If you often leave your computer on to download or to listen to music before falling asleep or even because you forget to turn it off, a program to turn it off automatically with a timer or countdown which starts when a certain event occurs may be useful. This is especially useful for stationary desktop computers because, while with laptops it may be enough to pull the cover down, with fixed it is always necessary to have manual intervention which can, in certain circumstances, be tiring. In another article that I recommend reading, I wrote that it is better to turn off the PC at night just to preserve the duration and integrity of parts such as the hard disk that are subject to wear.
However stopping Windows from time to time is important to empty the memory and close any hanging applications.
In general, therefore, if the PC remains without doing anything and there are no planned tasks, it is still convenient to turn it off.
Windows does not provide users with easy options to schedule automatic system shutdown.
As seen in another article, you can use the Windows scheduler to set an automatic shutdown with a timer .
Much more easily, however, you can use one of these 8 programs, very simple and very rich in options to turn off the computer automatically with a timer or when certain conditions occur .
1) Shutter allows you to set particular events related to the time or work of a program, to turn off, restart, disconnect, block, hibernate the PC.
For example, you can shut down the system when Winamp or iTunes stop playing, when a process stops, when pinging to an IP address does not respond, when a file reaches a certain size, when a window closes, and more. Some events included in the program are very specific and you will be able to find the condition you need even if it is original or unusual. Shutter is a simple tool with a minimal interface that can be used to configure only one type of event at a time and not to determine a series of conditions.
2) DShutdown allows you to set a precise time and the exact date of an action and is therefore useful for locking or turning off the PC at any given time.
There are plenty of preconfigured options that you just need to activate with a cross. For example, an action can be triggered even when a pixel on the screen changes color. DShutdown has the defects of being only in English, of being a little confused and of not working on 64-bit computers. The ability to send commands to other PCs on the network only works if the connection ports are open and if DShutDown is running on the other computers, with the option to receive commands remotely enabled.
3) Wise Auto Shutdown is a free program for all newer versions of Windows that allows you to create rules to shut down your computer automatically.
When you start the program, after installation, you have a single configuration screen that allows you to automatically set a computer status and a time or timer, in a very simple way. You can then decide to turn off, restart, disconnect, hibernate. You can set a time when the computer should be turned off or shut down every day or a countdown. This program is also available in Italian.
4) Airytech Switch Off is a program that summarizes the characteristics of all the others in a single interface also available in Italian. You can decide to turn off the computer automatically at a certain time or if the CPU is idle for a certain period. Among the actions there is also that of disconnecting a computer from the internet without turning it off. A web interface is also available to remotely configure actions on the computer.
5) Poweroff is an Italian program that allows you to configure different actions just by clicking on them in a specific list. Little customizable but very easy to use, Power Off is ideal to use if you want to turn off the computer automatically at a certain time.
6) Free Desktop Timer is a small utility to shut down your computer after a specified period of time. You can also hibernate your computer or put it on standby. Once installed, the Timer runs as a widget on the desktop on which you just need to right-click to activate the automatic shutdown.
7) Final Countdown is a light application to configure a timer in days, hours and minutes, for standard operations such as shutdown, restart and hibernation and also for disconnecting the system or simply blocking it. The program is portable so no installation is necessary.
8) Shutdown8 is just a lean and fast timer, with a single activation button and a customizable countdown timer to turn off, restart or hibernate the PC.
In another article, however, a different program is described, to automatically wake up the PC from Stand By or from hibernation
