Problem
Windows 8 no longer has a start button, where it all previous versions of Windows navigated to shut down the machine.
Solution
This will shut the machine down immediately with no other warning dialogue boxes.
- Open Windows Explorer
- In the address bar enter the following path:
%appdata%\microsoft\windows\Start Menu\Programs\
- Right mouse click on a clear area
- Select New
- Select Shortcut
- In the field called “Type the location of the item” enter:
%systemroot%\system32\shutdown.exe -s -t 0 - Select “Next”
- Enter a name for this shortcut or use the default “shutdown.exe”
- Select Finish
- In the explorer window you should see the shortcut you just created, right mouse click on the icon
- Select Properties
- Select Change Icon…
- Change to the icon you wish to use and select “OK”, there is a power button icon.
- Select OK
- Go to the Start Screen
- Scroll to the right fully and you will see the icon of the shortcut you just created, you can now drag this to where ever you wish or if you Right Mouse Click on the icon you can choose to “Pin To Task Bar”
This can also be done by right clicking on the desktop or any folder location hovering over “New” then selecting “Shortcut”, this will take you straight to step 6 but the shortcut will be created on the desktop. This can then be pinned to the task bar by dragging it. You can also create a tile on the start screen for locking the computer/tablet(especially useful on a tablet) by using %windir%\System32\rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation at step six, you can also find a padlock icon in the same place as step 13. Make sure to click “Apply” after selecting the icon you wish to use.