Never ignore built-in/native commands in Windows

This post is based on my today’s learning.

Before I started using Powershell, shutdown.exe was the only command that I used to shutdown multiple remote computers. But I felt really inconvenient with it because, I had to use some batch scripting to shutdown multiple  remote computers. Even till Powershell V2 I relied on this utility to shutdown multiple computers by wrapping some code around it.

Well, there is no problem with the usage, but for the first time I have seen a very useful option in this tool. That is GUI. I never knew that shutdown.exe has UI. I never knew it because, I never cared to read what this tool offers me by looking at command help. You might wonder what is so special about this UI.

So, dear system admins, The point I want to make is read the help message of a native tools carefully, they might ease your task. No need to always develop complex scripts/automation for simple tasks.

Look at the below screenshot.

Using this UI,

• You can shutdown multiple computers by pasting the list after selecting add button.
• You can shutdown all computers in a OU using a single click.
• You can shutdown, restart, and mimic a unexpected shutdown as well.
• You can set the timeout you want
• You can provide the reason for shutdown and comment as well. This goes to multiple computers

Hope this helps.. Happy learning…