Some users, regardless of what you tell them, insist on logging off or shutting down public computers in common areas. If you would like to stop this from occurring, you can disable the Log Off and Turn Off Computer buttons on the Start menu.
Obviously, this requires editing the registry. You should know how to backup and restore your registry before proceeding.
Follow these steps to disable the Log Off and Turn Off buttons:
To do either, you will first need to navigate to the appropriate area of the registry.
Open the Registry Editor (Regedit.exe). You may need to put in your password if UAC is active.
Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer.
Disable the Log Off button
Right-click the Explorer key, and select New | DWORD value.
Name the value StartMenuLogoff, and press Enter twice to access the Edit DWORD Value dialog box.
Type 1 in the Value Data text box, and click OK.
Disable the Power Off button
Right-click the Explorer key, and select New | DWORD value.
Name the value NoClose, and press Enter twice to access the Edit DWORD Value dialog box.
Type 1 in the Value Data text box, and click OK.
Close the Registry Editor.
At this point, both the Log Off and Turn Off Computer buttons are still on the Start menu. Click the Log Off button and then log back on.
When you need to shut down the computer, launch the Registry Editor, and change the values to 0, or pull the plug if it has to be done in a hurry. Likewise, executing “shutdown” from a command prompt will also turn off your system.
