How to shut down your computer without hitting 'start'
Some tricks to teach Windows

Way back in the 1900s, computer users would turn on their machines, wait maybe 30 seconds, and begin work. After their work, they would turn off their machines and head for the showers to clean up for the disco. That was it-on, off via a button, the way the gods always meant machines to be run. Now the 1900s are over. In more ways that one. The machines are in control. We wait for them, we work for them. Turn your computer on now, and you wait. And wait. And wait and wait. Then you get to type in a password, or hit Enter or Escape or something equally ridiculous on your own computer in your own home. The reason is that you aren't allowed to go away during the boot process, to get a cup of coffee or smoke a cigarette, even though there is plenty of time.

About the "time-saver" work on the computer-another time. But consider when it's time to end your session. You can't just turn the machine off and get on with your life. Here is what most people do: They click on the Start button-"start" to quit, you have to love the sense of humour at Microsoft headquarters, which is as subtle as Lor Tok hitting you over the head with a hammer. Now click on Shut Down. Now, heh-heh, click on a different Shut Down. Now click on "Yes, OK, I didn't make a mistake, I really want you to shut down, pretty please." And eventually the computer will thrash and complain and groan and shut down, or at least reach the happy state where you can turn off the blasted thing.

All this shutdown stuff is necessary. Windows can run many parallel processes, and some of them involve your data. If Windows is not stopped logically and progressively, process by process, some of them will get corrupted or unlinked-and some of that will inevitably be your data. Still, you can, if you wish, hit the Off button-of course you can, it is your computer. And if you do, then the next time you start, the computer will run a full diagnostics and disk check, while you watch. This is the computer's version of sending you to your room for punishment.

There is an alternative to this. A computer can be as easy to control as a man, if you learn the tricks. Instead of contributing to your developing carpal tunnel syndrome with four mouse clicks in four different menu choices, you can click one icon, one time and watch the machine wither and stop politely to your command. You can do it with a shortcut. While we are at it we might as well create two shortcuts. One will be for quitting, and one will be for restarting the computer, an often necessary step to get back the memory hogged by Internet browsers, reset the desktop or various other problems.

You create a shortcut by placing your mouse cursor on any blank part of your basic screen. (This is known as the desktop because it doesn't look anything like a desk and it is at right angles to your real desktop.) Hit the right button of your mouse. Slide the mouse down to "New" and then slide it down to "shortcut" as successive menus open. In the box that pops up, in the Command Line entry, type this line exactly, complete with the space and the comma. It all goes on one line of course:
C:\WINDOWS\RUNDLL.EXE User.exe,exitwindows
Click Next, and type in "Shutdown" in the box. Click Next, and Finish.

Now, quickly make another shortcut called Restart. This time in the Command Line, put:
C:\WINDOWS\RUNDLL.EXE User.exe,exitwindowsexec

You should have two new icons on your screen, with the labels you created. These are, in effect, new programs. Double-click them like any other icons, and they will run. In other words, you can restart or shut down your own computer easily, instead of the complicated, drawn out way you have been doing it.

This actually is a bit of a trick. In effect, you are making Windows run a programming command that normally would be found in a script or a compiled Windows program. It will not work on most Windows NT machines, and it will not work on early Windows 95. But it is fine for most computers and Windows of the past couple of years.

You also don't have to accept that default shortcut icon that Windows assigned to your spiffy new programs, either. During the process of making shortcuts, you may be presented with some choices for an icon. And you can change a shortcut icon at any time: Right-click the shortcut, and then choose Properties, Shortcut, and Change Icon.

One good place to find some colourful icons is the Pif Manager. Choose Browse and go to
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\Pifmgr.dll,
it should open up a window of possible icons for you, and double-clicking any icon will put it on your shortcut for you. The ones I chose should be around here somewhere.