How to Shut Down Windows Automatically at a Set Time, Including RTC Startup

Note: The screenshots in this article were captured in a Japanese-language Windows environment. Menu and setting names may differ slightly in an English-language installation.

For kiosks, digital signage, and unmanned guidance terminals that have fixed business hours or exhibition hours, daily shutdown can be automated using Windows Task Scheduler. Automatic startup in the morning is not set by Windows, but by the RTC wake-up function in the BIOS/UEFI of the compatible PC.

Verification items	Content
Target OS	Windows 10／11
How to exit	Task scheduler +shutdown.exe
automatic start	BIOS/UEFI RTC function (compatible models only)
Verification time	19:00 every day

Why do kiosk terminals need automatic power off?

Permanent display terminals such as permanent kiosks and digital signage can be automatically turned on and off according to business hours and exhibition hours, reducing unnecessary operating time and the chance of forgetting to turn them off. By setting the end time with the task scheduler and combining it with RTC wake-up on compatible models, you can automate the process from startup in the morning to termination at night.

What is RTC wakeup?

RTC (Real Time Clock) wakeup is a function that starts the PC at the time set in BIOS/UEFI. The names and setting methods, such as “RTC Alarm” and “Power On by RTC,” vary depending on the manufacturer and model. Some PCs do not support RTC startup.

In this article, we will only configure the automatic shutdown side. Please check the instruction manual of the PC you are using and configure the RTC startup separately.

Steps to create an automatic shutdown task in Task Scheduler

In Task Scheduler’s “Create Basic Task Wizard,” set the execution time and register shutdown.exe.

1. Start Task Scheduler

Press the Windows key + R to open the Run dialog, enter “taskschd.msc”, and click “OK” to launch Task Scheduler.

2. Start the basic task creation wizard

Click Create Basic Task… in the Actions panel on the right to start the wizard.

3. Enter the task name

Enter the task name in the “Name” field. In this example, it was created with the following name.

• Task name: Automatic shutdown
• Description: Blank

4. Set the trigger to “Daily”

On the “When do you want to start the task?” screen, select the execution timing from the options below.

• every day
• weekly
• every month
• One time only
• when starting the computer
• At logon
• When logging specific events

This time, we want to shut down at a fixed time every day, so select “Daily”.

5. Set start date and time and interval

On the “Daily” detailed settings screen, specify the start date and time to perform the shutdown, and the repeat interval.

• Start: 2026/07/16
• Time: 19:00:00
• Interval: 1 day

By setting the interval to “1 day”, the task will be executed every day at the specified time.

6. Select “Start a program” in the operation

On the “What action do you want to perform with the task?” screen, you will be presented with three options:

• Starting the program
• Send email (not recommended)
• Display message (not recommended)

Since “Send email” and “View message” are deprecated on the Windows side, select “Start a program” to execute the shutdown command.

7. Configure shutdown command and arguments

Enter the following values in the “Program/Script” and “Add Argument” fields.

program/script: C:\Windows\System32\shutdown.exe
Add arguments（option）: /s /f

/s shuts down Windows and /f closes running apps without warning. In the program field, shutdown.exe is specified with its absolute path so it doesn’t depend on environment variable resolution. The screenshot shows shutdown, but the command executed is the same.

8. Check and complete the settings

On the final “Summary” screen, confirm that your settings are correct.

Item	Setting value
name	automatic shutdown
trigger	Every day; starts at 19:00 every day
operation	Starting the program; C:\Windows\System32\shutdown.exe /s /f

If there are no problems with the contents, click “Finish” to register the task. If you check “Open the [Properties] dialog for this task when you click Finish”, you can open the detailed settings (properties) screen immediately after completion and set more detailed conditions.

Check/edit the created task

You can check and edit created tasks from the “Task Scheduler Library”.

Check operation with task scheduler library

When you open “Task Scheduler Library” in the left pane, the created tasks will be displayed in a list. The created “Automatic Shutdown” task will be displayed as shown below.

name	condition	trigger
automatic shutdown	Ready	Starts every day at 19:00

When you select a task, you can check the execution user and next execution time in the details panel at the bottom. If you need to finish the task even if you are not signed in, check the security options in the task’s properties. You may be asked for your password or administrator privileges when changing settings.

Check the advanced settings in the Trigger tab of the properties

Right-click the task, open “Properties”, and select the “Triggers” tab to display a list of registered triggers.

trigger	Details
every day	Starts every day at 19:00

Select a trigger and click Edit to change detailed conditions.

Detailed trigger settings (expiration date, repeat interval, etc.)

On the “Edit Trigger” screen, in addition to the basic settings (once/daily/weekly/monthly and start date/time/interval), you can enable the following advanced options as necessary.

• Specify delay time (random)
• Repeat interval (e.g. every hour with a duration of 1 day)
• Time to stop
• Expiration date (for example, you can specify one year after the start date)
• Enabled (on/off of this trigger itself)

Normally, it is sufficient to have “Enabled” turned on. Set an expiration date only if an end date is required for long-term operation.

Main options of shutdown command

The main options for the shutdown command are:

options	meaning
/s	shut down your computer
/r	restart your computer
/f	Force a running application to close without warning
/t <seconds>	Specify the wait time in seconds before shutting down
/a	Abort a shutdown in progress

This task uses /s /f. Microsoft’s official documentation notes that /f may cause unsaved data to be lost. Please confirm that the display application, database, and file writing process can be terminated safely before operation.

If you need a grace period to try the abort operation, add /t 60 only during testing. However, if the wait time is greater than 0, /f is applied implicitly.

/s /t 60

A pending shutdown can be aborted by running the following in a separate command prompt:

shutdown.exe /a

Things to check before operation

• Is an app with unsaved data running?
• Is there any problem if it terminates while writing the database or log?
• Is the task’s “next execution time” correct?
• Are the Windows time zone and time correct?
• Does the display app start automatically after RTC starts?
• Will the BIOS/UEFI time and RTC settings be maintained after a power outage?

Be careful with “If the task fails to start at the scheduled time, run the task immediately” in the task settings. If a shutdown task that could not be executed during the night is executed immediately after RTC starts the next morning, the started terminal may terminate immediately. If you have a configuration that ends only at a fixed time every day, it is better to not enable this setting to make the intention clearer.

For the first check, do not wait for the production time, but create a test task a few minutes later. Please execute after confirming that no work is being saved, and then change to the production time after verification.

Reference materials

• shutdown command (Microsoft Learn)
• Task Scheduler Overview (Microsoft Learn)

Summary

Setting items	Content
purpose	Automatic shutdown of permanent display terminals such as kiosks and digital signage
configuration tool	Task Scheduler (Basic Task Creation Wizard)
task name	automatic shutdown
trigger	Starts at 19:00 every day (1 day interval)
operation	Starting the program: C:\Windows\System32\shutdown.exe /s /f
State after creation	Registered as “Ready” in the Task Scheduler Library
Automatic startup settings	BIOS/UEFI RTC wake-up function (separate setting required)