How to shutdown laptop during Windows 11 or Windows 10 initial setup (Set Up Windows)

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Question: I reset a laptop (Lenovo X1 Carbon G6) using Windows 10 and I want to ship it to a new owner in a pristine condition where it will let them set up Windows 10 to their liking. However, after I booted it to test that it booted okay, I am now at the initial Windows let’s start with region setup screen and I cannot shut down 🙁

Can you tell me how to turn off my PC during the installation process without a having to hard power off with the power button? (because I am worried about corruption or error messages)

Answer:

  1. At that initial setup screen, press the Shift key + the F10 key
    (note, on some laptops you may have to press the Fn key at the same time so that F10 will register as a function key).
  2. At the Command Prompt, type shutdown /s /t 15 and press the Enter key
  3. Your computer will notify you that a shutdown will occur in less than a minute (15 seconds)
  4. Voila, your PC is now shutdown safely and securely! 🙂

Command Prompt to the rescue!

Shutting down in 15 seconds!

Note: These instructions were adapted from my previous Windows 7 instructions that were posted way back in 2011. Thankfully, the tip works just as well on Windows 10 in 2019!

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computer tips, Software Tips, Windows , ,

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