Click the Start Menu tab in this dialog box and then select the desired option from the Power Button Action drop-down list: Switch User, Log Off, Lock, Restart, Sleep, or Hibernate. Right-click the Windows taskbar and then choose Properties from the shortcut menu that appears to open the Taskbar and Menu Properties dialog box. #You can change the function of the Windows 7 Power button from its default of Shut Down to some other function. Windows 7 closes all applications and open windows, while at the same time prompting you to save all unsaved changes, before shutting off your computer. Clicking the Windows' Power button on the Start menu is the equivalent of pressing the physical power button on your computer.
To the immediate right of the Search Programs and Files text box at the bottom of the Start menu, you find the Windows Power button (labeled Shut Down by default). After you press the computer's power button to power up the machine and start the Windows 7 operating system, the Windows Start menu contains all the other controls you need in order to switch between users, reboot the system, and, at the end of the day, power down and shut off the machine.
