How To Make the Shutdown Button Unavailable in the Logon Dialog Box in Windows 2000

This article describes how to prevent users from shutting down the computer from the Log On to Windows dialog box. This prevents unauthenticated users from shutting down Windows.

How to Make the Shutdown Button Unavailable by Using Group Policy

You can use Group Policy Editor to make the Shutdown button unavailable in the Log On to Windows dialog box that appears when you press CTRL+ALT+DELETE on the Welcome to Windows screen.

To Edit the Local Policy on a Windows 2000-Based Computer

To make the Shutdown button unavailable on a standalone Windows 2000-based computer:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type gpedit.msc, and then click OK.
3. Expand Computer Configuration, expand Windows Settings, expand Security Settings, expand Local Policies, and then click Security Options.
4. In the right pane, double-click Allow system to be shut down without having to log on.
5. Click Disabled, and then click OK.
   
   NOTE: If domain-level policy settings are defined, they may override this local policy setting.
6. Quit Group Policy Editor.
7. Restart the computer.

To Edit the Group Policy in a Domain

To edit a domain-wide policy to make the Shutdown button unavailable::

1. Start the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in. To do this, click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Active Directory Users and Computers.
2. In the console, right-click your domain, and then click Properties.
3. Click the Group Policy tab.
4. In the Group Policy Object Links box, click the group policy for which you want to apply this setting. For example, click Default Domain Policy.
5. Click Edit.
6. Expand User Configuration, expand Administrative Templates, and then click Start Menu & Taskbar.
7. In the right pane, double-click Disable and remove the Shut Down command.
8. Click Enabled, and then click OK.
9. Quit the Group Policy editor, and then click OK.

Troubleshooting

Group Policy changes are not immediately enforced. Group Policy background processing can take up to 5 minutes to be refreshed on domain controllers, and up to 120 minutes to be refreshed on client computers. To force background processing of Group Policy settings, use the Secedit.exe tool. To do this:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type cmd, and then click OK.
3. Type secedit /refreshpolicy user_policy, and then press ENTER.
4. Type secedit /refreshpolicy machine_policy, and then press ENTER.
5. Type exit, and then press ENTER to quit the command prompt.

For additional information about using Secedit, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For additional information about Group Policy, visit the following Microsoft Web site: