C# Signature:

[DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
[return: MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)]
static extern bool ExitWindowsEx(ExitWindows uFlags, ShutdownReason dwReason);

Alternative C# Signature:

[DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
[return: MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)]
static extern bool ExitWindowsEx(uint uFlags, uint dwReason);

VB Signature:

<DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError:=True)> _
Shared Function ExitWindowsEx( _
     ByVal uFlags As ExitWindows, _
     ByVal dwReason As ShutdownReason) As <MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)> Boolean
End Function

Alternative VB Signature:

Declare Function ExitWindowsEx Lib "user32" (ByVal dwOptions As Int32, ByVal dwReserved As Int32) As Int32

User-Defined Types:

None.

Notes:

Parameters:

• uFlags - See ExitWindows
• dwReason - See ShutdownReason

Tips & Tricks:

To shut down or restart the system on NT/2K/XP, the calling process must use the AdjustTokenPrivileges function to enable the SE_SHUTDOWN_NAME privilege.

If uFlags is set to 'LogOff', then the call will fail if the process calling it is a non-interactive-process (i.e a Windows Service). Read the ExitWindowsEx on MSDN for more info. All other values for uFlags work fine for non-interactive-processes.

Sample Code:

    class Class1
    {
        [DllImport("user32.dll")]
        static extern bool ExitWindowsEx(uint uFlags, uint dwReason);

        [STAThread]
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            ExitWindowsEx(ExitWindows.LogOff, ShutdownReason.MajorOther | ShutdownReason.MinorOther);
            //this will cause the computer to logoff.
        }
    }

Alternative Managed API:

Do you know one? Please contribute it!

Page Change:

Changed the sample code Reason parameter from "&" to "ShutdownReason.MajorOther | ShutdownReason.MinorOther". Amperstand (&) is the binary AND condition, and the values ANDed together would be zero. The intended condition is that the flags be ORed together. (|)