How Do I Make My PC Shut Down Automatically After 1 Hour
A big download is running, a render is finishing, or you are falling asleep over a movie — you want the PC off afterwards, without staying up for it. Windows has a built-in timer for exactly this: one shutdown command, and you can walk away.
✍️ Technical Anshu🪟 Windows 10 / 11⏱️ 1 minute setup
🎥 The shutdown family is one small corner of the full CMD toolkit video — see the rest of the commands there
There is no "shutdown timer" setting anywhere in Windows Settings, which is why most people install shaky third-party timer apps for a job the system already does natively. The built-in shutdown command accepts a delay in seconds: tell it to shut down after 3600 seconds and the PC powers off exactly one hour later, closing programs as it goes. It works from any Command Prompt window (no administrator rights needed for your own session), and just as important, it can be cancelled any time before the timer runs out. The only arithmetic you need: minutes × 60. So 30 minutes = 1800, 1 hour = 3600, 2 hours = 7200, 3 hours = 10800. Before setting a long timer, save your work — when the timer fires, open apps are closed, and unsaved documents can be lost.
Windows Notification
You're about to be signed out
Windows will shut down in 60 minutes.
👆 The warning Windows shows once a one-hour timer is set (notification recreated with the real Windows wording)
1
Set a Shutdown Timer
Open Command Prompt (press Windows + R, type cmd, press Enter — or just type the command in the Run box itself)
For shutdown after 1 hour, type: shutdown /s /t 3600 and press Enter
Windows confirms with a notification that you are about to be signed out and shows the remaining time
Change the number for other durations: /t 1800 = 30 minutes, /t 7200 = 2 hours
👆 The command prints nothing back — the Windows notification is your confirmation (CMD window recreated)
2
Restart Instead of Shutdown
Swap /s for /r: shutdown /r /t 3600
Handy after installing software that needs a reboot later, or for a server PC you want cycled at a fixed time
For an immediate restart with no wait: shutdown /r /t 0
3
Cancel the Timer — The Command Everyone Forgets
Plans changed? Type shutdown /a and press Enter
The pending shutdown is aborted and Windows confirms the scheduled shutdown was cancelled
This only works while the timer is still counting down — after the shutdown has begun signing you out, it is too late
4
Quick Reference — Copy Your Timer ⭐
15 minutes: shutdown /s /t 900
30 minutes: shutdown /s /t 1800
1 hour: shutdown /s /t 3600
2 hours: shutdown /s /t 7200
Cancel anything above: shutdown /a
One command from a toolkit of hundreds — the full video covers the complete shutdown command set plus the repair, network and admin commands technicians rely on daily.
⚠️ Save your work first: a timed shutdown closes your programs when it fires. Windows warns you as the deadline approaches, but an unsaved document left open can still be lost. Also note the timer is one-shot — it does not repeat daily. For a shutdown at the same time every day, admins use Task Scheduler instead.
🎥 Watch the Complete CMD Toolkit
Shutdown, repair, network, users and more — the complete command toolkit demonstrated live in one video.
Nothing happened when I typed the command. Did it work?
Yes, most likely. The shutdown command does not print a success message in the CMD window — Windows shows a sign-out notification instead. If you set a long timer, the notification appears at once with the total time; a final warning appears in the last minute.
How do I change the timer after setting it?
Cancel the old one first with shutdown /a, then run the shutdown command again with the new time. Running a second timed shutdown without cancelling can return an error saying a shutdown is already in progress.
Can I set the timer in hours directly instead of seconds?
No — the /t value is always in seconds. Multiply your hours by 3600 (or minutes by 60). The ready-made values for 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour and 2 hours are all listed in the quick reference above.
This guide is based on the Technical Anshu CMD Toolkit video • Stuck on a step? Ask in the video comments — you will get a reply 🙏