Skip to content
Control-Alt-Delete
EntityQ1057220· pop 29· linked from 52 articles

Control-Alt-Delete

Sign in to save

Also known as Ctrl-Alt-Delete, three-finger salute, Security Keys, Ctrl+Alt+Delete, Ctrl+Alt+Del

thumb|upright=2|A QWERTY keyboard layout with the position of Control, Alt and Delete keys highlighted Control-Alt-Delete (often abbreviated to Ctrl+Alt+Del and sometimes called the "three-finger salute" or "Security Keys") is a computer keyboard command on IBM PC compatible computers, invoked by pressing the Delete key while holding the Control and Alt keys: . The function of the key combination differs depending on the context but it generally interrupts or facilitates interrupting a function. For instance, in pre-boot environment (before an operating system starts) or in MS-DOS, Windows 3.0

Wikidata facts

Image
BSoD Windows 3.1 Control-Alt-Delete Spanish.png
Show 1 more fact
Commons category
Control-Alt-Delete
Sources (2)

via Wikidata · CC0

~15 min read

Article

15 sections
Contents
  • History
  • BIOS
  • Windows
  • DOS-based Windows{{Anchor|Local}}
  • Windows NT family
  • OS/2
  • Mac
  • Linux
  • Equivalents on various platforms
  • Cultural adoption
  • See also
  • Notes
  • References
  • Further reading
  • External links

thumb|upright=2|A QWERTY keyboard layout with the position of Control, Alt and Delete keys highlighted Control-Alt-Delete (often abbreviated to Ctrl+Alt+Del and sometimes called the "three-finger salute" or "Security Keys") is a computer keyboard command on IBM PC compatible computers, invoked by pressing the Delete key while holding the Control and Alt keys: . The function of the key combination differs depending on the context but it generally interrupts or facilitates interrupting a function. For instance, in pre-boot environment (before an operating system starts) or in MS-DOS, Windows 3.0 and earlier versions of Windows or OS/2, the key combination reboots the computer. Starting with Windows 95, the key combination invokes a task manager or security related component that facilitates ending a Windows session or killing a frozen application.

== History == thumb|Original IBM PC 5150 keyboard: It is very difficult to press Ctrl+Alt+Del with one hand only

Gallery (9)

Connections

Categories