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I've just reset a Windows 10 PC, in order to pass it on to someone else. It's a Microsoft Surface Pro 4.

It's now prompting me to set it up, starting with selecting the language.

I want to shut it down, to send it on to its next owner, who will do the set-up.

No amount of holding down the power button is actually turning it off.

Are there any tricks, please?

(I'm worried that if I let the battery go flat, and it won't boot, it might be considered a security risk if investigated in the post)

Clare Macrae
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1 Answers1

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Try pressing SHIFT+F10 to get a Command Prompt. Note that if you have a laptop, you may need to hold Fn as well.

If you have a touchscreen device without a hardware keyboard, tap on the Accessibility icon to open the On-screen Keyboard. Tap on Shift, Fn, F10.

Once you have a Command Prompt window, run shutdown /s /t 0.

You'reAGitForNotUsingGit
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  • Wow - `SHIFT+F10` worked first time - I had no idea this was possible. Thank you very much! – Clare Macrae May 25 '16 at 09:11
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    @ClareMacrae - Yep, and the same shortcut works during the installation from DVD/USB as well, and you can run all kinds of commands, like `diskpart` – You'reAGitForNotUsingGit May 25 '16 at 13:51
  • For anyone following this before shipping a Surface Pro device: make sure you put it the right way in the box so that there is a gap between the power switch and the packaging. Otherwise, your carefully turned off machine will turn back on in transit. #luckyescape – Clare Macrae May 25 '16 at 21:37
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    If it's a docking tablet (touchscreen) like the ASUS Transformer which comes with a Bluetooth keyboard, the keyboard may not work because Windows has not finished installing Bluetooth drivers. It's possible you can't connect any USB keyboard as well. _**You still have hope.**_ Touch the accessibility icon on the bottom left corner and choose **On-Screen Keyboard**. Tap on **Shift**, then **Fn**, then **F10**. You'll see the Command Prompt open. Continue by tapping on **s, h, u...** _you get the idea._ (BTW, you need to wait 30 seconds; if you don't want to wait, use `shutdown /t 0 /s` instead) – ADTC Feb 21 '17 at 05:04
  • **Don't try Ctrl-Shift-F3.** If you tried it and ended up with an Administrator profile with a Sysprep window showing up, select "OOBE (Out of Box Experience)" and Shutdown options in this window and click OK. **DO NOT** select "Generalize" because (I think) it will remove the product key and Windows activation. Leave the Generalize checkbox **unchecked**. In any case, when the new user turns the PC on, it will go back to the Language selection screen. – ADTC Feb 21 '17 at 05:35
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    I'm resetting a Dell Inspiron Laptop with Windows 10 Home Edition. I wasn't having any luck with Shift-F10 until I found this post and tried it with Shift-Fn-F10. That did the trick! Ran the commands at the command prompt and the computer shut down. Tried it a few times just to make sure my buyer would have the out of box experience when starting the computer for the first time, and it worked everything time. – Nick Petrie Jan 13 '18 at 18:04
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    Wow. I cannot believe I had to come to StackExchange to turn off a computer! – mindlessgreen Dec 10 '18 at 15:19