The keyboard combination Ctrl+Alt+Del, which is also written as Control+Alt+Delete, is often used to stop a process. But what it does depends on the situation in which it’s used.
When people talk about the Ctrl+Alt+Del computer shortcut, they usually mean the Windows operating system. Still, some people use it for other things as well.
To do it, press the Del key while holding down the Ctrl and Alt keys at the same time.
Note: You can also write this computer command with minus signs instead of plus signs, like Ctrl-Alt-Del or Control-Alt-Delete. It’s also known as the “three-finger salute.” |
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How Ctrl+Alt+Del Can Be Used
If the combination of Ctrl+Alt+Del is used before Windows can intercept it, BIOS will restart the machine. If Windows is locked up in a certain way, this could also restart the computer while Windows is running. To restart the machine, for instance, press Ctrl+Alt+Del when it runs its self-test.
Suppose you press Ctrl+Alt+Del twice in a row in Windows 3. x and 9x. In that case, the system will restart itself without safely ending any open apps or processes. The page cache is cleared, and all volumes are safely unmounted, but you can’t save your work or finish any programs that are still working.
Note: Do not restart your computer by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del. If you do, you could damage any open personal or other important files in Windows. Check out How Do I Turn My Computer Back On? If you’re not sure how to do it right, |
To log in to a user account in Windows XP, Vista, and 7, press Ctrl+Alt+Del. This is known as safe attention protection or sequence. That option is turned off by default (unless the computer is part of a domain), but My Digital Life tells you how to turn it on.
If you’re logged in to Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, or Vista, press Ctrl+Alt+Del to open Windows Security. This lets you lock the computer, change users, log off, open Task Manager, or restart or shut down the computer. For versions of Windows before XP, the shortcut key only opens Task Manager.
History of Ctrl-Alt-Delete
David Bradley, an IBM worker, came up with the idea to use this set of keys to restart a computer in 1980 or 1981.
Picking those keys and making sure you press them all at once was meant to make it harder to restart the system by accident.
The “reboot” key order is also known as the “Vulcan nerve pinch” (a reference to Star Trek) or the “three-finger salute” (a nod to Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft).
Variations across versions of Windows
As was already said, the Ctrl-Alt-Del keyboard shortcut works a little differently in some versions of Windows. Here are some examples of how some versions of Windows are different.
Windows 10 and 11
The keys Ctrl-Alt-Delete in the latest versions of Windows 10 and 11 open a menu where you can:
- Other people can only use a computer once the person signs in again.
- Change the user. Allows someone else to use the computer without the present user having to close all of their windows and programs. These stay open in a paused state so that the new user can see them when they switch back to the old user.
- Signout. Logs the person out of their account and closes all open windows.
- Change your password. Allows users to change their password when they’re not logged in to their PC account. However, users must know their current password in order to change it. Forgotten passwords cannot be changed here.
- Manager of tasks.Opens the Windows Task Manager, a tool for controlling the programs, processes, and services that are running on your computer.
Windows NT
When the keys are pressed together, Windows NT operating systems bring up the Windows Security box. This lets the person lock the system, change users, change the password, shut down the system, or start the Task Manager.
Windows NT also has an extra security feature that lets you use the Ctrl-Alt-Del keystroke as a safe attention keystroke. When turned on, users will have to press Ctrl-Alt-Del every time they want to log in or unlock the machine.
Windows Vista
Windows Security still did what it did before Windows Vista, but the window changed from a drop-down choice to a full-screen view.
Additional Information on Ctrl+Alt+Del
You can log out of some Linux-based working systems by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del at the same time. One example is Debian, which is like Ubuntu. It also lets you restart an Ubuntu Server without having first to log in.
Some remote desktop programs let you send the Ctrl+Alt+Del shortcut to the other computer through a menu choice or a different shortcut, like Ctrl+Alt+Insert. This is because you can’t normally type that combination of keys and expect it to go through to the program. Windows will think you mean to use it on your computer. This is also true for other programs that work the same way, like VMware Workstation and other virtual desktop apps.
You can change the options that show up in Windows Security when you press Ctrl+Alt+Del at the same time. You can hide things like the Task Manager or the lock choice if you don’t want them to be seen. The Registry Editor is used to make these changes. The Windows Club shows you how to use it. As seen at Bleeping Computer, you can also use the Group Policy Editor to do it.
You can usually get away with hitting the Alt key first, like this: Alt+Ctrl+Del. It will still work. There may be software, though, that uses this other method instead of Ctrl+Alt+Del, so when you press those keys, something else may happen instead.
David Bradley made this keyboard shortcut. Read this piece on Mental Floss to learn more about why it was coded in the first place.
macOS doesn’t use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+Del to get to the Force Quit Menu. Instead, it uses Command+Option+Esc. The message “This is not DOS.” will show up when Control+Option+Delete is pressed on a Mac (the Option key is like the Alt key on Windows). This is a sort of Easter egg or secret joke built into the software. Learn more about how to use Ctrl+Alt+Del on a Mac.
When you press Control+Alt+Delete in Xfce, the screen locks and the shutdown starts right away.
FAQs
When you are using Windows from afar, press Ctrl+Shift+Esc instead of Ctrl+Alt+Del. To do this, the remote machine will need to have its Task Manager turned on.