8 Solutions to Fix My PC Won’t Turn Off or Shut Down

David Darlington

Dec 16, 2024 • Filed to: Windows Computer Solutions • Proven solutions

When you try to shut down your computer, is it not turning off? Unless your system has some problematic elements, it will shut down using a simple click.

Despite making repetitive attempts, if your computer does not shut down and you think why my pc won't turn off, it could be because of several reasons.

This can be due to some faulty file system, incompatible Windows update, fast startup, unwanted running applications, etc. the reason can be any.

In this article, you will learn various solutions that will help you in turning off your PC. You will also learn how to recover any of your saved data that you lose when you try to force shut down your PC.

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Solution 1: Force Shut Down Your Computer

When your system shut down and you think my pc won't turn off, so you might try it by cutting the power source. But this is not the right way. When you unplug the system forcibly, it can damage the power supply, cause harm to the motherboard or other components of the system.

Here you can try to force shutdown your system. Try this simple and feasible solution with the below steps:

Step 1: Press and then hold the power button of your system for 5 to 10 seconds until the PC is shut down completely.

Step 2: Now, remove your complete system from power for 5 to 10 minutes. Unplug the power cord, and if you are working on a laptop, remove the battery too.

Step 3: Start your system and then try again to shut it down the same way as you previously do. If your PC shuts down normally, the issue is resolved.

Solution 2: Use the Run Box to Shut Down Windows

The Run box in Windows allows users to open a program with its name if it is in the Windows directory. Use it to shut down the PC in the below way:

Step 1: Open Run by pressing the Window + R button.

Step 2: Type the following command then press enter
shutdown /s /f /t 0

Solution 3: Shut Down Windows Using Command Prompt

Command Prompt, the command line interpreter, is available in almost all the Windows operating systems. This application executes the command that you enter to automate tasks via batch files and scripts. It also performs advanced functions to solve any problems arising in Windows.

So, when you think that my pc won't turn off, you can force shut down the system directly through CMD with these steps:

Step 1: Type CMD in your systems start menu. Now, right-click on CMD and then select the option "Run as administrator".

Step 2: Type the below command, followed by "Enter".
"shutdown /p"

Without installing any updates, your system will now shut down.

Solution 4: Quit the Open Apps and Kill Processes to Shut Down the Computer

Any of your open applications that are running in the background can also prevent the system from shut down. Closing them can fix the problem.

Step 1: Right-click on the taskbar that is at the bottom of the screen. Now select "Task Manager".

Step 2: Proceed to the "Processes". Now, look for all the apps, select each, and then go to the option "End task". You need to repeat this for every app that is present on the list. This will kill all the running processes and close all the apps that are running in the background. Once the process completes, you can shut down your system with the regular process used to turn off your PC.

Solution 5: Shut Down Windows Creating a Batch File

Save a batch file, it prevents you from typing commands repeatedly to create it. This helps you to turn off your system easily using a single click. You can do it in the following way:

Step 1: Use your Windows 10's Cortana search box for searching Notepad. Now click on it.

Step 2: Now type the same command in Notepad that you have typed above in your systems Command Prompt.
shutdown /s /f /t 0

Step 3: Now save the command by clicking on Notepad's "File" menu. You can see it at the top. On your system, the executable batch file is saved now.

Step 4: Save the file on the Desktop to run it easily

Step 5: Enter the file name and then write dot. Right the file extension as .bat. This will look as shutdown.bat.

Step 6: In the option "Save as type", select "All Files" and click on "Save".

Step 7: Right-click on your created file. Now, click on "Run as administrator" so that you can shut down your system. You can reduce this step by selecting the file to run as admin always.

Step 8: Right-click on your file. Now click on Send to -> Desktop. This will create a shortcut of the file on your Desktop.

Step 9: Right-click on your created shortcut. Now click on "Properties".

Step 10: When you are inside the tab named Shortcut, click on the "Advanced" option.

Step 11: Check the box in front of the option Run as administrator. Now click "OK". Click on this file every time you need to shut down your PC.

Solution 6: Disable Fast Startup to Fix Windows Shutdown Issue

Fast startup is the option in the Windows 10 system that runs your PC 30% faster in comparison to the normal boot.

The combination of logout function and sleep mode is a fast startup. But when it interferes with the shutdown process of your system, it prevents your PC from turning off. Here you must be thinking about what to do if my pc won't turn off. You can shut down your system by disabling fast startups.

Step 1: Open "control panel" on your PC. Now look for "power options", and select it.

Step 2: Click on the option "Choose what power buttons do". You can find the option in the left pane.

Step 3: Select "Change settings that are unavailable".

Step 4: Uncheck the checkbox in front of the option "Turn fast startup". Now close the window after clicking on "Save changes".

Solution 7: Reboot Your PC

When a normal shut down does not work properly, try the reboot option. Once the system reboots, try shutting down your PC normally.

Step: Click on your systems Start Menu and select the power icon. Now, from the options, click on "Restart".

Solution 8: Use the Troubleshooter

After trying all the above options, if you are still not able to shut down your system, use Windows Troubleshooter to resolve the issue.

Step 1: Open your systems "Settings" and then click on the option "Update & Security".

Step 2: From the left sidebar, select Troubleshoot. Now click on the "Power" option that is on the right-side panel. Select "Run the troubleshooter". It will look for issues in your system, and try to fix them if there are any. After applying the recommended fixes, your PC will shut down normally.

How to Recover Lost Data Due to the Force Shutdown of Computer?

When your PC won't shut down, and you try to force shut down it, there are chances that your important saved data gets lost in this process. If you come across such a situation, you can recover your data easily with the help of the best recovery software – Recoverit.

Recoverit data recovery software is an excellent tool that has the maximum recovery rate and is the top choice of users. It can recover data easily that is lost under any scenario, with its three steps. Moreover, the software supports more than 1000+ file systems. Proceed with the following steps to recover your lost data quickly.

Step 1: Select Location

Download and launch the software Recoverit on your PC. Now select the location to start recovering files. This location is the one where data is lost. Once you had made the selection of the drive, click on "Start", so that the scanning process begins to look for any of your deleted files.

Step 2: Scan the Location

When the scanning is being done, you can even add some filters to look for the lost files. You can specify the file type or path to it. Moreover, you can even pause or stop the running scan for your convenience, or if you feel like the lost data is found.

If the normal scan doesn't prove helpful in recovering the lost data, try "advanced" recovery to let the software look for files with the in-depth research.

Step 3: Preview and Recover Lost Data

When the scanning completes, Recoverit allows you to assure whether the lost files are recovered. You can preview your recovered data by clicking on the respective file one by one. When you are satisfied with the recovery, proceed to save those files by clicking on the "recover" allocating path to save the file.

We would like to guide that while allocating the path to save files, do not save them on the same path from where the data is lost.

With these steps, the data recovery completes. Now you can access all your deleted files that are lost in force shut down process.

The Bottom Line

Your computer might not shut down properly because of any internal issue. Whenever you come across such a situation, try the solutions discussed above to force shut down your system. But, while doing so, there are chances of losing any of your saved data.

If this happens to you, we recommend you to recover data with the Recoverit data recovery software that comes with the maximum recovery rate for the data lost under any scenario.