Timeout

Applies To: Windows Server 2008,Windows Server 2008 R2,Windows XP,Windows Server 2003,Windows Vista,Windows Server 2000,Windows Server 2003 R2,Windows 7

Pauses the command processor for the specified number of seconds.

For examples of how to use this command, see Examples.

Syntax

	$lib:\\timeout.bmp$ Copy Code
timeout/t <TimeoutInSeconds> [/nobreak]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
/t <TimeoutInSeconds>	Specifies the decimal number of seconds (between -1 and 99999) to wait before the command processor continues processing. The value -1 causes the computer to wait indefinitely for a keystroke.
/nobreak	Specifies to ignore user key strokes.
/?	Displays help at the command prompt.

Remarks

The timeout command is typically used in batch files.
A user keystroke resumes the command processor execution immediately, even if the timeout period has not expired.
When used in conjunction with the sleep command, timeout is similar to the pause command.

Examples

To pause the command processor for ten seconds, type:

	$lib:\\timeout1.bmp$ Copy Code
timeout /t 10

To pause the command processor for 100 seconds and ignore any keystroke, type:

	$lib:\\timeout2.bmp$ Copy Code
timeout /t 100 /nobreak

To pause the command processor indefinitely until a key is pressed, type:

	$lib:\\timeout3.bmp$ Copy Code
timeout /t -1

Additional references

Command-Line Syntax Key