How to change the way Windows Vista shuts down
The previous post showed how the default method of shutting down Vista from the Start menu works. Actually, there are numerous variations on shutting down or going into standby or other power settings. There are settings for the physical power button and for closing the lid on a laptop. A laptop also has separate settings for running plugged in and for running on a battery. Generally, these settings can be managed from the Vista Control Panel. However, many manufacturers include their own software for managing power settings. And you should be aware that some BIOS versions have trouble with the Vista power settings, in particular “sleep” or hibernation.
In this post, I will concentrate on using Control Panel to change the default setting from “sleep” to “shutdown” for the Start Menu button. The path to the power setting configuration in Control Panel is long and involves a number of clicks. It goes:
Control Panel-Power Options-Change Plan Settings-Change Advanced Power Settings
As I have written elsewhere, there are shortcuts for many Control Panel features and in this case it might be easier to open the command line and enter:
powercfg.cpl,1
However you get there, the “Change Advanced Power Settings” dialog will look like the figure below (for a laptop):
Note that you can configure a number of different power settings. The figure shows the drop-down menu for configuring the Start Menu power button. If you want to change the action to “Shut down”, click that and then “Apply” and “OK”. You can also configure the physical hardware button and the action for closing the lid.
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