NPowerTray

Auto-shutdown utilities are essential if you need to leave your computer running overnight or when you step out. Unfortunately, finding one may not be as easy as it sounds, especially if you are in a hurry. You might come across complicated applications, in which you have to define all sorts of conditions and triggers. If you only want to set your computer to shut down automatically after a certain period of time, then you should try NPowerTray. This lightweight utility enables you to schedule an automatic shutdown or other power-related actions at a moment's notice, without any effort.

NPowerTray is offered completely free of charge and it can be used on any modern Windows platform. You only need to extract its files from an archive and run an executable, rather than going through an installation process. The application doesn't use a significant amount of resources, but it requires .NET Framework 4.0.

The application works in the background and it doesn't come with a user interface. Right clicking its system tray icon will reveal a series of power options. You can schedule NPowerTray to shut down your computer just by selecting a time period in a sub-menu. Depending on your choice, the computer will be shut down automatically after 5 to 45 minutes or after 1 to 24 hours. Once you schedule an automatic shutdown, you can access the same sub-menu, to find the option for converting the shutdown task to a reboot, hibernate or sleep task, without affecting the remaining time.

Besides scheduling automatic shutdowns, reboots and so on, NPowerTray can also perform these tasks on demand. You can select different options to shut down, restart, hibernate or sleep your computer immediately. Other options can be selected to force the aforementioned tasks and to perform them and disable WakeUp events at the same time. Also, double clicking the system tray icon will shut down the computer immediately, without any user input. Other power options can be set on the application's About window.