Portable Fast Shutdown

Shutting down your computer may seem like a trivial task, because you have to do it sometime anyway. However, chances are you’re not around when a certain task is done and the program can’t automatically schedule this. In this regard, applications like Portable Fast Shutdown provide an alternative way to trigger power options.

Just as the name suggests, this is the portable edition of Fast Shutdown, which means it can run without having to go through a setup process. Not only this, but it can also be used on other computers directly from an USB flash drive. System registry integration is not required, keeping your computer in good shape.

When it runs, a compact main window pops up and shows all available options. These only require a single press of a button to get triggered, so be careful when testing it out. Make sure to save all your changes if you don’t want to risk losing important information or work in progress. There’s a large description so you can better understand what each function does, although they pretty much speak for themselves.

Truth be told, the set of options is pretty poor, even if it only covers power options and nothing more. In other words, you only get to turn off your computer and restart it, with no possibility to send it to sleep, put it in hibernate mode, make it stand by, or simply lock the desktop so nobody can go through your stuff while you’re away.

What’s more, you need to run the application each time you want to trigger any of the provided options. Unfortunately, it can’t get minimized to the system tray and have it brought up via hotkeys, or shut the computer down with button combinations. A workaround is to configure the shortcut to launch when certain buttons are pressed, but nothing more.

To sum it up, Fast Shutdown is quite what you’d expect from its kinds, only providing an alternative way to turn off your computer in case Windows default features don’t tickle your fancy. Hotkey support is not implemented, and not all computer power options are at your disposal, thus having a considerable impact on overall practicality.