Change Default Setting For Shut Down Windows Dialog

In Windows, when no active window is selected, pressing Alt+F4 key brings up the Shut Down Windows dialog. In this dialog, you’ve Shut down power option selected by default. Below is the screenshot of Shut Down Windows dialog.

Change Default Setting For Shut Down Windows Dialog

In this article, we’ll show you how to change the default power option for Shut Down Windows dialog and set it to any other power option. Without wasting your time, let us start the tutorial.

Change Default Setting For Shut Down Windows Dialog

Registry Disclaimer: The further steps will involve registry manipulation. Making mistakes while manipulating registry could affect your system adversely. So be careful while editing registry entries and create a System Restore point first.

1. Press + R and type regedit in Run dialog box to open Registry Editor (if you’re not familiar with Registry Editor, then click here). Click OK.

Windows 10 Registry Editor

2. In left pane of Registry Editor window, navigate to following registry key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer

Change Default Setting For Shut Down Windows Dialog

3. Now in the right pane of Explorer registry key, right click in blank space, select New > DWORD Value. Name the newly created registry DWORD (REG_DWORD) as PowerButtonAction. Double click on this registry DWORD to modify its Value data.

Change Default Setting For Shut Down Windows Dialog

4. Set the Value data corresponding to the power option you want to set as default and click OK.

Power option	Value data to input
Shut down	2
Switch user	100
Sleep	10
Hibernate	40
Sign out	1
Restart	4

5. Close Registry Editor and reboot to make changes effective. After restarting your system, press Alt+F4 key combination for Shut Down Windows dialog and you should have your selected power option displayed by default.

Group Policy Setting: If you want to deploy above configured setting on multiple machines in your organization/workplace, you can deploy the relevant GPO setting. Set Change Start Menu power button setting at User configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar to Enabled and then set desired power option as default. Reboot or refresh Group Policy to apply.

That’s it!