Vista Shutdown

Have you noticed that the shutdown button () on your Vista start menu doesn't really shut the computer down?  To shut down or restart your computer you have to click Start, hit the little arrow next to the padlock at the bottom right, and select Shut down or restart.

You can change this so the shutdown button on the start menu actually turns the computer off.  To do this:

  1. Click Start, Control Panel.  Click Classic View at the upper left.
  2. Double-click the Power Options icon.  Click Change Plan Settings under the option that has the dot in front of it.
  3. On the next screen, click Change advanced power settings.
  4. On the screen that comes up, click the + sign in front of Power buttons and lid, then click the + in front of Start menu power button.
  5. You'll probably see a line that says "Setting: Sleep".  Click Sleep, and it will turn into a button.  Click that Sleep button and a menu will drop down.  Click Shut down on that menu.
  6. Click OK to close the Advanced window and close the Power Options window.

Now if you click the start button and then click the shut down button, the computer will shut down and power off.