How to Disable / Remove Annoying Shutdown Event Tracker (Shutdown Reason UI) in Windows Server 2003 / 2008?

UPDATE: Tutorial updated with registry method.
If you are using Windows Server 2003 or 2008, you might have noticed that whenever you click on Shutdown button, it shows a dialog box asking you the reason behind shutting down the system. You have to select an option from drop-down box or write into Comment box to be able to shutdown the system.

Many people find it very annoying and want to disable it but they don't know how to disable it.
Today in this tutorial, we'll tell you a simple way to completely remove this annoying dialog box:

METHOD 1: Using Group Policy Editor

1. Type gpedit.msc in RUN dialog box and press Enter.
2. It'll open Group Policy Editor. Now go to:

Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> System

3. In right-side pane, look for "Display Shutdown Event Tracker" option.

4. Now double-click on "Display Shutdown Event Tracker" and select "Disabled". Apply it and the annoying dialog box will never appear again.
NOTE: You can also use this method to enable Shutdown Event Tracker in Windows client OS like Windows XP, Vista, 7, etc. Just set the option value to "Enabled".

METHOD 2: Using Registry Editor

If you face problems while using Group Policy Editor, you can also use Registry Editor to do the same task.
1. Type regedit in RUN dialog box and press Enter.
2. It'll open Registry Editor. Now go to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT

3. Under "Windows NT" key, look for a key "Reliability". If its not present, create it.
4. Now select "Reliability" key and in right-side pane, look for following 2 DWORD values:

ShutdownReasonOn
ShutdownReasonUI

If the DWORD values are not present, create them.
5. Now set values of both DWORD to 0

6. That's it. Now you'll not see the reason dialog box while shutting down the system.
Thanks to our readers "Config" and "Dragonsbane777" for sharing registry method.
NOTE: You can also use this method to enable Shutdown Event Tracker in Windows client OS like Windows XP, Vista, 7, etc. Just set the values of both DWORD to 1 using Step 5.

Posted in: troubleshooting