Shut Down -Speed Up

How to Set WaitToKillServiceTimeout to Speed Up Shut Down Time in Windows​

   Information

This tutorial will show you how to set the WaitToKillServiceTimeout to how long the system waits for services to stop after notifying the service that the system is shutting down in XP, Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8.

When the WaitToKillServiceTimeout value of this entry expires, the system notifies the user that the service has not stopped. The user can either force the service task to stop or continue to wait. If the user waits, this WaitToKillServiceTimeout value specifies the interval between repeated user notices that the service has not stopped.

If all services stop before this WaitToKillServiceTimeout value expires, the system shuts down; it does not wait for this value to expire.

   Warning

You should always save and close all programs before shutting down the computer to help prevent any data loss.

   Tip

If your shutdown time is still taking longer then normal, then check these items below.

• Make sure your system is not set to clear the page file at shutdown.
• Perform a clean start to see if it shuts down normally with minimal applications running. If so, it will help you to find what may be causing the hang at shutdown.
• WaitToKillServiceTimeout registry value does not work in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2

OPTION ONE

Set WaitToKillServiceTimeout before Shut Down using a REG File Download

1. Do step 2, 3, or 4 below for what you would like to do.

2. To Speed Up Shut Down Time with 2 Second WaitToKillServiceTimeout
A) Click on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 5 below.
NOTE: This sets the shutdown "Wait to kill" time to 2 seconds (2000 milliseconds). If you want shutdown to wait for a different amount of seconds, then do the manual method below.
2_Second_Shutdown.reg

Download


3. To Restore the Default WaitToKillServiceTimeout in Windows 7
A) Click on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 5 below.
NOTE: The default shutdown "wait to kill" time is 12 seconds (12000 milliseconds) in Windows 7.
Windows-7_Default_Shutdown_Time.reg

Download


4. To Restore the Default WaitToKillServiceTimeout in Windows 8
A) Click on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 5 below.
NOTE: The default shutdown "wait to kill" time is 5 seconds (5000 milliseconds) in Windows 7.
Windows-8_Default_Shutdown_Time.reg

Download


5. Save, and save the .reg file to your desktop.

6. Double click on the downloaded .reg file to merge it.

7. If prompted, click on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK to approve the merge.

8. If you like, you may also wish to change the HungAppTimeout, WaitToKillAppTimeout, and AutoEndTasks values to what you want.

9. When finished, you can delete the downloaded .reg file if you like.

OPTION TWO

Set WaitToKillServiceTimeout before Shut Down in Registry Editor

1. Press the Windows + R keys to open the Run dialog, type regedit, and click/tap on OK.

2. In regedit, go to: (See screenshot below)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control

3. In the right pane, right click on WaitToKillServiceTimeout, and click on Modify. (See screenshot above)

4. Type in a number between 2000-20000 (2-20 seconds), and click on OK. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: The default time is 12000 (Windows 7) or 5000 (Windows 8). I use 2000 (2 seconds) and have not had any problems. Your experience may vary.

5. If you like, you may also wish to change the HungAppTimeout, WaitToKillAppTimeout, and AutoEndTasks values to what you want.

6. When finished, you can close Registry Editor if you like.
NOTE: If you have problems with programs from your computer shutting down to quickly, then repeat the above steps and increase the WaitToKillServiceTimeout time (step 5) a bit.
That's it,
Shawn

Related Tutorials

---

• How to Specify HungAppTimeout Used to Determine a Hung Process in Windows
• How to Specify WaitToKillAppTimeout to Speed Up Shut Down Time in Windows
• Turn On or Off to Automatically Close Apps not Responding at Shutdown in Windows
• How to See What Your Windows 7 Restart Time is
• How to Create a Shut Down Windows Shortcut in Windows 7
• How to Create a Shut Down Computer Shortcut in Windows
• How to Enable or Disable Shut Down without Having to Log On
• How to Change the "Logging off..." Text Message at Shut Down in Windows 7 and Vista
• How to Change the "Shutting down..." Text Message at Shut Down in Windows 7 and Vista
• How to Allow or Prevent Users and Groups to Shut Down the Computer
• How to See the Last Shutdown Time of Your Windows PC
• How to Enable or Disable "Clear Virtual Memory Paging File at Shutdown" in Vista and Windows 7
• How to Enable or Disable Hibernate in Windows 7 and Windows 8
• How to Reduce the Startup Delay Time for Desktop Apps in Windows 8 and 8.1

 

[DjProDG]

Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Brink]

You're welcome DjProgDG.

 

[Night Hawk]

Windows 7 starts up faster, shuts down faster then previous versions by default. The guide here shows you how to take that one more step to lessen the shutdown time even further! Can't beat that now!

 

[teganblue]

Thanks, I was always curious if this could be done!

 

[Night Hawk]

It's more then possible to do it. But you really don't want to lower the time down too much since then you will see a wait for some things to close completely during the shutdown, restart, or simply logging off.

 

[sangbuiduc]

Nice post

 

[manjunath]

thanks brink..

 

[Vertex]

But what would happen if I change the value to absolute zero 0000??? Will that cause crashes???

 

[Brink]

Hello Vertex,

You can try it if you like to see how well it works for you, but with it that low, it may close to fast and cause a delay while shutting down while Windows 7 is trying to close anything still open. If this happens for you, then you can always change it to a higher number.

 

[BugOutMachine]

Why would someone want to disable the Wait to Kill time?

 

[whs]

Why would someone want to disable the Wait to Kill time?

It makes a certain sense for reboots. But the effect is really minimal - especially on my system where the BIOS phase is longer than the Win7 boot time..

 

[cclloyd9785]

Is there a way to make the processes kill faster after the log off?

 

[whs]

Is there a way to make the processes kill faster after the log off?

Sure, get a faster CPU and a SSD.

 

[cclloyd9785]

I mean besides hardware change. And I dont even think u can change the CPU of a laptop.

 

[Mercurial]

Is there a way to make the processes kill faster after the log off?

Sure, get a faster CPU and a SSD.

lol

 

[soldierguy]

Thanks for the shut down/speed up article.

Tom

 

[Brink]

You're most welcome Tom, and welcome to Seven Forums.

 

[saiboat]

hey.
i seem to have run into a problem out of nowhere.
i already tried this tweak but it didnt resolve my issue.
when i click shutdown it takes like 3 seconds until it shows the "waiting for processes to terminate" or smth like that but it actually doesnt show any process in that list :sarc:
im running miranda, outlook and avast antivir most of the times im clicking shutdown but they havent been an issue. normally it would just go to "shutting down" in like 3 seconds and then its off. but now i get the processes error dialog thing for a minimum of 5 seconds. sometimes i click ok and it goes back to desktop and stays there... and when i click shutdown again nothing happens :devil:
this is really annoying - anyone got a clue?

 

[Brink]

Hello Saibot,

Be sure to close all nonbackground programs (ex: Miranda & Outlook) first, then see how long it takes to shutdown. The delay you are seeing is Windows 7 trying to force these programs to close.

 

[Demonicon]

hey ive used this tool, and my shut down time is still over 3.5min, why does it take over 3 min for my computer to shut down?