Schedule Windows server to reboot or shutdown automatically
Sometime it is necessary to reboot (or shutdown) windows server. Under UNIX or Linux you can use reboot / hal t/shutdown command via cron jobs or at command. But, when it comes to Windows server there is no built in command exist. Only Windows 2000 Resource Kit offers shutdown command line utility.
However, sysinternals has nifty utility called PsShutdown. It is a command-line utility similar to the shutdown utility from the Windows 2000 Resource Kit, but with the ability to do much more. In addition to supporting the same options for shutting down or rebooting the local or a remote computer, PsShutdown can logoff the console user or lock the console (locking requires Windows 2000 or higher). PsShutdown requires no manual installation of client software.
How do I schedule Windows Server Reboot / Shutdown?
You can download PsShutdown from sysinternals web site.
Store file on Windows server in folder. I use folder called C:\admutils. Next open windows command prompt (Start > Run > cmd) and use windows at command to schedule reboot:
c:> at 2:00am c:\admutils\psshutdown.exe -r -f -c -t 10
Above command will reboot system at 2am. If you want to shutdown system:
c:> at 1:00am c:\admutils\psshutdown.exe -s -f -c -t 10
Where,
- -s: Shutdown windows server
- -r: Reboot windows server
- -f: Forces all running application to exit
- -c: Allow the shutdown to by cancel by user
- -t: Specifies the countdown in seconds until the shutdown
For more information read official psshutdown documentation. Read at command help by typing at /? command.
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Tags: command prompt, logoff, nifty utility, psshutdown, shutdown command, shutdown utility, shutdown windows server, sysinternals, windows command, windows_2003_resource_kit
Excellent information, I thought you guys only likes UNIX / Linux
Keep it up good work.
Windows server already includes a shutdown command called just shutdown!
Ok I will try reading the post next time
You should also add the command “-accepteula” to the psshutdown command, because otherwise the task will hang, idicating a “running” state in Scheduled Tasks. It’s just waiting for the EULA agreement, which it doesn’t show.
So, to complete the example before, type:
“at 2:00am c:\admutils\psshutdown.exe -r -f -c -t 10 -accepteula”.
@TimBee,
Thanks for pointing out this issue.
Appreciate your post.
NixCraft -> Thank YOU for this helpful article!
great. I was experiencing problem with shutdown built-in command.
just discovered this website, looks very interresting.
What switch do I need to do a weekly restart?
Dan,
Use windows schedule task option and select weekly option.
Nice article.. It has helped me a lot. Thank you.
Thank you. A very usful bit of information, just what the doctor ordered.
a’noon everyone.I am running, win server2003. I have tried… the above. and it does nto work for me-I must be doing something wrong. I have typed the following. in the cmd prompt. C:\>at 11:45am c:\pstools\psshutdown.exe -r -f -c -t 10
I press enter and I get the following message. “Added a new job with job ID = 1″
NOTHING happens….at the said time…!!!! what am I missing? the official documentation, states that I have to put in the comp name? is this what I am missing???? please help. many thanks, J
PS: how can I view these said jobs as well? I now apparently have 3 jobs pending.thanks. J
There is no need to reponde to my 1st message, I never saw the add -accepteula part. It now seems to work. Blindin, thanks. Can I get some script to make this run daily, without any manual intervention.
Use the task scheduler in Windows 2000/2003 server by visiting My Comp > Control Panel > Scheduled Tasks
HTH
yea thanks-I found that….im just being thick.monday morning hang over :).thanks
for the ones who wonder, it looks like ’scheduled tasks’ is just a frontend to at, so if you wanna schedule some tasks, you can also use at /? to find out how
of course you’ll find out that entering just
at
will display the current jobs
at /delete
will delete the thing and so forth
happy hacking 2 all
testing today the command, i’ve found that -accepteula is not a supported parameter on recent version of psshutdown, as jeff smith pointed earlier
Works great with -accepteula, thanks
I tried it with the accepteula switch and it still did not work……………….I am using windows 2003 server and R2
My mistake i had to update to the latest version of the tool once i did that the -accepteula worked fine
You can also do this through Scheduled Tasks. Go to Control Panel->Scheduled Tasks->Add Task. Select Browse and go to %Windows%\System32\ and select shutdown.exe. You can then follow the wizard to select how often and at what time. You’ll need to provide account login info that has admin privileges on the machine. At end select the option to display advanced properties. Under the Task pane you’ll see it is going to run C:\WINDOWS\system32\shutdown.exe. You can add the /r option to restart - or any other you may need such as /t 60 to wait 60 seconds before restarting.
/accepteula works with latest ver. of psshutdown.
Would also recommend psshutdown over Windows shutdown.exe
Open Notepad, paste the command below
psshutdown -r -f -c -t 10 /accepteula
then save as autoreboot.bat
Next create Windows scheduled task to run this batch file. Can download psshutdown.exe from sysinterals site and place in system32.
sir,
My situation is some what different
I have server one is win2k3 and other is linux RH AS4 . what i want is both server should switched on morning 8 am and should shutdown 12 pm automatically how to make it ?
I tried but i could not succeed
Please write and explain simple way
I’m looking for a way if possible of using the shutdown command or psshutdown command to restart a windows server 2003 without it causing services like exchange etc to report errors in event log of it not closing correctly and server logs reporting that the server shutdown unexpectedly, as this can lead diagnosing problems astray. Obviously the fact that it forces services to close mid operation is the problem - would the t switch fix this giving services enough time to stop or does it not start closing things until the time is up… I guess worse case is to run a stop command for services having a problem but it would be nice if there is just a simple switch for it
thanks
Matt,
You need to write a small batch file. To stop service use net stop service command. May be something as follows will do the trick:
HTH
thanks for the info, very usefull!
My boss asked me to write a script to shut down the entire serverpark at work, in case of emergencies. I want to make a netstop script for shutting down several services quickly, to make sure the servers dont take too long to shutdown. As there are some exchange services that can give you a hard time when you ask them to shutdown for example. So i not only need to make these net stop scripts for exchange, but also for SQL, ISA and IIS servers. So if anyone of you familiar with scripting and services can help me .. it will be greatly appreciated! The best way to contact me is mailing me on “jannick.werckx@hotmail.com”. I hope to get some feedback, i really need these scripts. Thanks in advance!
Couple of comments on stopping services.
- It makes no sense to use an “at” command in a batch script. The script itself needs to be scheduled.
- It may be that the amount of time Windows allows for shutting down services needs to be extended. There’s a registry parameter for that; don’t remember where, offhand.
And one comment on scheduled tasks in general:
I like to have anything like this write to a log file so I see the record of what the command(s) did. Not a big fan of mysteries when it comes to server admin.
sir,
My situation is different
I have server one is win2k3. I finished setting inthe scheduled task to shutdown the machine at 8.30 pm. Actually now what i want is my server win2k3 should switched on in the morning 8 am without manually switched on.
automatically how to make it ?
I tried but i could not succeed
Please write and explain simple way