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Stop-Computer

  • Reference
Module:
Microsoft.PowerShell.Management

Stops (shuts down) local and remote computers.

Syntax

Stop-Computer
    [-WsmanAuthentication <String>]
    [[-ComputerName] <String[]>]
    [[-Credential] <PSCredential>]
    [-Force]
    [-WhatIf]
    [-Confirm]
    [<CommonParameters>]

Description

The Stop-Computer cmdlet shuts down the local computer and remote computers.

You can use the parameters of Stop-Computer to specify the authentication levels and alternate credentials, and to force an immediate shut down.

In PowerShell 7.1, Stop-Computer was added for Linux and macOS. The parameters have no effect on these platforms. The cmdlet is just calling the native command /sbin/shutdown.

Examples

Example 1: Shut down the local computer

This example shuts down the local computer.

Stop-Computer -ComputerName localhost

Example 2: Shut down two remote computers and the local computer

This example stops two remote computers and the local computer.

Stop-Computer -ComputerName "Server01", "Server02", "localhost"

Stop-Computer uses the ComputerName parameter to specify two remote computers and the local computer. Each computer is shut down.

Example 3: Shut down remote computers as a background job

In this example, Stop-Computer runs as a background job on two remote computers.

The background operator & runs the Stop-Computer command as a background job. For more information, see about_Operators.

$j = Stop-Computer -ComputerName "Server01", "Server02" &
$results = $j | Receive-Job
$results

Stop-Computer uses the ComputerName parameter to specify two remote computers. The & background operator runs the command as a background job. The job objects are stored in the $j variable.

The job objects in the $j variable are sent down the pipeline to Receive-Job, which gets the job results. The objects are stored in the $results variable. The $results variable displays the job information in the PowerShell console.

Example 4: Shut down a remote computer

This example shuts down a remote computer using specified authentication.

Stop-Computer -ComputerName "Server01" -WsmanAuthentication Kerberos

Stop-Computer uses the ComputerName parameter to specify the remote computer. The WsmanAuthentication parameter specifies to use Kerberos to establish a remote connection.

Example 5: Shut down computers in a domain

In this example, the commands force an immediate shut down of all computers in a specified domain.

$s = Get-Content -Path ./Domain01.txt
$c = Get-Credential -Credential Domain01\Admin01
Stop-Computer -ComputerName $s -Force -Credential $c

Get-Content uses the Path parameter to get a file in the current directory with the list of domain computers. The objects are stored in the $s variable.

Get-Credential uses the Credential parameter to specify the credentials of a domain administrator. The credentials are stored in the $c variable.

Stop-Computer shuts down the computers specified with the ComputerName parameter's list of computers in the $s variable. The Force parameter forces an immediate shutdown. The Credential parameter submits the credentials saved in the $c variable.

Parameters

-ComputerName

Specifies the computers to stop. The default is the local computer.

Type the NETBIOS name, IP address, or fully qualified domain name of one or more computers in a comma-separated list. To specify the local computer, type the computer name or localhost.

This parameter doesn't rely on PowerShell remoting. You can use the ComputerName parameter even if your computer isn't configured to run remote commands.

Type:String[]
Aliases:CN, __SERVER, Server, IPAddress
Position:0
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:True
Accept wildcard characters:False

-Confirm

Prompts you for confirmation before running the cmdlet.

Type:SwitchParameter
Aliases:cf
Position:Named
Default value:False
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

-Credential

Specifies a user account that has permission to do this action. The default is the current user.

Type a user name, such as User01 or Domain01\User01, or enter a PSCredential object generated by the Get-Credential cmdlet. If you type a user name, you're prompted to enter the password.

Credentials are stored in a PSCredential object and the password is stored as a SecureString.

Note

For more information about SecureString data protection, see How secure is SecureString?.

Type:PSCredential
Position:1
Default value:Current user
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

-Force

Forces an immediate shut down of the computer.

Type:SwitchParameter
Position:Named
Default value:False
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

-WhatIf

Shows what would happen if the cmdlet runs. The cmdlet isn't run.

Type:SwitchParameter
Aliases:wi
Position:Named
Default value:False
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

-WsmanAuthentication

Specifies the mechanism that is used to authenticate the user credentials when this cmdlet uses the WSMan protocol. The default value is Default.

The acceptable values for this parameter are:

  • Basic
  • CredSSP
  • Default
  • Digest
  • Kerberos
  • Negotiate.

For more information about the values of this parameter, see AuthenticationMechanism.

Caution

Credential Security Service Provider (CredSSP) authentication, in which the user credentials are passed to a remote computer to be authenticated, is designed for commands that require authentication on more than one resource, such as accessing a remote network share. This mechanism increases the security risk of the remote operation. If the remote computer is compromised, the credentials that are passed to it can be used to control the network session.

This parameter was introduced in PowerShell 3.0.

Type:String
Accepted values:Default, Basic, Negotiate, CredSSP, Digest, Kerberos
Position:Named
Default value:Default
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

Inputs

None

You can't pipe input to this cmdlet.

Outputs

None

Notes

This cmdlet uses the Win32Shutdown method of the Win32_OperatingSystem WMI class. This method requires the SeShutdownPrivilege privilege be enabled for the user account used to restart the machine.

In PowerShell 7.1, Stop-Computer was added for Linux and macOS. For these platorms, the cmdlet calls the native command /sbin/shutdown.