How to Shut Down Linux

Shutting down Linux is very similar to shutting down Windows. There are some certain specific procedures for shutting down Windows or Linux.  Both command and  GUI version of  Linux has specific criteria to shut down. In GUI we can select the command onto the desktop window. Different distribution of  Linux has different written command, but the criteria of shutting down Linux is almost similar. You have to just follow the instruction displayed on the desktop. For example, in Fedora Core 6, for shutting down got to 'Setting' command, click it, a menu of  'shut down' appears. Click on it. The system goes in the shutting process from level 5 to level 0. As it  reaches on zero level, another warning window appear having the three options 'Shut Down', ' Restart' and 'Cancel'. Click on the 'shut down' button. The Fedora will shut down automatically within 60 seconds. There should be no interfere during shut down, otherwise the system file as well as application file may be corrupt. Never switch off the power of computer directly, this may cause the destruction of Hard disk partition and hard disk may be formatted. 

In the Command Line Interface, the system can be shut down by giving command. There is a complete list of  command options for shutting down Linux, but the two most common ways to shut down Linux are with 'h' option or with 'r' option. The term 'h' represents shut down with halt, while the 'r' represents rebooting. For example:- Shutting down Red Hat Linux, the two most common commands are:

/sbin/shutdown -h now
/sbin/shutdown -r now

After shutting everything down, the -h option will halt the machine, and the -r option will reboot.
 
If  system does not shut down wait until the information window appears for indicating the success or failure of the command. If the command fails, try again following the above command. Never cut off the power directly. This may destruct the kernel of the Linux. 

To reboot, abort or  shut down press Ctrl-Alt-Del and follows the instructions.