How to shut down Windows 8
Yep, all Windows 8 users will need to relearn how to turn off their PCs. Microsoft hid the option in the strangest place.
If you read my post the other day and decided to test-drive Windows 8 by setting up a dual-boot configuration, you've probably encountered the same conundrum as every other user: How the heck do you shut down your PC?
In pretty much every version of Windows prior to this one, you'd click Start, then Shut Down.
Windows 8 notoriously lacks a Start button, so obviously the old rules don't apply here. More on that in a moment; in the meantime, here's how to shut down Windows 8:
1. Mouse over the little gadget in the lower right corner of the screen. (You can also move your mouse cursor to the upper left corner; same result. Or, you can press Windows-C on your keyboard.)
2. In the slide-out menu (known as the Charms Bar) that appears, click Settings.
3. Click the Power button, and then click your desired action: Sleep, Shut down, or Update and restart.
So, there you have it. In Windows 8, it requires four actions to shut down your PC: hover, click, click, and click.
I don't know whether to laugh or cry. It's always been something of a joke that shutting down your PC required a click of the Start button. Now the joke has turned downright cruel, with Microsoft seemingly going out of its way to hide one of the most basic computing options. In. The. Settings. Menu.
Shutting down a PC is not a setting. It should not require three clicks. Windows 8 arrives with a bunch of cool-looking tiles in its Start screen; how hard would it have been to add a Power tile?
The unfortunate reality here is that Windows 8 doesn't work as a desktop operating system. On a tablet, it's pretty sweet. But I have a feeling I'll be sticking with Windows 7 for a long time to come.
Check back Friday when I'll teach you how to create a Windows 8 shut-down shortcut that works with just one click.
Contributing Editor Rick Broida writes about business and consumer technology. Ask for help with your PC hassles at hasslefree@pcworld.com, or try the treasure trove of helpful folks in the PC World Community Forums. Sign up to have the Hassle-Free PC newsletter e-mailed to you each week.