How to Turn Computers On and Off

How to Turn Computers On and Off

Computers need electricity! Here's how to turn them on and off.

Turning them on

Most all computers have a power switch that you use to turn them on and off.

Note that for some models of Macintosh you can press the key with the triangle on it (usually in the upper or upper right of the keyboard) in order to power that Macintosh on, or, to generate a dialog box that will allow you to shutdown or restart the Mac.

Turning them off

If your computer is working correctly (that is, not in a crashed / frozen state) you turn a computer off by executing a Shutdown. To invoke a shutdown you can use the mouse. For most Macintosh models, you can also use the power key.

Activity 1: Power ON!

Do you notice that I give the Power On activity before the Power Off? That's because you're using the computer right now! If I show you how to shut it down, you may not know how to turn it on! ;-)

Here are the steps for Windows and then Mac:

Windows Power On Steps:

1) Find the power button on the front of your computer. This button will have either text in the plastic (like Power On) or a symbol that looks like this:

2) Press the button and wait through the startup process.(Note that you may need to turn on the monitor separately as needed.)

Mac Power On Steps

First Method

1) Find the power button on the front of your computer. This button will have either text in the plastic (like Power On) or a symbol that looks like this:

2) Press the button and wait through the startup process.(Note that you may need to turn on the monitor separately as needed.)

Second Method

Depending on make and model you may be able to use the power button on the keyboard to power on your Mac.

1) Locate the power button on your keyboard. (Note: not all the keyboards have this power button.)

Activity 2: Power OFF!

Here are the steps for Windows and then Mac:

Windows Power Off Steps:

1) Click on the Start Button.

2) Go up the Start menu to the Shutdown menu item and click.

3) This generates a dialog box that allows you to choose Shutdown, Restart, Cancel and other options. Click on the option you want (in this case Shutdown) and click Yes or OK.

This will cause the system to quit any open applications, prompting you to save any modified documents.

Then you'll get a screen confirming that the system is shutting down and, depending on make and model, the system will either go dark (i.e.: power off) or you'll get a screen saying it's now OK to power off your system (press the power button).

Mac Power Off Steps

Using the Menus

1) Switch to the Finder. (Click here if you don't know how to do this. This link will open another browser window with instructions on how to switch between applications. After you've reviewed that, close that browser window and you'll be back here.)

2) Pull down the Special Menu and execute the Shutdown menu command.

This will cause the system to quit any open applications, prompting you to save any modified documents.

Then you'll get a screen confirming that the system is shutting down and, depending on make and model, the system will either go dark (i.e.: power off) or you'll get a screen saying it's now OK to power off your system (press the power button).

Using the Keyboard

1) Press the power button on your keyboard, if your keyboard has such a button. If it doesn't, press the power buttonon the front of your Mac. This will generate a dialog box. Click on the option you want.

If you choose Shutdown or Restart the system will quit any open applications, prompting you to save any modified documents.

Then you'll get a screen confirming that the system is shutting down and, depending on make and model, the system will either go dark (i.e.: power off) or you'll get a screen saying it's now OK to power off your system (press the power button).

Note that not all keyboards have power keys on them. A Power key will either have triangle on it or the power symbol (see above).

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