How to Shutdown PC in Ubuntu Linux

This post describes steps you can take to turn off or shutdown a PC running Ubuntu Linux.

There are multiple ways to shut down PC with Ubuntu Linux and all of them work well. Some work well in certain situations, but they all accomplish the same goal: to shut down or stop Ubuntu Linux.

For example, if your Ubuntu Linux PC is stuck and not responding to keyboard or mouse commands, simply pressing the power button to shutdown won’t hurt in many cases. Other times, when in rush, pushing the power button once will either put the PC to sleep or begin an automatic shutdown process.

This behavior can be changed in the Settings app in Ubuntu Linux.

So, whatever method you use to shutdown Ubuntu Linux, you’ll want to pick a shutdown method that works best for you. Oh, unless in extreme cases, shutting down your PC using the power button is not recommended.

When you shutdown by using the power button, and you have files and processes running, your work and sessions will not be saved, and you might lose all your work.

How to turn off PC in Ubuntu linux from the system menu

The normal and more common way to shut down or turn off Ubuntu Linux is using the system menu. The system menu is the top-right corner on the top bar.

To shutdown in Ubuntu Linux, click top-right of the system menu, then select the Power Off / Log Out on the context menu to expand.

On the expanded system menu context menu for Power Off / Log Out, select the Power Off command as highlighted below.

Next, click the Power Off button to shut off your Ubuntu Linux PC.

Shutdown Ubuntu Linux from command line

If you prefer to use Ubuntu Linux command line, simply open it by pressing the CTRL + ALT + T on your keyboard and run the commands below to shut down your PC.

sudo shutdown now

If you want to schedule a shutdown at a specific time, simply use the 24-hour time format and specify the time with the shutdown command.

example: shutdown at 5:00PM

sudo shutdown 17:00 

You can also specify wait time before shutting down. For example, to shutdown in 15 minutes, simply use the command options below:

sudo shutdown +15

Shutdown Ubuntu Linux using PC Power button

If all the shutdown methods above fail, simply hold down the power button for up to 20 seconds to shutdown your PC. If that also fails, well, then pull the power plug from the wall (LOL).

Hopefully these shutdown methods help you get your computer turned off.

Conclusion:

This post showed you how to shutdown Ubuntu Linux PC. If you find any error above of have something to share, please use the comment form below to report.