One of our readers has asked a way to disable “Log off” on Windows 7 Start menu. Windows 7 doesn’t allow you remove log off entry from Windows 7 start menu easily. You need to either play with Windows registry or Local Group Policy to make this happen.
If you are running Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate, you can remove “Log off” entry via Group Policy. But Windows 7 Home Basic and Home Premium editions don’t come with Group Policy editor. So you need to disable the entry via Windows registry.
Method 1 of 3
Disable Log off entry on Windows 7 Start menu via Group Policy
1. Open Group Policy editor by typing gpedit.msc in Start menu search field and then hitting enter.
2. In Group Policy editor, navigate to User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar.
3. In the right pane, locate the entry named Remove Logoff on the Start Menu.
4. Double-click on the entry and then check Enabled option.
5. Click Apply button to save setting.
Method 2 of 3
Disable Log off entry on Windows 7 Start menu via registry
1. Download remove logoff registry file from.
2. Double-click on the registry file and click Yes for the confirmation message.
3. Reboot your machine to see the change.
Method 3 of 3
Remove logoff entry from Windows 7 Start menu via registry (manual way):
1. Type regedit in Start menu search box and then hit enter to launch Windows Registry Editor.
2. Navigate to the following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
3. In the right-pane, create a new DWORD value named StartMenuLogOff and set it’s value to 1.
4. Close the registry editor and reboot your PC.
Mira says
As gefits mentioned, registry changes didn’t work for Windos 7 Entrprise version. Cannot get rid of Log Off at all…
gefitz says
The reg files don’t work. Don’t bother. Still have not found an option that works to remove ALL of the options on that Start Menu (From hibernate to shutdown to reboot to log off). May have to develop a Task-Bar-Less shell. Seems like waaaaaay too much trouble.
user says
How to disable a user’s logoff option on the Start Menu?
I mean, if i want to disable in the regedit as user, i can’t because several “access denied”, gpedit.msc also can’t execute as user, but if i put a user to the administrators group and run either gpedit.msc or regedit to disable the logoff option, the action will be apply to the administrator group, and as i put back the user to user group he will get back that stuck logoff button i want to disappear….
Theprophet says
How do you re-enable the logoff option if you downloaded the registry tweak? Before I didn’t need the option to logoff because I have a laptop with only one account that everyone in my family shares, but now I enabled the hidden administrator account.
admin says
Just navigate to Start menu properties (right-click on the taskbar and select properties). Under Start Menu tab, change Power button action from Shutdown to Log off.
SamuelCornell says
I am curious if there is a way to make the default button action “Log Off” rather than “Shut Down” utilizing a registry edit?
I have computers in an open lab and the students always hit the “Shut down” thinking it is “log off” so I have to go out and turn the computers back on periodically throughout the day.
Any help would be appreciated!