190

I know that almost everything on Windows, like opening any sort of application, can be done from the command prompt or from the Run menu.

How can I put my computer to sleep or shut it down? What is the command for that?

2

13 Answers 13

136

You will find shutdown.exe to be your friend.

Other handy commands see this post:

Sleep Computer (read more at https://superuser.com/a/463652/249349 )

Lock Workstation

Hibernate Computer - see answers by Scott Chamberlain and Eric L.

Restart Computer

Shutdown.exe -r -t 00

Shutdown Computer

Shutdown.exe -s -t 00

EDIT/UPDATE:

It seems that sleeping a computer is problematic if hibernate is turned on.

Copying from other answers:

You can either try PsShutdown or:

The command rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,SetSuspendState 0,1,0 for sleep is correct - however, it will hibernate instead of sleep if you don't turn the hibernation off.

Here's how to do that:

Go to the Start Menu and open an elevated Command Prompt by typing cmd.exe, right clicking and choosing Run as administrator. Type the following command:

powercfg -hibernate off
18
  • 27
    Problem with rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,SetSuspendState 0,1,0 is that IT DOES NOT WORK as it should. SetSuspendState will put the computer into a sort of Hybrid Sleep/Hibernation mode. When you use the Sleep button from the start menu, you can resume your computer from sleep by pressing a any key on your keyboard. Using this command line, makes is resume much slower due to the deeper sleep state and it can resume only if you press the power button on your computer. It cannot resume for a key press. So... how do you make it sleep as in normal standby - resumable with the press of a key? Feb 14, 2010 at 12:29
  • 7
    Downvoted because this doesn't actually answer the question (how to trigger a sleep). Shutdown.exe does NOT trigger a sleep, only shutdown, restart or hibernate. To sleep, you need to run: rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,SetSuspendState 0,1,0 Oct 31, 2010 at 18:20
  • 10
    The downvotes are not in the least unwarranted. Your answer does not address the question on its own. Readers should be able to gather enough useful information from an answer to solve the problem without having to follow any links to other sites which may become broken or dead.
    – Iszi
    May 19, 2011 at 4:36
  • 6
    Downvoted for not answering the question asked: even in the linked page, the method described for putting the machine to sleep won't work when hibernation is enabled.
    – akurtser
    Aug 24, 2011 at 13:28
  • 11
    rundll32 should not be used for calling SetSuspendState because its signature doesn't match the one expected by rundll32. See: support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/164787 and msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/… The first parameter gets garbage instead of FALSE value. It's the reason, why it hibernates instead of going to sleep.
    – SergeyT
    Jul 26, 2016 at 1:07
105

The methods posted by other people do not work correctly if a computer has hibernation enabled, the computer will not wake on Keyboard or, more importantly, not wake on scheduled task.

One of Microsoft's Sysinternals tool is PsShutdown using the command psshutdown -d -t 0 it will correctly sleep, not hibernate, a computer

9
  • 1
    Does not work under Windows 10. Operation not supported. Ran as admin.
    – T3rm1
    Mar 23, 2017 at 10:23
  • 3
    Works for me in Windows 10 x64, Build 1709. Nov 29, 2017 at 17:58
  • 1
    Works for me in Win10x64 Version 1709, run cmd with administrator user account but without run as administrator right click option Dec 29, 2017 at 8:16
  • 3
    Works for me with Windows 10 (not even as admin).
    – DAB
    May 23, 2018 at 8:05
  • 3
    Works in Windows 10 x64 Build 15063. One needs to download PsTools and copy psshutdown.exe from the archiv to e.g. C:\Windows\System32 in order to be able to use the command without pathprefix. One then needs to execute psshutdown -d -t 0 with admin privileges in order to suspend. This should be the accepted answer, cause it answers the question, even if not with Windows-preinstalled tools. Sep 12, 2018 at 21:24
31

The command rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,SetSuspendState 0,1,0 for sleep is correct - however, it will hibernate instead of sleep if you don't turn the hibernation off.

Here's how to do that:

Go to the Start Menu and open an elevated Command Prompt by typing cmd.exe, right clicking and choosing Run as administrator. Type the following command:

powercfg -hibernate off
7
  • 6
    I think it's the first answer that actually solves it. I put these two lines (-hibernate off first) and made a batch file that puts the pc to sleep. One problem with that is that it essentially turns off hibernation, which is not what I wanted, so to fix it, I added a scheduled task triggered on "on workstation unlock" to turn the hibernation back on with a batch whose only line is "powercfg -hibernate off". Then I configured a short key for the first batch file. Done. Works like a charm, thank you!
    – akurtser
    Aug 24, 2011 at 11:44
  • That is so weird. Hibernation needs to be turned off before you can sleep properly? Is there a name for the hybrid sleep/suspend state powrprof.dll is when hibernate is on? Just want to know. Does it relate to any of the ACPI states? Sep 12, 2012 at 16:19
  • 5
    rundll32 should not be used for calling SetSuspendState because its signature doesn't match the one expected by rundll32. See: support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/164787 and msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/… The first parameter gets garbage instead of FALSE. It's the reason, why it hibernates instead of going to sleep.
    – SergeyT
    Jul 26, 2016 at 1:10
  • Does not work under Windows 10
    – T3rm1
    Mar 23, 2017 at 10:22
  • @EhteshChoudhury, the problem in this case is that the Rundll32 parameters are incorrect and completely unsuited, so that they actually call SetSuspendState with the parameters: Hibernate: TRUE, ForceCritical: TRUE, DisableWakeEvents: TRUE. The last bit explains why you can't wake the PC with anything but the power button. It's only a coincidence that trying to hibernate when it's disabled will put your PC to sleep in Win7, and probably why it doesn't work for some people. Jan 4, 2018 at 4:03
14

NirCmd workes on Windows 8 (I assume it also works with Windows 7) → http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/nircmd.html
The command is standby, but it puts the computer to sleep.

nircmd.exe standby

If you have hybrid sleep enabled, it will work; i.e., it puts the computer to sleep and copies the memory to disk in case of power loss.

4
  • 2
    This works without having to elevate to Administrator. Works with or without hibernate enabled. Works as expected with hybrid sleep. Nice solution for Win10.
    – dsmtoday
    Feb 20, 2017 at 16:38
  • Excellent! If anyone wants the delay, it supports in in milliseconds instead of seconds: nircmd cmdwait 15000 standby will wait 15 seconds before sleeping. And if you just run nircmd.exe as admin without any arguments, it has a convenient button to copy itself to system32. Mar 18, 2022 at 11:19
  • In Windows 11 Pro 22H2 this results in hibernation on a laptop which uses Modern Standby /s0 sleep.
    – voldemarz
    Nov 7, 2022 at 18:16
  • 1
    In Windows 11 nircmd.exe monitor off puts the laptop to sleep even if its is set to allow hibernation. Tested on HP laptop with Windows 11 Pro only
    – JMax
    Feb 25, 2023 at 23:44
11

The shutdown part of the question is clear for everybody.
shutdown.exe /? shows all choices to shutdown / restart / advanced options boot / firmware boot.

But I see so much bashing thrown around about the Sleep part.
Everybody gets it that rundll32.exe should not be used to call random functions and it just works here for hibernate entirely by coincidence. But that's the nature of Windows - a black box that people have poked around and found hundreds of workarounds to get a job done (shout-out to dostips).

There are so many "proper" solutions proposing external tools, yet I can't seem to find a native (hybrid / pinvoke / whatever) batch script, even if this question has remained active over the years.
So here's my simple power_sleep.bat:

@echo off &mode 32,2 &color cf &title Power Sleep
set "s1=$m='[DllImport ("Powrprof.dll", SetLastError = true)]"
set "s2=static extern bool SetSuspendState(bool hibernate, bool forceCritical, bool disableWakeEvent);"
set "s3=public static void PowerSleep(){ SetSuspendState(false, false, false); }';"
set "s4=add-type -name Import -member $m -namespace Dll; [Dll.Import]::PowerSleep();"
set "ps_powersleep=%s1%%s2%%s3%%s4%" 
call powershell.exe -NoProfile -NonInteractive -NoLogo -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command "%ps_powersleep:"=\"%"
exit

It even works as a big one-line command:

powershell.exe -C "$m='[DllImport(\"Powrprof.dll\",SetLastError=true)]static extern bool SetSuspendState(bool hibernate,bool forceCritical,bool disableWakeEvent);public static void PowerSleep(){SetSuspendState(false,false,false); }';add-type -name Import -member $m -namespace Dll; [Dll.Import]::PowerSleep();"
2
  • 1
    I have windows 10 pro it puts system in sleep mode and gets back in about 3 seconds, what could be the reason??
    – sairfan
    Mar 7, 2023 at 4:05
  • 1
    This can only enter classic S3 Standby and not S0 Modern Standby or Connected Standby.
    – cachius
    Nov 15, 2023 at 17:40
7

You can initiate the suspend or hibernate options from the command line as specified below and referenced in this article.

%windir%\System32\rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,SetSuspendState

If your computer is set to allow hibernation then the above command will initiate hibernation. If the hibernation feature is disabled, then it will enter the standby state. As other users have answered previously, shutdown.exe /? will provide many shutdown options.

2
4

See the free utility of Wizmo, which can do very many things.
The command you're looking for is probably:

wizmo standby

5
  • 1
    Wizmo has the same problem as rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,SetSuspendState 0,1,0 -- it puts the computer in hibernation, not in sleep
    – Andomar
    Aug 19, 2012 at 18:53
  • 2
    No, since Vista it actually puts the computer in Hybrid Sleep. If you don't want this, then Turn Off Hybrid Sleep.
    – harrymc
    Aug 19, 2012 at 20:26
  • 1
    wizmo blackout worked in windows 8.1, 10. GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    – YumYumYum
    Jul 14, 2016 at 15:46
  • Wizmo work great. Unfortunately my enterprise virus scanner deletes it as it contains some sequences that make mcafee think it contains a trojan.
    – bastian
    Oct 26, 2017 at 9:47
  • @bastian: Mcafee was always bad news for an application writer (from personal experience).
    – harrymc
    Oct 26, 2017 at 10:04
4

I have created a shortcut for rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,SetSuspendState 0,1,0 (also tried with 0,0,0), but running the shortcut seemed to put my PC into hibernation. I could not wake up the PC using the keyboard; I had to press the power button, and the PC showed the mainboard post messages, etc.

After reading the Windows API document, I created a very simple programme with just 3 lines of typing. I have uploaded the executable I compiled to this page (click the "SleepTest.exe"), but this file could be deleted after a while (this is a free file hosting site that I just found by a quick Google search).

If you do not trust me (which is totally fine) or the file has been deleted, you can compile the code yourself, Of course. You need to add "PowrProf.lib" to the additional dependencies of the Linker.

#include "stdafx.h"
#include "windows.h" <-- Added this to make it work on Windows.
#include "PowrProf.h" <-- Added this to use the sleep function.

int main()
{
    SetSuspendState(FALSE, FALSE, FALSE); <-- Added this actual call.
    return 0;
}

rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,SetSuspendState 0,1,0 seems to be doing the same thing, but somehow, the programme above did not put the computer into hibernation. I could wake up the PC instantly (no mainboard post messages, etc) by pressing any key on the keyboard.

4

If you have Python (with PyWin32) available, you can also call that SetSuspendState function directly with:

import ctypes
ctypes.windll.PowrProf.SetSuspendState(0, 1, 0)

This can easily be put into a batch file or a shortcut. Sort of like:

pythonw -c "import ctypes; ctypes.windll.PowrProf.SetSuspendState(0, 1, 0)"

So then if you don't have your .py files associated to the interpreter, you can just double-click the link.

3

You must first disable Hibernate in windows and then put the computer in Sleep state. Use following two commands:

powercfg -hibernate off
rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,SetSuspendState 0,1,0

and for doing reverse action, Hibernating the computer, use commands below:

powercfg -hibernate on
rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,SetSuspendState Hibernate
5
  • 3
    rundll32 is not intended for calling SetSuspendState and should not be used for this. The first parameter gets garbage instead of correct value. So it always hibernates instead of going to sleep (if you have not disabled hibernation at all).
    – SergeyT
    Jul 26, 2016 at 22:12
  • @SergeyT It seems to be working for me (after disabling hibernation); are you saying this will corrupt windows?
    – moondra
    Jul 4, 2017 at 16:17
  • 2
    It corrupts the stack (since rundll32 expects a different call signature, so it pops things off the stack that haven't actually been put there). This leads to unexpected behaviour.
    – imoatama
    Mar 23, 2018 at 0:51
  • @imoatama nice finding...
    – masterxilo
    Aug 16, 2018 at 13:27
  • @moondra no, in this case it won't corrupt Windows. It just won't do what you've expected.
    – SergeyT
    Oct 5, 2021 at 19:48
1

Here's an article on using CLI to shutdown.

Microsoft provides PsTools which gives you CLI shutdown along with other useful tools. You can get that here.

1

Only this quick sleeper works for me (it works in Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10).

P.S.: The source code is available here.

2
  • 3
    Is there any chance you can provide a link to the actual site that you got the file from? Linking directly to the download file, especially when using g a URL shortener, can make the file seem particularly suspicious as it is a tactic often employed by malware writers.
    – Mokubai
    Mar 20, 2016 at 7:01
  • ok, i have updated link to official site.
    – T.Todua
    Apr 20, 2016 at 13:51
1

As a PowerShell one-liner:

(Add-Type -MemberDefinition "[DllImport(""powrprof.dll"")]`npublic static extern bool SetSuspendState(bool Hibernate, bool ForceCritical, bool DisableWakeEvent);" -Name "Win32SetSuspendState" -Namespace Win32Functions -PassThru)::SetSuspendState(0, 1, 0)

The command can be run, for instance, using Win + R.

For just turning off the display while keeping the PC on, see Turn off display in Windows on command.

3
  • What is that (single) backtick for? Usually they come in pairs. Mar 5 at 21:56
  • In any case, perhaps add an explanation to the answer? What is the gist? What is the theory of operation? (But *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** without *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** "Edit:", "Update:", or similar - the answer should appear as if it was written today) Mar 5 at 22:00
  • This gist is to make a specific WinAPI-call from PowerShell. May I inquire, how much explanation do you need? Mar 6 at 6:41

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .