On the other hand, there are some organizations for whom shutting down the computer systems (even the domain client computers) might result in some business loss. In such situations, in order to avoid any accidental shut down of the computers, the administrators keep the end-users from shutting down the system on their own.
This can be accomplished by configuring a Group Policy Object (GPO) accordingly. When this configuration is made, and the settings become applicable on the entire domain or target OU, the client computers can only be powered off using the administrator account.
Here is how you can keep the Windows Server 2012 domain users from shutting down the domain client computers:
- Log on to the Windows Server 2012 Active Directory domain controller with the Enterprise Admin or Domain Admin account.
- If not already started, initialize the Server Manager window from the bottom left corner of the screen.
- On the opened Server Manager window, go to the Tools menu from the menu bar.
- From the displayed list, click Group Policy Management.
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- On the opened Group Policy Management console, from the left pane, expand Forest > Domains, and then expand the domain name. (MYDOMAIN.COM for this demonstration.).
- From the expanded list, right-click the domain name or the target OU, users of which you want to keep from shutting down the domain client computers on their own.
- From the displayed context menu, click the Create a GPO in this domain, and Link it here option.
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- On the opened New GPO box, specify a self-explanatory name for the GPO in the Name field.
- From the Source Starter GPO drop-down list, choose a starter GPO of your choice if you have created any.
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- Once done, click OK to create and link the new GPO to the target domain or OU.
- Once this is done, right-click the newly created GPO.
- From the displayed context menu, click Edit.
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- On the opened Group Policy Object Editor snap-in, from the left pane, under the Computer Configuration, locate and select Policies > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Local Policies > User Rights Assignment.
- Once selected, from the right pane, double-click the Shut down the system option.
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- On the opened Shut down the system Properties box, check Define these policy
settings checkbox.
- Click the enabled Add User or Group button and add the domain users or groups that you want to allow to shut down the client computers. (Domain Admins and Enterprise Admins for this demonstration.).
Note: Only the users and groups added in this list will be able to shut down the system. All other users and groups will be automatically disallowed to shut the domain client computers down as soon as the policy becomes applicable.
- Back on the Shut down the system Properties box, click OK.
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- Close the Group Policy Object Editor snap-in.
- Press the Windows + R keys simultaneously to initialize the Run command box.
- In the available field in the Run command box, type the GPUPDATE /FORCE command and press Enter key in order to update the group policy settings.

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