Emergency Shutdown

I've pointed to FOSSwire before, but they're good. And this is a new one to me: Fix a Frozen System with the Magic SysRq Keys.

It doesn't happen often, but once in a while things go kerflooey on your Linux system and you need to do a shutdown. Jacob at FOSSwire gives the short answer on how to get control back and shutdown in an orderly manner--without hitting the Power key.

Hit the <Alt> <SysRq/PrtScn> keys together, and, holding them down, type REISUB, and you're on your way.

I haven't tried this myself, and (since Jacob warns not to do this if you just need to reboot), am not about to try it until I really need to. But if you want to read more about the "magic" and other helpful tricks, check these articles out:

• Developer Tutorials article on "Magic SysRq"
• Ctrl-Alt-Del and other special key combinations from the Linux Documentation Project
• Five Ways to Fix App Woes from Linux Clues