Assuming you have the following scenario: you are connected to a remote Windows machine via remote desktop and you need to restart it.
Soon you will realize that there is no restart button on the Start menu to click on….
So.. without that button, how do you restart your machine???
Do not fret as there is a way!
To Restart the remote Windows machine
Press the keys Windows+R on the keyboard together, it will pop-up the run command screen.
In the input line type shutdown /r /t 0 and hit the Enter button to restart the machine immediately.
- The /r option instructs the machine to reboot
- The /t 0 option sets the number of seconds to delay before executing the restart to 0 [initiate restart process immediately]
To Shut Down the remote Windows machine
Press the keys Windows+R on the keyboard together, it will pop-up the run command screen.
In the input line type shutdown /s and hit the Enter button to shut down the machine immediately.
To Stop a Shut Down or Restart process
To try and stop a shut down process, type shutdown /a and hit enter, it will attempt to abort the shutdown/restart sequence.
Keep in mind though that there still is a high chance for this to fail.
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There will be times as a Windows Administrator that you will need to restart remote computer or server. In this tutorial, I’ll show you two easy methods for rebooting remote computers.
A remote computer cannot be restarted using the command line if it is not configured properly and if it is not connected to the same network as another computer.
How to Enable Remote Reboot
To configure the computer you wish to reboot [hereinafter referred to as the remote computer], in the Start menu search bar, type ‘services’ to find the Services utility.
If you don’t see the Services icon, type ‘services.msc’ into the search bar and the Services menu will appear.
In the R section of the Services menu, scroll down and right click on Remote Registry.
Select the Properties icon.
Open the start-up drop-down menu located in the middle of the window.
Select Automatic from the drop-down menu.
Click OK.
How to Allow Remote Reboot in Firewall
Open the Start menu on a remote computer [not the computer from which the reboot command will be sent].
In the search bar of the Start menu, type ‘Firewall’ to find the Windows Firewall program and click the appeared icon.
Click Allow an app or feature through Windows Firewall. You’ll find it in the upper left corner of the window.
In the upper right corner above the list of programs, click Change Settings. A list of programs will open.
Scroll down to the bottom of the program list and tick the box on the left of Windows Management Instrumentation [WMI].
On the right-hand side of Windows Management Instrumentation [WMI], you’ll see the option to tick either Private or Public. If your computers are connected to a public network, check the box in the Public column and click OK at the bottom of the window.
Now the firewall will not block remote access to the computer.
How to Find the Computer Name
On a remote computer [not on the computer from which the reboot command will be sent] open Windows Explorer and click This PC.
Click the Computer tab in the upper left of the window. The toolbar will open.
Click Properties. [This is a red checkmark icon on a white background, located on the left side of the toolbar.] The computer settings will open.
In the middle of the page, you’ll find the name of the computer in the ‘computer name’ line of the Computer name, domain and workgroup section. Write down the name of the computer exactly as it appears here.
How to Restart a Computer Using the Command Line
Sit at another computer. It must be connected to the same network as the remote computer. Log in as an administrator.
Open Command Prompt from the Start menu.
Type ‘shutdown /i’ in the Command Prompt window and then press ↵ Enter. A window will open with the option to restart the remote computer.
On the right side of the window, click Add. A new window will open.
Enter the name of the remote computer in the corresponding text box. If you have not yet found the name of the remote computer, do it now [see the previous section above]. Click OK.
In the Select the desired action for computers section, open the drop-down menu and make sure the Restart option is selected. If necessary, check the box beside Warn users of the action, too, and input the time during which the warning will be displayed on the screen. Then click OK.
Use Powershell to Restart a Computer
The command below will immediately restart a remote computer. The -Force option will also force a restart even if a user is logged on:
Restart-Computer -ComputerName REMOTE_COMPUTER_NAME -Force
Use Powershell to Restart a List of Computers in Your Company Network
This command is handy if you have several computers to restart. Just list all the computers you want in a text file and add that to the PowerShell command below:
restart-computer [get-content c:\work\computers.txt]
How to Restart Remote Computers Using Action1 Solution for Businesses
Action1 helps you to restart endpoints remotely. This is useful in a variety of workflows, including installing updates or rolling out new group policies. In addition, you have the option of forcing reboot immediately or specifying a schedule that will work both for you as an administrator and for remote employees. Create an account at Action1 to get started right away.
To restart a remote endpoint:
- Navigate to the Managed Endpoints page.
- Locate the endpoint[s] you want to restart and select Reboot.
Note: Alternatively, click the locations in the Actions column and select Reboot. Or click New Action on top of the page and select Reboot from the drop-down list.
Complete the wizard:
- On the Reboot step, choose if you want to warn users that a reboot is coming. The notice will appear on their screens before the endpoints restart. You can choose to show a default text or enter any other text. Then, specify the message timeout. Make sure you provide enough time to allow users to save their work and prepare for restart.
- On the Select Endpoints step, check the endpoints you plan to reboot. You can include more endpoints by clicking Add Endpoints. Action1 enables you to add endpoints individually, or you can specify criteria such as Windows Server 2019 or Windows Desktop OS.
- On the Schedule step, review your action and pick the right time to execute it. For example, you can force reboot immediately or schedule obligatory restarts once a week to deliver updates. Once ready, click Finish.
- After clicking Finish, you’ll find yourself on the Actions/History page. Here, you’ll see the execution details. If you opted not to execute your action yet, you’ll find it waiting for you on the Actions/Scheduled page.
Get Started with Action1 Cloud RMM
Action1 allows IT professionals to efficiently manage configurations for computers within and outside the local network. In addition, the platform offers total control of patch management, OS and application upgrade distribution, software deployment, remote access, as well as many other features to run your IT security and administration as seamlessly as possible.