[Windows 7 Fix] You don’t have Permission to Shut Down This Computer

If you are getting “You don’t have permission to shut down this computer” error message while trying to shut down or restart your computer in Windows 7 or Windows 10 operating systems, this article will help you in fixing the issue.

Many Windows 7 users (and a few Windows 10 users as well) are experiencing this problem in their computer systems. Whenever they try to shut down or restart their machines by clicking on Start button and selecting the power options, they receive following error messages:

Following screenshot shows the error message in a Windows 7 device:

So users are unable to properly shut down their computers and they are forced to directly switch off their devices from mains.

Many AskVG readers have reported this issue and provided different reasons behind this problem. Today in this tutorial, we’ll discuss about all causes behind this problem and all possible solutions to solve this issue.

Possible Reasons Behind This Issue:

• Recently Microsoft released a final or last update KB4534310 for Windows 7 operating system before EOL (End of Life) or EOS (End of Support) date. Some users are claiming that the update is causing this weird issue. This update has brought some bugs to User Account Control (UAC) feature.
• Many users have claimed that some Adobe software are causing this issue. When a user installs an Adobe software, a few services such as “Adobe Genuine Monitor Service” are automatically installed in user’s computer. These services are preventing shutdown and causing the error message.
• Some users are reporting that BitDefender Total Security 2020 program is also causing this annoying issue.

If you are also facing this irritating problem in Windows 7 or Windows 10 operating systems and want to fix this issue, following solutions will help you:

SOLUTION 1: Login Screen Workaround to Shut Down Computer

The “You don’t have permission to shut down this computer” error message only appears if you select Shut Down option from Start Menu. You can still shut down or restart your computer by selecting the power options from Login Screen or Welcome Screen.

Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete keys together and Windows will show CAD screen. Now you can click on the power options red button given at the bottom-right corner and select Shut Down or Restart options as shown in following screenshot:

Similarly, you can log off and when Windows shows Login Screen, you can select Shut Down or Restart options by clicking on the power options button as shown in following screenshot:

It’ll help you in restarting or shutting down your computer and you’ll no longer receive “You don’t have permission to shut down this computer” error message.

SOLUTION 2: Direct Command or Options to Shut Down Computer

If you are unable to shut down or reboot your computer from Start Menu, you can try other ways to shut down or restart it.

You can use following command in RUN dialog box or Command Prompt to shut down your computer:

Shutdown -s -f -t 00

You can create a shortcut of the command and place it on Desktop or pin to Start Menu, Taskbar for quick and easy access.

You can also add a new Power Options Menu to Desktop context menu (right-click menu) to quickly shut down, restart or selecting other power options. Following article will help you in adding Power Menu to Desktop context menu:

Add “Power Options” Menu in Windows 7 and Later Desktop Context Menu

Also Check: Shutdown Panel: Freeware to Quick Access Power Options in Windows

SOLUTION 3: Disable Adobe Services If You Installed Adobe Software

Many users reported that this issue is caused by a few Adobe services which are installed in computers when the users install Adobe Creative Cloud (Adobe CC), Adobe Creative Suite (Adobe CS), Adobe Acrobat Reader, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premiere or other Adobe software.

If you also have some Adobe software installed in your computer and you are facing Shut down permission issue, following steps will help you in fixing the issue:

1. Press WIN+R keys together to launch RUN dialog box, type services.msc and press Enter. It’ll open Service Manager.

2. Now look for following services:

• Adobe Acrobat Update Service
• Adobe Genuine Monitor Service
• Adobe Genuine Software Integrity Service

If you find any of these services, double-click on each service one-by-one to open Properties window. Now click on Stop button to immediately stop the service and set “Startup type” to “Disabled” from the drop-down box and apply changes.

Now try to shut down your computer and you should not get permission error message. If you still get the error message, first restart the computer using SOLUTION 1 to apply changes and after reboot, you should be able to shut down or restart your computer from Start Menu without any problem or error message.

NOTE: You can also disable above mentioned services using MSCONFIG program too. Open RUN dialog box and type msconfig and press Enter. It’ll open System Configuration window. Go to Services tab, uncheck Adobe services and click on Apply button.

SOLUTION 4: Enable/Disable Admin Approval Mode

For some users who claim that Windows 7 update “KB4534310” caused this issue, enabling or disabling Admin Approval Mode for User Account Control (UAC) feature fixed this problem.

1. Press WIN+R keys together to launch RUN dialog box, type Secpol.msc and press Enter.

2. Now go to “Security Settings -> Local Policies -> Security Options“.

3. In right-side pane, scroll down to bottom and double-click on “User Account Control: Run all administrators in Admin Approval Mode” option.

4. Select Enabled option and apply changes. If Enabled is already selected first select Disabled and then select Enabled option and apply changes.

PS: If you face problem in accessing Secpol.msc in your computer, you can do the same using Registry Editor.

1. Type regedit in RUN or Start Menu search box and press Enter. It’ll open Registry Editor. Now go to following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System

2. In right-side pane, look for EnableLUA DWORD.

Make sure it’s value is set to 1

You may need to restart the computer using SOLUTION 1 to take effects and after reboot, you should be able to shut down or restart your computer from Start Menu without error message.

SOLUTION 5: Restart Explorer

Some users have reported that if they restart Explorer and then try to shut down or restart using Start Menu, it works.

You can learn how to restart Explorer with the help of following tutorial:

[Guide] Different Ways to Close and Restart Explorer in Windows

SOLUTION 6: Activate and Use Hidden Secret Built-in Administrator Account

You can also use a hidden secret Administrator account which is automatically created by Windows at the installation time. This account can be considered as Super User or Root account. It’s disabled by default and we need to manually activate and enable it to be able to use it.

Following tutorial will help you in activating this built-in Administrator account:

How to Enable / Activate Hidden Built-in Administrator Account in Windows

Once you enable the Administrator account, you can start using it and it’ll not throw any error message.

Also Check:

[Fix] Windows 7 Desktop Wallpaper Changed to Solid Black Color Screen

[Tip] Disable “Your Windows 7 PC is Out of Support” Full Screen Banner