Question:
I am writing an application that needs to be able to shut down any NT workstation or server remotely. Do you have any ideas on how to do this with Visual Basic 5 or 6?
I just downloaded a shareware program that includes one executable that can do just this, so I know it is possible.
Answer:
The easiest way would be to use the NT 4.0 Resource Kit utility, Shutdown.exe. You can shell to the command line and run the utility.
The other way would be via the API. The call you need is InitiateSystemShutdown. In order to shut down a remote computer, your current UserID must have the SE_REMOTE_SHUTDOWN_NAME privilege on the remote computer.
Open the User Manager. Select Policies > User Rights. When the dialog box comes up, select “Force shutdown from a remote system” from the combo box and then add the necessary UserID via the Add button.
