How to shutdown Windows 10 during first-run setup

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Published onNovember 5, 2019

published onNovember 5, 2019

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Windows 10’s setup experience doesn’t provide any obvious way to shutdown your computer. Once you’ve booted your PC, you have to work your way through setup until you reach the desktop, at which point you can safely shutdown.

This raises an issue when you’re resetting a device ready for sale. It’s best practice to reset Windows so the new owner sees the first-run setup screens. After resetting, Windows automatically reboots into setup, so you need to shutdown the PC without using the desktop. (Of course, you could hold in the power button, but this isn’t generally advisable.)

Although it’s not advertised anywhere in the UI, there is an age-old escape mechanism within Windows setup. Pressing the Shift+F10 keyboard combination launches a Command Prompt window.

From here, you can run any command as the administrator-level “defaultuser0” user. This user account is created to host the Windows setup experience; it’s automatically removed once you complete setup and reach your own desktop.

With access to the command prompt, it’s simple to shutdown your PC: typeshutdown /s /t 0to immediately shutdown. The/stells Windows to shutdown (instead of rebooting or suspending);/t 0means shutdown after 0 seconds (i.e. immediately).

You should use this procedure after Windows 10’s installation has completed. As soon as you get to the first setup screen (asking you to select your language and region), use the sequence of commands to shutdown your device.Do notactually supply any information to the setup screens – you should leave the new owner to run through setup, so that they’re able to configure the device to suit their needs.

Next time you start the device, it will boot straight back into setup. You’re now ready to hand the device to its new owner.

Radu Tyrsina

Radu Tyrsina has been a Windows fan ever since he got his first PC, a Pentium III (a monster at that time).

For most of the kids of his age, the Internet was an amazing way to play and communicate with others, but he was deeply impressed by the flow of information and how easily you can find anything on the web.

Prior to founding Windows Report, this particular curiosity about digital content enabled him to grow a number of sites that helped hundreds of millions reach faster the answer they’re looking for.

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How to shutdown Windows 10 during first-run setup