Fix: “This App is Preventing Shutdown” Error in Windows (10 & 11)

Are apps preventing you from shutting down Windows? The problem is pretty simple to fix. Here’s how.

Most don’t know this, but when you shut down Windows, it tries to close all the open programs gracefully. However, some apps might refuse to close and prevent you from shutting down. For example, if an application has unsaved data or is doing some background activity, it might refuse to close as it is not ready. When apps are blocking you from shutting down the system, Windows displays the offending app with a “This app is preventing shutdown” message under the app name. You can either cancel the shutdown process to close the app manually or click the “Shut down anyway” button to forcefully close the app and shut down the system.

If this keeps happening to you and you don’t want to do this every time, you can configure Windows to always forcefully close any apps that are stopping the shutdown process. This not only fixes the ‘This app is preventing shutdown’ error message but also makes the shutdown process consistent.

In this simple guide, let me show you how to do it in simple steps. Let’s get started.

Before You Start

• Administrator rights are required to follow the steps below.
• The following procedure requires editing the registry. Before proceeding, back up the registry.
• The steps shown below have been tested to work on Windows 11 and Windows 10.

Steps to Fix ‘This App is Preventing Shutdown’ Error in Windows

1. Click the “Windows” key to open the Start menu.
2. Search for “Registry Editor” and click “Open“.
3. Go to the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop folder in the registry.
4. Right-click the “Desktop” folder.
5. Select the “New” and then “String Value” option.
6. Set “AutoEndTasks” as the name of the new string value.
7. Double-click the “AutoEndTasks” value.
8. Change the “Value Data” to “1” and click “OK“.
9. Close the Registry Editor and restart your system.
10. With that, you’ve fixed the “This App is Preventing Shutdown” error in Windows.

Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)

First, we must open the Registry Editor. To do that, click the “Windows key” on the taskbar, search for “Registry Editor“, and click the “Open” option.

Once it opens, go to the “HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop” folder by navigating in the left sidebar of the registry editor.

Pro tip: You can also copy & paste the path in the registry editor’s address bar and press “Enter”.

Next, right-click the “Desktop” folder on the left sidebar and select “New” and then the “String Value” option. This action creates a new empty value on the right page.

Set the name of the new value as “AutoEndTasks“.

Next, double-click the “AutoEndTasks” value. This action opens a new dialog box where you can change its value data.

In the Edit dialog, change the “Value Data” field to “1” and click “OK” to save the change.

Finally, close the Registry Editor window and restart your system. To restart, right-click the Windows icon on the taskbar and select “Shut down or sign out” > “Restart“.

After restarting, Windows will no longer let apps prevent you from shutting down your system. With that, you’ve fixed the “This App is Preventing Shutdown” error** in Windows.

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If you have any questions or need help, comment below. I’ll be happy to assist.