Most of us turn off our PCs at the end of the day or at least once in a day. While shutting down or restarting a Windows PC has always been a matter of few clicks, a significant number of PC users prefer using keyboard shortcuts to shut down, restart, sleep, or hibernate their PCs.
In this guide, we will see all the ways out there to shut down, restart, sleep, or hibernate a Windows 10 PC using keyboard shortcuts.
Keyboard shortcut number 1 to shutdown/restart/sleep Windows 10
Use Windows logo + X > U > U
This hotkey takes advantage of the power option in the power user menu, which appears when you press the Windows logo + X keys. Here is how to use Windows logo + X > U > U keys to shut down Windows 10.
Step 1: Simultaneously press the Windows logo and X keys on the keyboard to see the power user menu, as shown in the picture below.
Step 2: Once the power user menu is opened, press U key on the keyboard to see the sign out, shut down, restart, sleep, and hibernate options.
Step 3: Finally, once again, press U key on the keyboard to shut down your Windows 10. That’s it!
If you want to perform a restart instead of shutdown, press R key instead of U. Likewise, press H key to hibernate, and press S key to put your PC into sleep mode.
Keyboard shortcut number 2 to shutdown/restart/sleep Windows 10
Use Alt + F4
If you don’t want to use the keyboard shortcuts mentioned above to shutdown, restart or hibernate your Windows 10 PC, you can use the classic Alt + F4 keyboard shortcut to initiate a shutdown/restart/sleep.
Here is how to use Alt + F4 to shut down, restart or sleep Windows 10
Step 1: Close all running programs if you want to shut down or restart your Windows 10 PC. And if you’re going to put your PC into sleep or hibernate mode, simultaneously press the Windows logo and M keys to minimize all running programs.
Step 2: Simultaneously press Alt and F4 keys to see the Shut down dialog. Note that on some PCs, you might need to press Alt, Fn and F4 keys to see the shut down Windows dialog.
Step 3: When you see the shut down dialog, press Enter key to shut down Windows 10. To perform a restart, hibernate or sleep, use up and down arrow keys to select the right option, and then press Enter key.
Keyboard shortcut number 3 to shutdown, sleep, restart or hibernate Windows 10
This method no longer works.
Since there is a power button in the Start menu as well, we can use that to perform a restart, shut down, hibernate, or sleep operation.
Step 1: Press the Windows logo key on the keyboard to open the Start menu.
Step 2: Press the up arrow key twice to navigate to the Power option. Press Enter key to see sleep, hibernate, shut down, and restart options.
Step 3: Once again, select the right option with the help of up and down arrow keys, and then press Enter key.
Do you use keyboard shortcuts to shut down, sleep, hibernate or restart your Windows 10 PC?
dave says
This doesn’t save me any time or keystrokes. I might as well hit the start button, power, scroll to hybernate, uh the usual way.
Opening a window with power options is pointless since it is on the start menu and faster.
I had this set up before and what I am looking for is to press one F key (F12) to hybernate.
It is a selection you can make somewhere in key assignments but I forgot how to get there.
But then you can just hit F12 and your computer will hybernate instead of sleep.
Since my desktop is in my bedroom, the goal is to keep the screens from coming on while I sleep.
galciu says
Number 3 still works :)
After 1 step hit “tab” and then arrow down
Shakti Verma says
Clear and extremely helpful
Pragya Verma says
its very helpful.