reboot or log off a user
- Select “Shut Down”
- Walk away
- It’s that simple
This lets Windows shut down processes running both in the foreground, and just as importantly, those running in the background. Allowing Windows to shut down in this manner will keep you from seeing that improper shut down message or the Scandisk applet every time you boot.
If you’re still seeing them, though, that indicates some other problem.
Updated: November 18, 2005