Restart a windows computer without shutdown.exe

Question

Is it possible, using only the command prompt, to restart a computer without shutdown.exe?

Solution 1

The following works on most Windows Server 2000 and Windows XP machines, but give it a try:

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\TSSHUTDN.EXE 0 /DELAY:0 /POWERDOWN  

Using the TSShutDn Utility

If you don’t want to use a third-party utility, you may be able to get by with a lesser known utility in Windows 2000 and Windows XP. The native commandline tool tsshutdn.exe was originally designed for shutting down servers, not work stations. It was introduced in Windows 2000, and retained in Windows XP. See MSKB 320188, “How to Use the TSSHUTDN Command to Shut Down a Terminal Server in Windows 2000 Terminal Services,” and MSKB 243202, “Windows 2000 Terminal Services Session Management Tools.” From a command prompt, type tsshutdn /? for a list of its subcommands and syntax. A command line of C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\TSSHUTDN.EXE 0 /DELAY:0 /POWERDOWN will powerdown most Windows 2000 and Windows XP computers, though some (according to correspondent “perris,” who first turned me onto this native utility) will get an error message 1702.

Solution 2

If you add PsShutdown.exe to a directory in your path, on your personal computer, you can shutdown the server remotely.

You should actually be able to do the same with Shutdown.exe from your computer.

Comments

[Ryan Bolger]

Does PowerShell count as part of the command prompt?

[James T]

It's windows server 2003, so it doesn't have PowerShell.

[Moab]

Did you run a System File Checker on the server?

[Naidim]

@Bubby4j: As I said, it works remotely, but you did not mention that you were not on the same network. You need to edit your question to reflect what you mean to be asking. How are you connecting to the remote server, for the benefit of the non-clairvoyant?

[Simon Sheehan]

Could you explain more about this tool? How does it solve the problem?