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Sorry Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that! PCs refuse to shut down after Microsoft patch
(www.theregister.com)
this post was submitted on 17 Jan 2026
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modern windows tries to trick you into not doing that. if you hold for a little bit it turns the screen off so you think it's turned off when it really hasn't, then if you hold a little longer it turns the screen back on and tells you to please stop holding the power button, then finally a little after that the computer actually turns off. why the hardware even makes that possible is beyond me
I've never had that experience, holding always does a force shutdown
This is not Windows, your BIOS controls the power button functionality.
With modern UEFI, it's controlled by both the OS and the UEFI
I haven't used Windows in a long while, but there is a setting in KDE that allowed me to disable the power button's short press function and I think the long press as well.
Came in handy for me when my cat decided to start laying on top of my tower. Every now and then she'd decide to slap her paw down on the power button and abort whatever I was working on.
I was cursing the change away from mechanical toggle, and that button's position on the top of the case, when she started doing that.
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/molly-guard
E.g.
https://www.amazon.com/SJZBIN-Dustproof-Protector-Computer-Desktop/dp/B0C4DVCWN6
Nice! I hadn't thought of that.
No problem; I remember being delighted to learn that there was a name for the thing, years back.
Also, one other comment regarding the "change away from mechanical toggle". If you got the machine pre-built, you may never have noticed this, but on ATX motherboards, there's a set of pins which you fit the power and reset switch wires onto.
I mean, you can plug whatever you feel like onto those pins and stick your power and reset buttons wherever you feel like, if you don't like the position of the existing case switch. It's just a momentary switch. You can grab replacement ones that aren't built into a case:
https://www.amazon.com/Warmstor-2-Pack-Computer-Supply-27-inch/dp/B074XDTVN1
Or even just get your own switches and connect the plug and wires to whatever sort of momentary switch you want. Amazon or Mouser or DigiKey will have all sorts of momentary switches.
What a name of a product.
That's so weird.
I guess I've just programmed myself to hold that power button long enough.