When you are connected to another computer by remote desktop, did you ever notice that the shutdown and restart options are not there. The computer that you remote desktop to must already be on. But if you regularly use remote desktop, at some stage you will want to restart the remote computer from where you are. For example you might install a program and you need to restart the computer to finish the installation. If this doesn’t happen automatically then you can follow the steps below.

How to Reboot or Shutdown a Machine from Remote Desktop Connection using Windows XP?

1. Open the run box by pressing the WINKEY and the letter R on the keyboard.
2. Type the following command into the run box: shutdown -r -f
3. Press Ok.
4. This will restart the remote computer.

If you would like to shutdown the Windows Xp remote computer you can type: shutdown -f

When you are typing these commands in you must type it exactly right. If you miss a space or a dash it will not work.

Restart a remote computer using Windows Vista or Windows Seven.

On these newer operating systems the run box is almost obsolete. You only have to open the start menu and type these commands into the search bar at the bottom. This area acts as a run box and you can type commands into this.

If you want to make a permanent icon on the remote computers desktop see How to create a shutdown, restart, or logoff shortcut on your desktop and Video – How to create a shutdown, restart, or logoff shortcut on your desktop

Notes on restarting a remote computer

• Typing shutdown -i -f will display the Shutdown Dialog Menu