How To Shut Down or Restart Windows Through Remote Desktop

Do you want to reboot, restart, or shut down Windows through a remote desktop connection? It is pretty easy to do. Let me show you the exact steps and methods.

The Remote Desktop feature in Windows 10 and 11 makes it easy to access and manage remote PCs as if you are physically there. The good thing is that it is pretty easy to turn on or enable Remote Desktop in Windows 10 and 11. All it takes is toggling a single option, and you are good to go.

Once you are done connecting and using the remote desktop, you might want to shut it down. If you installed new software or driver on the remote desktop, you might want to restart it.

For instance, say you installed a graphics driver on the remote machine. It is necessary to restart the remote desktop computer to ensure the driver is installed and all the changes are correctly made. Otherwise, you might not be able to utilize all the features and stability of the video driver.

The good thing is that unlike in older versions, in Windows 10 and 11, it is pretty easy to shut down or restart a remote Windows machine via the remote desktop connection.

If you are confused, that is where this easy Windows how-to guide comes into play. Let me show you the steps to shut down or restart Windows via Remote Desktop.

Table of contents:

• Shut down Windows via Remote Desktop
• Restart/Reboot Windows via Remote Desktop
• I cannot find the shut down or restart option in Remote Desktop

Note: The steps shown below work in Windows 10 and 11 operating systems.

Shut down Windows via Remote Desktop

Shutting down Windows through a remote desktop is easier than you think. In fact, it is similar to how you shut down a normal computer with physical access. Let me show you how.

1. Right-click on the Start icon on the taskbar.
2. Choose the “Shut down or sign out.”
3. Choose the “Shut down” option.
4. The remote system should shut down immediately.
5. The remote desktop connection is automatically disconnected.

Alternate method: Command to shut down Windows via remote desktop

You can use a simple Run command to shut down Windows through the remote desktop if you want. Here’s how.

1. Open the Run dialog box with “Start + R.”
2. Type “shutdown /s”
3. Press the “Ok” button.
4. The remote system should shut down immediately.
5. The remote desktop connection is automatically disconnected.

Restart/Reboot Windows via Remote Desktop

You can choose the Restart option from the Start menu to reboot windows through the remote desktop. Let me show you the exact steps.

1. Right-click on the Start icon on the taskbar.
2. Choose the “Shut down or sign out.”
3. Choose the “Restart” option.
4. The remote system should restart immediately.
5. The remote desktop connection is automatically disconnected.
6. You have to initiate the remote connection again to access the remote computer.

Command to restart Windows through remote desktop

If you cannot find the Start menu option or it is not working for some reason, you can use a Run command to restart Windows via Remote Desktop. Let me show you the steps.

1. Open the Run dialog box with “Start + R.”
2. Type “shutdown /r /t 0”
3. Press the “Ok” button.
4. The remote system should restart immediately.
5. The remote desktop connection is automatically disconnected.
6. You have to initiate the remote connection again to access the remote computer.

I cannot find the shut down or restart option on the remote desktop

You might not find the shut down, restart, or sign-out options in the Start menu. This can happen due to activating a group policy. Let me show you how to fix the problem and show the shut down and restart options in the remote Windows Start menu.

1. Open the Start menu.
2. Search and open “Edit group policy.”
3. Go to the “Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar” folder.
4. Double-click on the “Remove and prevent access to the Shut Down, Restart, Sleep, and Hibernate commands” policy.
5. Choose the “Not configured” option.
6. Press the “Ok” button.
7. Close the Group Policy.
8. Restart the remote computer.
9. You should see the Shut down and Restart options in the Start menu.
10. This should fix the problem.

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That is all. It is that simple to shut down or restart Windows through the remote desktop.

I hope this simple and easy Windows how-to guide helped you.

If you are stuck or need some help, comment below, and I will try to help as much as possible.