How can I get XP to shut down my computer after a certain amount of idle time passes? It's just I leave my computer on even when I'm not using it, and really, i gotta stop. No money!

P.S. I've seen programs available to do this for you, but I'd like to know if there is a setting somewhere. I've already looked in the power options under desktop/properties/power but I couldn't see anything.

Im sure ive seen "turn off hard disk" under Power Options. Im on a terminal now so i cant check but im sure that switching off the HD and Monitor will virtually wasting the majority of electricity.

I did this, and the computer was still on, even if not using much power, and to top it of, i couldn't bring my computer back to life.

lol...yea...power options you can set it to turn off the screen, turn off the HD, etc, but you can't get it to shut down the computer, I don't believe. BTW, I have the same issue with the sleeping thing. Damn computer never wakes up.

Perhaps they were supposed to call it "Coma Mode"?

You could try with shutdown os command. Delay can be controlled through C++/Win32.

care to elaborate?

You can make a batch file with:

SHUTDOWN -s -t 01

This will shutdown the computer after 1 second.

There might be a way to execute this batch file automatically after Windows executes some kind of signal provoked by the fact you havent touched it for an hour or something.

http://www.download-by.net/system-utili ... tdown.html

apparently, that has the ability to shutdown your computer after a time of inactivity.

Your computer does not use that much power and at least, for me, the difference in the electric bill compared to when I leave my computer on all night and when I turn it off is almost nothing. At most you might save $5-10 dollars off your electric bill. If you want to save money on your electric bill turn your air contioning up to a high temp and leave it there.

you know, you could, i dont know, SHUT IT DOWN when your not using it.....freakin lazy bastard.

Why don't you stop being such an ass

Anyway, the point is that I forget to shut it down, or think "i'll return in a minute" and never return. Things like that. $5-10 is about £2.5-5 which for me, is a lot of money. If I had that extra £5, i could eat £5 or put it in to my savings etc.

How often do your bills come? ours are every three months. So if that's 5 per month, I'd have 15 quid. Jeeze, if you didn't want to help me, in the techinchal section of the forum, then do not post in the thread.

your bills come in quarterly? That's horrible. Our bills are monthly, typically.

seriously though, 5 pounds is that much money to you? You may wanna go cap something less important then, like...maybe....the telephone. Switch to VoIP. Or the internet. Cancel cable tv if you have it. You're bound to see significantly more savings from that then the cash saved from computer power consumption.

If you have a CRT monitor, that's the majority of your money in power usage for a computer right there. Turn it off. Your tv sucks more juice all-in-all, though, so turn that whore off.

Also, don't use the microwave. Heat your stuff up on a stove instead. Microwaves chew up power. Unplug your vcrs/dvd players when you're not using them. Unplug unnecessarily eletrical equipment. However, the #1 use of poewr is air conditioning. Turn it off, open the windows, and never turn it on again.

Air conditioning? I don't think any of us euros here as that...that's for ppl in hot areas man, we come from the Uk, Bel, Hol, Est...not exactly tropic paradises.

well, hell, just get a damn bike, take off the rear wheel, set that bitch up to generate power like a turbine, and any time you want to use the computer, have Pevil right the damn thing.

"Fast Pevil, faster! I'm downloading porn!"