Ending a Windows Session

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When it's time to quit, never simply turn off your computer. Instead, open the Start menu and choose Shut Down. In the dialog box that appears (see Figure B-3), select Shut Down from the list and click OK. Windows closes any running programs, and in a moment or two, turns off the power to your computer. (On older computers that don't have power management capabilities, a message notifies you that it is safe to turn off your computer.)

click to view at full size.

Figure B-3. Click the arrow to view your shutdown options.

NOTE
Shutting down your computer makes all its shared resources unavailable to other users on your network. If any of your computer's resources—folders or printers, for example—are shared and you want to quit without disconnecting your colleagues, you can log off without shutting down your computer. See "Logging Off Without Quitting," below.

TIP
You can also display the Shut Down Windows dialog box by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Delete and clicking the Shut Down button.

If for any reason your system isn't ready to be shut down, you will be advised. For example, if you have unsaved work in a program, that program displays a prompt, giving you the opportunity to save before quitting. A program might also display a "can't quit" message if it objects to being closed for any other reason. This can happen, for example, if the program is in the middle of a communications session or if it's displaying a dialog box and waiting for you to respond.

If you don't respond to the "can't quit" message within a certain period of time, Windows displays the message shown in Figure B-4. Your choices are spelled out in the text of the message. The safest thing to do is click Cancel, return to your program, and then either respond to its needs or wait until it has finished whatever it's doing.

The message shown in Figure B-4 also appears if a program has stopped responding to the operating system. You can use the End Now button to terminate such a hung program. Do not use this but- ton capriciously, however. If a program isn't hung but is simply busy, terminating it without closing it normally might have adverse consequences—such as the loss of any work you've created since the last time you used the program's Save command.

Figure B-4. This message appears if you don't respond to a program's "can't quit" message or if a program is hung.

Switching to Low Power States

The list of options in your Shut Down Windows dialog box might include one or two options that let you end a session by switching to a low power state. The Stand By option shuts off your display and hard disk and reduces your computer's other vital functions to a barely detectable pulse. Hibernate provides maximum power savings: selecting it saves the contents of your computer's memory to disk and then shuts off the power altogether.

SEE ALSO
For information about configuring standby and hibernate options and reawakening a slumbering computer, see Chapter 26, "Power Management."

Logging Off Without Quitting

The Log Off option in the Shut Down Windows dialog box closes all running programs and logs you off your computer and network but doesn't shut down Windows. You might want to use this option at quitting time if someone else will be using your computer.

When you log off without quitting, any resources shared by your computer remain available to other users on the network. You might want to quit in this manner, for example, if others will be printing to a printer attached to your computer.

To log off, do either of the following:

  • Open the Start menu and choose Shut Down. In the dialog box that appears, select Log Off and then click OK.
  • Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete and then click Log Off. Windows asks you to confirm that you want to end your session.

After you log off, Windows presents the same Welcome To Windows dialog box that you saw at the beginning of your current session, allowing you or another user to log back on. (If you've elected to bypass the Ctrl+Alt+Delete requirement, the Log On To Windows dialog box appears instead.)



Running Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
Running Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
ISBN: 1572318384
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2000
Pages: 317

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