Prohibit use of Restart Manager: registry value DisableAutomaticApplicationShutdownComputerHKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer

Policy ID: DisableAutomaticApplicationShutdown
Scope: Computer Configuration
Supported on: Windows Installer v4.0
Source: Administrative Templates (.admx) for Windows 11 2026 Update (26H2) (version 1.0)
Category: Windows Components › Windows Installer

Registry

DisableAutomaticApplicationShutdown

REG_DWORDComputer

HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer Current key

Enabled value: Depends on the option value
Element: Prohibit Usage of Restart Manager

Options
Item	Stored value
Restart Manager On	0
Restart Manager Off	1
Restart Manager Off for Legacy App Setup	2

Apply with .reg · CMD · PowerShell

.reg

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer]

; Options (use only one)
; Restart Manager On
"DisableAutomaticApplicationShutdown"=dword:00000000
; Restart Manager Off
"DisableAutomaticApplicationShutdown"=dword:00000001
; Restart Manager Off for Legacy App Setup
"DisableAutomaticApplicationShutdown"=dword:00000002

CMD

:: Options (use only one)

:: Restart Manager On
reg add "HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer" /v "DisableAutomaticApplicationShutdown" /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
:: Restart Manager Off
reg add "HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer" /v "DisableAutomaticApplicationShutdown" /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
:: Restart Manager Off for Legacy App Setup
reg add "HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer" /v "DisableAutomaticApplicationShutdown" /t REG_DWORD /d 2 /f

PowerShell

# Common: create the key
New-Item -Path 'HKLM:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer' -Force | Out-Null

# Options (use only one)
# Restart Manager On
New-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer' -Name 'DisableAutomaticApplicationShutdown' -PropertyType DWord -Value 0 -Force | Out-Null
# Restart Manager Off
New-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer' -Name 'DisableAutomaticApplicationShutdown' -PropertyType DWord -Value 1 -Force | Out-Null
# Restart Manager Off for Legacy App Setup
New-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer' -Name 'DisableAutomaticApplicationShutdown' -PropertyType DWord -Value 2 -Force | Out-Null