Sleep timer for Windows (XP, Vista, Win 7 compatible). How to install and use OS built-in sleep timer without additional programs.

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I have reviewed a lot of different external sleep timers for Windows, so we can offer a lot of them for you to choose from. But all of the mentioned previously are related with the installation of additional software. This time, I’ll provide you with the manual how to use sleep timer feature without any additional software.

How to:

1. Click the RMB on your desktop and choose New option, than Shortcut in the submenu.
Shortcut create
2. In the field “Type the location of the item” write the following: c:\Windows\System32\shutdown.exe -s -t 3600 and click Next – where 3600 is the number of seconds prior to shut down, and can be changed to any value convenient for you. In example, I use the 3600 seconds timer, which is similar to one hour:
Creation of the shortcut for sleep timer after 3600 seconds
3. Name the shortcut.
For more comfortable use name the shortcut properly (Sleep timer 1 Hour) and click Finish button:
Naming the shortcut  for sleep timer
4. That makes your self-made sleep timer ready to use. Launch the shortcut, verify that the notification appeared:
Shutdown notification
5. To turn it off, simply create one more shortcut named Sleep timer off and “C:\Windows\ System32\Shutdown.exe -a” text in the “Type the location of the item” field.
6. Optional Sleep timer useful settings. Little remains to be done! The last step is to customize our newly created shortcuts, the one to turn sleep timer on and to turn it off. Now they are looking like that:
Shortcut for turning the sleep timer off
Click the RMB on the shortcut and choose Properties, and Change icon in the field which appeared. Click OK here:
Changing the icon for sleep timer shortcut
7. Choose the icon which you prefer from the list and click ok in both windows. Proceed the same with Turn off the timer icon.
8. In the end, you will receive two cool icons for turning the sleep timer on and off.
Timer’s icons
Best regards!