How to Remotely Restart a Windows Machine Through Command Line

This wikiHow teaches you how to restart another computer on your network from your own computer by using the Windows Command Prompt app. You cannot remotely restart a computer with Command Prompt if you haven't previously set the computer...

Part 1 of 4:

Enabling Remote Restart

How to Remotely Restart a Windows Machine Through Command Line Picture 1

Make sure that you're on the computer that you want to restart. Before you can remotely restart a computer on your network, you must set up the computer to receive remote instructions.
How to Remotely Restart a Windows Machine Through Command Line Picture 2

Open Start
How to Remotely Restart a Windows Machine Through Command Line Picture 3
. Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen.
How to Remotely Restart a Windows Machine Through Command Line Picture 4

Type services into Start. Doing so searches the computer for the Services app.
How to Remotely Restart a Windows Machine Through Command Line Picture 5
Click Services. It's a gear-shaped app at the top of the Start window. The Services window will open.
1. If this option doesn't appear, type services.msc into Start to force it to appear.
How to Remotely Restart a Windows Machine Through Command Line Picture 6

Scroll down and click Remote Registry. It's in the "R" section of the main window. Clicking Remote Registry selects it.
How to Remotely Restart a Windows Machine Through Command Line Picture 7

Click the "Properties" icon. It's a grey box with a folder on it just below the View tab at the top of the window. The Properties window will open.
How to Remotely Restart a Windows Machine Through Command Line Picture 8

Click the "Startup type" drop-down box. This box is to the right of the "Startup type" heading in the middle of the window. A drop-down menu will appear.
How to Remotely Restart a Windows Machine Through Command Line Picture 9

Select Automatic. Click Automatic in the drop-down menu.
How to Remotely Restart a Windows Machine Through Command Line Picture 10

Click OK. It's at the bottom of the window. Doing so enables remote restart on this computer.

Part 2 of 4:

Allowing Remote Restart in Firewall

How to Remotely Restart a Windows Machine Through Command Line Picture 11

Open Start
How to Remotely Restart a Windows Machine Through Command Line Picture 12
. Make sure you're still using the computer that you want to remotely restart.
How to Remotely Restart a Windows Machine Through Command Line Picture 13

Type firewall into Start. This will search for the Windows Firewall app.
How to Remotely Restart a Windows Machine Through Command Line Picture 14

Click Windows Firewall. It's an image of a brick wall and a globe. You'll find it at the top of the Start window.
How to Remotely Restart a Windows Machine Through Command Line Picture 15

Click Allow an app or feature through Windows Firewall. This link is in the top-left corner of the window. Doing so opens a list of all programs and services on the computer.
How to Remotely Restart a Windows Machine Through Command Line Picture 16

Click Change settings. It's above the upper-right corner of the list of programs. Clicking it unlocks the list of programs.
How to Remotely Restart a Windows Machine Through Command Line Picture 17

Scroll down to the "Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI)" option. You'll find this near the bottom of the list of programs.
How to Remotely Restart a Windows Machine Through Command Line Picture 18
Check the "Windows Management Instrumentation" box. It's to the left of this option.
1. If the computers you're using are on a public network, you'll also need to check the "Public" box on the far-right side of the page.
How to Remotely Restart a Windows Machine Through Command Line Picture 19

Click OK. It's at the bottom of the window. This computer will no longer block remote access in Firewall.

Part 3 of 4:

Finding the Computer's Name

How to Remotely Restart a Windows Machine Through Command Line Picture 20

Open Start
How to Remotely Restart a Windows Machine Through Command Line Picture 21
. Again, you'll need to do this on the computer that you want to restart, not the computer from which you send the "Restart" command.
How to Remotely Restart a Windows Machine Through Command Line Picture 22

Open File Explorer
How to Remotely Restart a Windows Machine Through Command Line Picture 23
. Click the folder-shaped icon in the Start window.
How to Remotely Restart a Windows Machine Through Command Line Picture 24

Click This PC. It's a computer-shaped folder on the left side of the File Explorer window.
How to Remotely Restart a Windows Machine Through Command Line Picture 25

Click the Computer tab. This option is in the upper-left side of the window. A toolbar will appear below the tab.
How to Remotely Restart a Windows Machine Through Command Line Picture 26

Click Properties. It's a red checkmark on a white box in the far-left side of the toolbar. This will open the Properties page for this computer.
How to Remotely Restart a Windows Machine Through Command Line Picture 27
Note the computer's name. You'll find the "Computer name" section under the "Computer name, domain, and work group settings" heading in the middle of the page.
1. Make sure you write down the name exactly as it appears in this menu.

Part 4 of 4:

Restarting via Command Prompt

How to Remotely Restart a Windows Machine Through Command Line Picture 28

Open another computer on your network. This computer must have administrative privileges, and it must be on the same network as the computer that you want to restart.
How to Remotely Restart a Windows Machine Through Command Line Picture 29

Open Start
How to Remotely Restart a Windows Machine Through Command Line Picture 30
. Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen.
How to Remotely Restart a Windows Machine Through Command Line Picture 31

Type cmd, then press ↵ Enter. This should open Command Prompt.
How to Remotely Restart a Windows Machine Through Command Line Picture 32

Type shutdown /i into Command Prompt, then press ↵ Enter. This command brings up a window from which you can remotely restart the other computer.
How to Remotely Restart a Windows Machine Through Command Line Picture 33

Click Add…. It's on the right side of the window. Doing so opens another window.
How to Remotely Restart a Windows Machine Through Command Line Picture 34
Enter the other computer's name. Type the name of the computer that you want to restart into the text field in the window.
1. If you didn't find the computer's name earlier, do so before continuing.
How to Remotely Restart a Windows Machine Through Command Line Picture 35

Click OK. It's at the bottom of the window.
How to Remotely Restart a Windows Machine Through Command Line Picture 36
Make sure the computer is set to restart. In the "What do you want these computers to do" section, click the drop-down box and select Restart if it isn't displayed here.
1. You can also check or uncheck the option to deliver a warning to the user of the computer before shutting down, or you can adjust the time limit to restart (the default is 30 seconds).
How to Remotely Restart a Windows Machine Through Command Line Picture 37

Click OK. It's at the bottom of the window. This will prompt the other computer to restart as soon as the selected time limit expires.

computer click window restart

Lesley Montoya

Update 04 March 2020

You should read it

May be interested