Ten Steps to Trouble-Free Computing: Step 10 - Shut Your Computer Down Gracefully

Windows 95/98/ME/XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and the Mac OS all provide a menu-driven method to shut down your computer. Don't ignore these methods. Turning off power to your system while it is still running can be a disaster. Give your system the time it needs to flush caches, close files, and save configuration information before you pull the plug.

To Turn off Windows 95/98/ME/XP/Vista/7 computers, click on Start, Shut Down, and choose Shut Down and click OK.

Although it may take longer to shut down your system the right way, it will save you a lot of grief. Many computer issues can be avoided by properly turning off your computer. Because of the way computers work, its also best to shut down and restart your computer every few days even if you leave it on 24 hours a day.