Win32 Shutdown 1.10 - Distribution Archive ReadMe File
Copyright  1999 DRX Solutions
(http://members.xoom.com/drxsolutions)

What is Win32 Shutdown?
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Win32 Shutdown is a small and very simple shutdown utility which can be invoked through command line or shortcut/link.  It can also be used through batch files and task schedulers.  It also supports various shutdown modes (i.e. shutdown, restart, logoff, and forced task termination), a countdown timer, customizable user warning message, and an abort shutdown option.

This utility, works on all 32-bit Windows platforms (Win95/98/NT3.51+) with the same executable file and brings some of the benefits of the NT Resource Kit's Shutdown command line utillity (warning message, countdown, forced task termination, abort option) to the Windows 95/98 platform.  All for a price that can't be beat...for FREE!

How do I install this utility?
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Execute the SETUP.EXE file included in the distribution archive (.ZIP file) to run the Win32 Shutdown installation program.  If you do not already have the Microsoft Visual Basic 5.0 Run-Time Support Files installed on your system, the installation will inform you of this and exit, otherwise the installation will prompt you for a desired location and program group name for the program and its related files and icons then extract and copy all the necessary files to the location specified and create icons in the program group specified.

The Microsoft Visual Basic 5.0 Run-Time Support Files can be downloaded at http://members.xoom.com/drxsolutions/misc/vb5rtsp3.zip.

How do I use this anyway?
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The command line syntax is: 

Shutdown [/M:<Mode>] [/W:<Message>] [/T:Time-Out] [/NB:<No Banner?>]

Mode can be a combination of the following values:
        
   0 = Log on as a different user
   1 = Shutdown the computer (Default)
   2 = Restart the computer
   4 = Close all programs and log on as a different user
   5 = Close all programs and shutdown the computer
   6 = Close all programs and restart the computer

Please Note: If not specified, the mode value defaults to 1 which shuts down the computer.

Time-Out can be any number specifying the number of seconds to coutdown before actually performing the action specified with the mode option.  Defaults to 15 seconds if not specified.

Message can be any message you wish to display in the message window during a shutdown/logoff countdown.

No Banner specifies whether you to display the startup banner when launching the Win32 Shutdown utility.  A value of 0 answers false while 1 answers true.  In order to stop the banner from displaying, specify /NB:1 on the command line.  The default value is 0, which causes the banner to be displayed whenever Win32 Shutdown is launched.

You can get a list of these options by invoking shutdown with "/?" command line parameter.

Please note that you can call shutdown from batch files, shortcuts, task schedulers and logon scripts not just from command prompts.

How can I get support?
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If you should encounter any difficulties in installing or using this software or should have any suggestions on further improvements to the software, then please contact DRX Solutions through our web site located at http://members.xoom.com/drxsolutions.  

Our support page contains a "Product Suppport & Suggestion Form" if you wish to ask us a private or direct question and a "Technical Support Forum" where you can view answers to common user questions or post your own questions to which DRX Solutions and other users can reply.

You can always find the latest version of this software product and documentation on our web site, check out our other freeware and shareware products, or simply leave us an e-mail.

Future Possibilities
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The following is a list of additional features we are currently working on for the next version of this product:

1. Provide remote shutdown capability to Windows 95/98/NT systems with the ability to pre-configure specific computers to shutdown at the click of a mouse.  This last option would be useful mainly to network admnistrators that wish to perform maintenance tasks, or want to shutdown certain workstations down before performing backups or maintenance tasks on file servers.  

2. Add a system tray icon menu option for convenient access to shutdown/logoff actions and default settings.

3. Add a mouse double-click option to the system tray icon that has it do a user pre-defined shutdown, restart or logoff automatically.

4. Allow a pre-defined application be executed before every shutdown/restart.

5. Add ability to restart in MS-DOS mode (if there is enough demand for it).

If any of these things sound like they would be useful to you, then please help support further development of this product by regsitering it and do not hesitate to contact us and let us know about it through our web site located at http://members.xoom.com/drxsolutions.

How much will this software cost me?
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Not a dime!  This software is Freeware which means it is absolutely free to anyone, no strings attached.

There are other products on the market that may do similar things, some of which include much more functionality than this product.  However, with this added functionality you are all too often asked to pay an absurd fee, often for features you do not even need.   Sometimes, you are asked to pay a fee only if you are using it for commercial purposes.  None of these restrictions apply to the use of this software.  Anyone can use this product for private or commercial puposes for free and for as long as they like.

DRX Solutions hopes that you will find good and innovative uses for this product and in turn hopes that you will also take the time to visit our web site and leave us an e-mail on who you are and what purposes you are using the software for.  If you picked up this product from any source other than the DRX Solutions web site, we ask that you please drop by our site at http://members.xoom.com/drxsolutions and take a minute to register this software product.

Don't worry, we only ask that you send us your name, city, country and your uses for the software...no street address, postal code, phone or fax numbers.  This information is in no way tied to mailing lists for junk mail, and no customer profiles are compiled for the purposes of reselling to others unlike so many other web sites.  A simple "Hi, my name is Anwar Hossain from Jakarta, Indonesia and I use this software to do...blah blah blah...on my/our...blah blah blah..." will do.

Product registration goes a long way in ensuring that products continue to evolve and be enhanced.  It also allows us to contact you if there is any news concerning the product (e.g. new releases or versions, uncovered bugs, etc..).  Without product registration, we cannot accurately assess the demand for a particular product or get feedback from its users.  We cannot justify further development or enhancement of products in which there is little or no interest or demand, or on which we get no feedback.  This is especially true for all of our freeware titles, which bring us absolutely no revenue whatsoever.

Distribution Guidelines
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We also ask that you please follow these rules when re-distributing this software:

You may use this product, abuse it and distribute it as much as you like, providing that you keep all the files located in the original archive in their original state and that you don't charge anyone for it without first contacting DRX Solutions.  If you wish to resell or redistribute this product for a cost (commercial software archive over the Internet, Electronic Bulletin Board Service or other electronic media of any kind such as CD-ROM, floppy, DVD, etc...), you must first contact DRX Solutions for approval.

Legal Stuff
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And of course, last but not least, the other legal stuff.

Of course, you can't get away without getting the usual legal disclaimer in which, by using of this software, you accept that DRX Solutions will not be held responsible, directly or indirectly, for any loss of data as result of using this software.  How you use this software is entirely up to you and we recommend that any uses which are critical in nature to your operations be thoroughly tested before rolling out into production.  Doesn't everyone do this already anyway?  Saddly, few out there do!

For use and redistribution or reselling of this software, please see "Distribution Guidelines" for further details.

Drop by and leave us an e-mail
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DRX Solutions welcomes your ideas and recommendations on uses for and improvements to our software products. Please do so through our web site located at http://members.xoom.com/drxsolutions. And make sure to check out our site for new releases of this and other freeware and shareware products available online

Enjoy!
