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Windows 11 Group Policy settings

3,621 settings · 25H2 · 1.0 · 29 Sep 2025

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Windows Components › Windows Installer

Prohibit use of Restart Manager

ComputerNative Intune settingDisableAutomaticApplicationShutdown

Supported on Windows Installer v4.0

What it does

This policy setting controls Windows Installer's interaction with the Restart Manager. The Restart Manager API can eliminate or reduce the number of system restarts that are required to complete an installation or update. If you enable this policy setting, you can use the options in the Prohibit Use of Restart Manager box to control file in use detection behavior. -- The "Restart Manager On" option instructs Windows Installer to use Restart Manager to detect files in use and mitigate a system restart, when possible. -- The "Restart Manager Off" option turns off Restart Manager for file in use detection and the legacy file in use behavior is used. -- The "Restart Manager Off for Legacy App Setup" option applies to packages that were created for Windows Installer versions lesser than 4.0. This option lets those packages display the legacy files in use UI while still using Restart Manager for detection. If you disable or do not configure this policy setting, Windows Installer will use Restart Manager to detect files in use and mitigate a system restart, when possible.

What it writes

Hive
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Registry key
Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer

In Intune

Native Intune setting: Yes — Policy CSP

  • ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_MSI/DisableAutomaticApplicationShutdownADMX_MSI on Microsoft LearnADMX-backed: Windows ships this template, so it is set with the template's own values, without an import.Windows builds listed: 10.0.22000, 10.0.19043.1202, 10.0.19042.1202, 10.0.19041.1202.

From Microsoft's Policy CSP DDF files (DDF v2 Files, February 2026), read 18 Oct 2026.

Options

OptionTypeRegistry valueAllowed values
Prohibit Usage of Restart ManagerRequiredDefault: Restart Manager Off Drop-down list DisableAutomaticApplicationShutdown
  • Restart Manager On0
  • Restart Manager Off1
  • Restart Manager Off for Legacy App Setup2

Configure and deploy

Choose a state and the option values; the output below is generated from the template for exactly that.

State
Options used when Enabled

Enabled · Computer · template defaults

Registry file (.reg)

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer]
"DisableAutomaticApplicationShutdown"=dword:00000001


PowerShell

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'

function Set-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $PropertyType,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Value
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        New-Item -Path $Path -Force | Out-Null
    }

    New-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -PropertyType $PropertyType -Value $Value -Force | Out-Null
}

function Remove-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

function Clear-RegistryKeyValues {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return
    }

    foreach ($propertyName in (Get-Item -LiteralPath $Path).Property) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $propertyName -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

# Policy: Prohibit use of Restart Manager
# Name: DisableAutomaticApplicationShutdown
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: MSI.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer' -Name 'DisableAutomaticApplicationShutdown' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 1

These deployment candidates come from the ADMX template; they are separate from the native CSP mapping above.

  • The OMA-URI is an inferred ADMX-backed Policy CSP candidate derived from the source ADMX file name and policy name.
  • Some Microsoft policies use built-in Policy CSP pages whose area names don't match the ADMX file name, so verify the candidate against Microsoft Learn before deployment.

ADMX profile candidate (OMA-URI)

./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_MSI/DisableAutomaticApplicationShutdown

ADMX SyncML candidate

<SyncML xmlns="SYNCML:SYNCML1.2">
  <SyncBody>
    <Replace>
      <CmdID>1</CmdID>
      <Item>
        <Meta>
          <Format>chr</Format>
          <Type>text/plain</Type>
        </Meta>
        <Target>
          <LocURI>./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_MSI/DisableAutomaticApplicationShutdown</LocURI>
        </Target>
        <Data>&lt;enabled/&gt;
&lt;data id="DisableAutomaticApplicationShutdown" value="1"/&gt;</Data>
      </Item>
    </Replace>
    <Final/>
  </SyncBody>
</SyncML>
Intune remediation scripts

Detection

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
$reasons = [System.Collections.Generic.List[string]]::new()

function Test-RegistryValueExists {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return $false
    }

    return $null -ne (Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)
}

function Test-RegistryValueEquals {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Kind,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Expected
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return $false
    }

    $valueObject = Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    if ($null -eq $valueObject) {
        return $false
    }

    $actual = $valueObject.$Name
    switch ($Kind) {
        'String' { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
        'ExpandString' { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
        'DWord' { return [uint32]$actual -eq [uint32]$Expected }
        'QWord' { return [uint64]$actual -eq [uint64]$Expected }
        'MultiString' {
            $actualArray = @($actual)
            $expectedArray = @($Expected)
            if ($actualArray.Count -ne $expectedArray.Count) { return $false }
            for ($index = 0; $index -lt $actualArray.Count; $index++) {
                if ([string]$actualArray[$index] -cne [string]$expectedArray[$index]) { return $false }
            }
            return $true
        }
        'Binary' {
            $actualArray = [byte[]]$actual
            $expectedArray = [byte[]]$Expected
            if ($actualArray.Length -ne $expectedArray.Length) { return $false }
            for ($index = 0; $index -lt $actualArray.Length; $index++) {
                if ($actualArray[$index] -ne $expectedArray[$index]) { return $false }
            }
            return $true
        }
        default { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
    }
}

# Policy: Prohibit use of Restart Manager
# Name: DisableAutomaticApplicationShutdown
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: MSI.admx

$isMatch = Test-RegistryValueEquals -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer' -Name 'DisableAutomaticApplicationShutdown' -Kind 'DWord' -Expected 1
if (-not $isMatch) {
    $reasons.Add('Value mismatch: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer\DisableAutomaticApplicationShutdown') | Out-Null
}

if ($reasons.Count -eq 0) {
    Write-Output 'Compliant'
    exit 0
}

$reasons | ForEach-Object { Write-Output $_ }
exit 1

Remediation

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'

function Set-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $PropertyType,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Value
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        New-Item -Path $Path -Force | Out-Null
    }

    New-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -PropertyType $PropertyType -Value $Value -Force | Out-Null
}

function Remove-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

function Clear-RegistryKeyValues {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return
    }

    foreach ($propertyName in (Get-Item -LiteralPath $Path).Property) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $propertyName -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

# Policy: Prohibit use of Restart Manager
# Name: DisableAutomaticApplicationShutdown
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: MSI.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer' -Name 'DisableAutomaticApplicationShutdown' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 1

History 5 retained releases

  1. 22H2 · 1.015 Jul 2024
    • Already present in the first release ChangeIntel keeps.

4 later releases left it unchanged.

Template

Internal name
DisableAutomaticApplicationShutdown
Namespace
Microsoft.Policies.MSI
Template file
MSI.admx
Release
Windows 11 25H2 · 1.0 · file set de4e49983ebd651f…
Definition, editor controls and support

Definition

<policy class="Machine" displayName="$(string.DisableAutomaticApplicationShutdown)" explainText="$(string.DisableAutomaticApplicationShutdown_Help)" key="Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer" name="DisableAutomaticApplicationShutdown" presentation="$(presentation.DisableAutomaticApplicationShutdown)" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.MSI:MSI" />
      <supportedOn ref="Microsoft.Policies.MSI:SUPPORTED_MSI40" />
      <elements>
        <enum id="DisableAutomaticApplicationShutdown" required="true" valueName="DisableAutomaticApplicationShutdown">          
          <item displayName="$(string.AutomaticApplicationShutdownOn)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="0" />
            </value>
          </item>
	  <item displayName="$(string.AutomaticApplicationShutdownOff)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="1" />
            </value>
          </item>
	  <item displayName="$(string.LegacyAutomaticApplicationShutdownOff)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="2" />
            </value>
          </item>
        </enum>
      </elements>
    </policy>

Editor controls

<presentation id="DisableAutomaticApplicationShutdown" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
        <dropdownList defaultItem="1" noSort="true" refId="DisableAutomaticApplicationShutdown">Prohibit Usage of Restart Manager</dropdownList>
      </presentation>

Supported platforms and category

Microsoft.Policies.MSI:category:MSI
<category displayName="$(string.MSI)" name="MSI" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents" />
    </category>
Microsoft.Policies.MSI:definition:SUPPORTED_MSI40
<definition displayName="$(string.SUPPORTED_MSI40)" name="SUPPORTED_MSI40" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
        <or>
          <reference ref="Microsoft.Policies.Products:WindowsInstaller40" />
        </or>
      </definition>
Microsoft.Policies.MSI:unresolved:Microsoft.Policies.Products:WindowsInstaller40
<unresolved reference="Microsoft.Policies.Products:WindowsInstaller40" />
Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:WindowsComponents
<category displayName="$(string.WindowsComponents)" explainText="$(string.WindowsComponents_Help)" name="WindowsComponents" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
Microsoft.Policies.MSI:category:MSI
<category displayName="$(string.MSI)" name="MSI" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents" />
    </category>
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.MSI:MSI">Windows Installer</string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.MSI:definition:SUPPORTED_MSI40
<definition displayName="$(string.SUPPORTED_MSI40)" name="SUPPORTED_MSI40" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
        <or>
          <reference ref="Microsoft.Policies.Products:WindowsInstaller40" />
        </or>
      </definition>
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.MSI:SUPPORTED_MSI40">Windows Installer v4.0</string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:WindowsComponents
<category displayName="$(string.WindowsComponents)" explainText="$(string.WindowsComponents_Help)" name="WindowsComponents" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents">Windows Components</string><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents_Help">Contains settings for operating system components.</string></strings>
ChangeIntel

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Sources read 18 Oct 21:27 UTC · 253 of 255 readable · 252 fully read · documentation 0/410 current