RemoteShutdown FAQ

This section answers frequently asked questions (FAQs). Some of these questions are real ones that people have actually asked us, others are ones that we think may be asked.

Please be sure to also read the product documentation for information on how to use RemoteShutdown.

    What will RemoteShutdown do for me?

    Surely you've just put a fancy GUI round the Windows SDK program SMSBOOT?

    Surely you've just ripped off the WinNT Resource Kit program ShutGUI?

    I'm still not convinced it's useful

    Why does RemoteShutdown not work with Windows 95/98?

    I'm using Windows95 and RemoteShutdown won't run at all in command-line mode.

    Will you be bringing out a versions for other Operating Systems?

    RemoteShutdown says that the remote computer denied my shutdown request.

    Do I have to be actually logged on to the machine I'm trying to shut down?

    I want to run RemoteShutdown from my scheduler.  It only seems to work when I'm logged on as the Administrator.

    I pressed the "Default" button to make my current settings the default ones whilst in local mode and it didn't save my remote mode settings (or vice versa)

    I checked the "Force apps to close" check-box in local mode, switched to remote mode, and it unchecked itself (or vice versa)

    I'd like to programmatically shut down a computer remotely in my own program. How do we do it, or is it a secret?

    My program won't have System Administrator privileges. How do I do a local shutdown programmatically?

    What is the Win32 SDK? How do I get it?

    I'd like you to write a special or extended version for me?

    Why have you changed your name from Jumping Armadillo Software to Coruscant Ltd.?

    I don't have administrator privileges. Is there a "back door" so I can shut down a machine anyway?

    I want more information about RemoteShutdown / you haven't answered my question. What do I do now?

What will RemoteShutdown do for me?

RemoteShutdown allows you to shut down machines over which you have administrative control, but not necessarily physical control (ie. it would be a real effort to actually physically go to the machine and shut it down normally).

Surely you've just put a fancy GUI round the Windows SDK program SMSBOOT?
Surely you've just ripped off the WinNT Resource Kit program ShutGUI?

Not really. SMSBOOT and RemoteShutdown both use the same SDK APIs (Software Development Kit Application Programming Interfaces), rather than RemoteShutdown just calling SMSBOOT as a DOS process.  RemoteShutdown also lets you do local shutdowns, which SMSBOOT does not.  Besides, SMSBOOT is not widely available and only has a command-line interface.

Whilst ShutGUI does provide similar functionality, it only lets you shut down one machine at a time. RemoteShutdown supports multiple machines and the ability to save a list of machines for use later.

I'm still not convinced it's useful

If you don't have a need for remotely shutting down workstations then that’s Ok. Several people who have used it have found it to be invaluable. One user tells us that it saved him a 3 hour drive to a remote workstation that had hung and needed to be restarted.

Why does RemoteShutdown not work with Windows 95/98?

The Win32 SDK function that we use to do remote shutdowns is only supported by Windows NT. This is because Windows95/98 does not support Remote Procedure Calls (RPCs).

We can think of ways of getting round this (by writing a client-server application that requires the target workstation to be running the client), and plan to implement at some stage.  However, it will require you to install client software on the target machine. 

I'm using Windows95 and RemoteShutdown won't run at all in command-line mode.

You're probably in DOS mode (ie. you started Windows95 in "Command Prompt only" mode, or used "Shutdown and Restart in MS-DOS mode" under the Windows95 Shutdown menu). RemoteShutdown is a 32-bit Windows program and not a DOS utility. You should instead select "MS-DOS Prompt" from the Start menu and run RemoteShutdown or, less usefully, use the Run command on your Start menu.

Will you be bringing out a versions for other Operating Systems?

Not at the moment, but if you have a specific requirement or need, then please contact us.

RemoteShutdown says that the remote computer denied my shutdown request.

The Win32 SDK manual says that in order "to shut down a remote computer, the calling process must have the SE_REMOTE_SHUTDOWN_NAME privilege on the remote computer. By default [...] administrators can enable the SE_REMOTE_SHUTDOWN_NAME privilege on remote computers."

This means that the user account you are using on the machine initiating the shutdown (ie. the machine you are running RemoteShutdown.exe on) must be listed in the "Administrators" local group of your target machine. By default, when you set up a workstation to log on to a Windows NT Domain Server, you set the "Domain Admins" group of your server to be a member of the "Administrators" local group of the workstation. However, if the user of the workstation has administrative control of their own machine then they can remove this, and then the domain administrator no longer has remote administrative control. It's crazy, but true. We're looking at ways round it at the moment as we have exactly that problem at work. If you have a solution to this then please let us know - we've only really dabbled in NT Administration as its not our main line of business.

If you have complete control over both machines, you should make sure that the user account you are using on your own machine has admin privileges over the target machine. To do this, launch User Manager on the target machine and make sure that the "Administrators" group includes the username or group of the machine you intend to run RemoteShutdown on.

Do I have to be actually logged on to the machine I'm trying to shut down?

No. As mentioned above, so long as the user account you are using on your own machine has admin privileges over the target machine, then you should have no problems.

I want to run RemoteShutdown from my scheduler.  It only seems to work when I'm logged on as the Administrator.

As mentioned above, the user account running RemoteShutdown needs to have Adminsitrator privileges. The Windows Scheduler does allow you to specifiy the username and password of the account to run under, so you will need to make use of this to get RemoteShutdown to run under the Scheduler.

I pressed the "Default" button to make my current settings the default ones whilst in local mode and it didn't save my remote mode settings (or vice versa)

Currently we keep the two entirely separate. We chose to do this as we felt there was a possibility of accidentally altering the defaults in the other mode when you didn't want to do that.

I checked the "Force apps to close" check-box in local mode, switched to remote mode, and it unchecked itself (or vice versa)

As mentioned above, we're keeping local and remote modes entirely separate. A beta version did have the two linked, and it was felt that this caused confusion and meant that if you set the default to "forced" in remote mode, then you would set the default to "forced" in local mode too. You might not want this, so we unlinked them again.

I'd like to programmatically shut down a computer remotely in my own program. How do I do it, or is it a secret?

It's no secret. It's well documented in the Win32 SDK. The function you are looking for is InitiateSystemShutdown(...)

My program won't have System Administrator privileges. How do I do a local shutdown programmatically?

Use the Win32 function ExitWindowsEx(...)

What is the Win32 SDK? How do I get it?

If you have to ask this question then you are probably being a bit ambitious in wanting to do either local or remote shutdowns programmatically. The Microsoft Windows 32-bit Software Development Kit (Win32 SDK for short) is available from Microsoft at their web site (http://www.microsoft.com/) in the developer's section. Most mainstream development environments including those from Microsoft and Borland ship with the SDK as standard. Check your documentation - you may have it without realising it.

I'd like you to write a special or extended version for me?

We would be happy to undertake such work. Please contact us for a quote.

Why have you changed your name from Jumping Armadillo Software to Coruscant Ltd.?

We felt it was necessary to reflect the growing maturity of our products. We were also concerned that many potential users of our excellent software might be put off by the frivolous name of "Jumping Armadillo", and would feel more confident in dealing with a VAT-registered Limited Company.

I don't have administrator privileges. Is there a "back door" so I can shut down a machine anyway?

No. We have written RemoteShutdown for legitimate use only. It is not a prank or hacking program, and is not designed for malicious use. If you don't have sufficient privileges on your network to make use of RemoteShutdown then we cannot and will not help.

I want more information about RemoteShutdown / you haven't answered my question. What do I do now?

Please use the feecback form on our "Contact us" page to send us an email. We will respond as quickly as possible.