Not very tablet orientated but still. I have children and I would like to allow them to use the computer only for a set amount of time like 30 or 40 minutes. Like usual with children when the time reaches end then they cant stop and when forced there will be an argument. Has anyone seen a program that allows to set a time after which either certan programs are finished or the whole computer goes to stanby or the current user is not anymore allowed to use the computer.
I know some other fathers that are also interested in such a program.
Could be fine to know if something exists.
Ahti

Great question!

Mark Salloway has an explanation for setting up the user account so that the Logon can only happen in certain times of the day.

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Thats great but I can manage log on even better I just donty tell the children the passwords and log them on myself. More important is quitting work with the computer. And the ideal solution would be an opportunity that the computer stops working after a set period of time (set by myself).Any solutions to that.
Ahti

I may be able to help but I need to know:

Which version of Windows do you use? Is it a laptop or desktop?

I have Windows XP and basically I want it for my Desktop PC

Here's a "quick and dirty" way to do this.

Run the following from "Start -> Run..."

shutdown -r -t 600

"shutdown" is a program that is a part of Windows XP.
"-r" tells the system to reboot
"-t 600" is the time to wait (in seconds) before rebooting, ie. 600 = 10 minutes; 1800 = 30 minutes, etc.

A system window will pop up and display the time left before shutting down. Move the window out of the way (it can't be closed) and use the computer as normal.

In the event you, as the parent, need to stop the computer from shutting down, go to "Start -> Run..." and run "cmd" (without the quotes). A DOS window will come up. From here, type the following line:

shutdown -a

"-a" tells the computer to abort shutting down

I would recommend memorizing this instead of running the "shutdown -a" command from "Start -> Run..." because the last used commands are saved and could be run by a sneaky kid.

I hope this helps you and your friends.

GeneT

Thanks a lot, are there any more commands like for logging out or sustem standby or hibernate. Command like log off would be nice because now I have a policy that children do not know thhey user passwords and are logged on only by me or my wife.
Ahti

And 'shutdown -s -t XXX' (using -s instead of -r) will shutoff the computer at the selected time rather than reboot. I've not tried it, but it is supposed to work that way. ;)

Linuxmon

I don't see any commands or "switches" to use for Hibernate or StandBy. There is a switch with the Shutdown program that can be used to logoff (-l), unfortunately it doesn't work with the timer switch. In other words, if you use

shutdown -l -t 600

the system will immediately logoff and not wait the 600 seconds.

Another way to accomplish this is to use a Scheduled Task in Windows. It takes a bit more work to get it set up. If you're not familiar with creating a Scheduled Task, I recommend following the steps that can be found in Windows Help. FYI, the Shutdown.exe program is located in C:\Windows\System32

Unfortunately, a smart kid can figure out how to disable the Scheduled Task so that it would never log them off.

Personally, I think the shutdown and restart option would be the best way to go; the built-in timer and countdown clock takes care of everything for you.

GeneT

Here's a program for $ that has a 30 day trial that maybe more what your looking for, it is 25.00 for the full version.

http://www.barefootinc.com/autoshutdown.htm

Linuxmon

There is a program called Alarm Timer/Launcher 1.0, that may do the trick for you. You can find it at download.com, and it is completly free.

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