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When I connect to my Windows 7 desktop computer via Remote Desktop (MSTSC.exe), the options under the Start Menu are "Log Off" (the default), "Lock", and "Disconnect". How do I restart (or shutdown)?

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r u an admin on the workstation? –  tonyr roth Apr 6 '10 at 17:15
Yes, I am an admin. –  gdunbar Apr 6 '10 at 17:41
for your reference, I've added the normal method to do this as an anser. –  Marcus Adams Apr 6 '10 at 21:24
@PeterMortensen that question is a duplicate of this one (this one was posted two years before that one!). –  Breakthrough Jun 17 '13 at 12:42

4 Answers 4

up vote 30 down vote accepted

Open a command window(or Windows Key + R) and type:

shutdown /r /t 0
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/r does a reboot /t sets the number of seconds. if you want to shutdown without rebooting and turn the computer off as well use an /s –  Kravlin Apr 6 '10 at 17:00
be careful of /s somebody will need to be local to powerup the workstation! –  tonyr roth Apr 6 '10 at 17:16
Unless you have Wake-On-Lan functionality. –  Andrew Lewis Apr 6 '10 at 21:34

The answer Marcus Adams gave also has a keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+Alt+End. You do have to be in full screen and/or have the RDP session set to Apply Windows key combinations on the remote computer. This effectively sends a Ctrl+Alt+Del to the remote computer (so it's handy to know for other occasions/uses too). From there, as Marcus said, you can get to Restart, Shutdown, etc. from the little red power button icon in the lower right corner.

Alternatively, you can click once on the Desktop (or the Taskbar) of the remote computer, then press Alt+F4 and you get the old-fashioned pop-up with all the shutdown options in the drop down.

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Very cool, wish I could give 2 upvotes for this one. –  Mark Kadlec May 2 '13 at 3:54
+1. Both methods work. –  Peter Mortensen Jun 17 '13 at 7:17

Start button, then Windows Security. Click the little red shutdown icon, and you'll see the "Restart" option.

You use the Windows Security option for XP and Vista also. The restart option is deliberately removed from the normal location to prevent accidents.

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(depending on domain settings) this works from XP to 8. Near the Logoff option in the start menu there is the "Windows Security" item. Clicking it will open a screen or dialog similar to the one you get locally after pressing ctrl-alt-del, that is: the logoff, restart, shutdown, Task Manager, change password options etc.... –  David Balažic Jun 30 at 18:04

From Ways to shutdown/restart your computer via Remote Desktop

Another trick is to click on the desktop and type Alt + F4. This will call up the shutdown dialog, where you get the usual shutdown options like "Shut down", "Shut down without installing updates", "Restart", "Stand by", and "Hibernate".


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