I have acquired a secondhand Acer E3 laptop running Windows 10. I am happy with it except for one feature.

There is no Shut Down button and I have to switch off by the key on the keyboard

Clicking on the Windows Icon on the screen should bring up the Power options, shut down, restart ,sleep, etc. It does not, only a list of programmes installed.

On advice from Google I tried Alt and F4, no result.

How can I restore this feature without a complete OS re-install?

12 minutes ago, Maybole said:

I have acquired a secondhand Acer E3 laptop running Windows 10. I am happy with it except for one feature.

There is no Shut Down button and I have to switch off by the key on the keyboard

Clicking on the Windows Icon on the screen should bring up the Power options, shut down, restart ,sleep, etc. It does not, only a list of programmes installed.

Advertisement

On advice from Google I tried Alt and F4, no result.

How can I restore this feature without a complete OS re-install?

I have an Acer laptop which has an on/off switch at the top right of the keyboard.

However, I only use this switch to turn the machine on. Via "settings" I have programmed my laptop to shut down simply by the action of closing the lid.

Do you have 'administative permissions' ?

Google this, and AI will explain how to reset ...

..."Acer E3 laptop running Windows 10, how to restore windows power options; restart, hibernate, shut down, rather than on/off button" ...

Hit Windows&R key. Type Cmd in the box, hit enter. Type shutdown(space) /s (space) /t(space) 0

34 minutes ago, Maybole said:

I have acquired a secondhand Acer E3 laptop running Windows 10. I am happy with it except for one feature.

There is no Shut Down button and I have to switch off by the key on the keyboard

Clicking on the Windows Icon on the screen should bring up the Power options, shut down, restart ,sleep, etc. It does not, only a list of programmes installed.

Advertisement

On advice from Google I tried Alt and F4, no result.

How can I restore this feature without a complete OS re-install?

Try: Ctrl+Alt+Delete

I installed Open Shell to give my Win 10 and Win 11 similar features on the Start button to Win 7, which includes Shut Down.

Right click the windows icon instead of left click and it will give you shutdown options or alternatively you can program the power button to shutdown the laptop like I have in power options - go to or search "what the power button does" then "When I press the power button"

Just unplug the machine.

3 hours ago, novacova said:

Just unplug the machine.

It's a laptop!

4 hours ago, dontpanic said:

Right click the windows icon instead of left click and it will give you shutdown options or alternatively you can program the power button to shutdown the laptop like I have in power options - go to or search "what the power button does" then "When I press the power button"

Right clicking the Windows icon is exactly what I do on any Windows 11 system - it's built-in and you can tailor the sub-menu IF you need to. So many people ignore the right-click (context menu) in Windows - try it almost everywhere!

Simples. Press the Windows Key and letter R. In the box type Shutdown.exe /S

For a full list of the options available, open a command prompt - Press the Windows Key and letter R. In the box type command.exe (cmd.exe in Windows 11)

To see the options, In the box that opens type Shutdown.exe /?

You can use a quick keyboard shortcut or restore the missing menu via the Local Group Policy Editor.

@Maybole

Click the Start button

type "cmd"

on the right hand panel that appears you will see the option "run as administrator". Click it.

If a prompt appears asking for user access control, clock "Yes"

The COmmand Prompt window will appear with a blinking cursor.

Type (or copy and paste from here) the following command:

"powercfg -restoredefaultschemes"

press ENTER

Close the Command Prompt using the X in the top right hand corner

Restart your computer

all the options will appear now when you right-click the power options.

Forever.

Edited September 9Sep 9 by The Oracle