CLI for Noobies: A Primer on the Linux Command Line

Chapter 24. Shutdown

Many new Linux users feel uncomfortable about not having a fast-acting, easy-on, easy-off method of ending a runaway computer session, like the three-finger salute often used as a panacea for all sorts of ills under Windows.

They need the comfort and reassurance that a quick, easy, and graceful exit—something short of using the BRS (Big Red Switch)—can provide. Linux provides such a thing. It’s called shutdown.

Using Shutdown

Using shutdown is easy. You only have to learn two important things to earn your blackbelt in shutdown. Here’s the first thing. Enter the following at the command line:

shutdown

That’s right, it won’t run if you try to run it as a normal user. On my SUSE system, I get an error message which says “command not ...