This App is Preventing Shutdown in Windows 10 [SOLVED] (2024)

Are you receiving a similar error message while shutting down or restarting your PC? An ongoing background process may force you to get stuck on this screen, and you are left with no other option without hitting “shutdown anyway”.

But many Windows 10 users have reported, they see the same error message even when nothing is running in the background! What to do next? Instead of worrying, try our solutions and get rid of “This App is Preventing Shutdown in Windows 10“.

Let’s proceed.

Why “App Preventing Shutdown” Error Occurs?

Your Task Host plays a key role while shutting down your PC. It makes sure all running programs are closed in order to avoid data or program error.

Still, there are some applications which bypass your Task Host manager and creates a barrier on the way of restarting or shutting down your PC.

How to fix “This App is Preventing Shutdown in Windows 10”?

Several methods are there to let you take the shy of relief. Here we are going to show you the effective ones. Try out our solutions one by one to discard the issue permanently.

Run Windows Power Troubleshoot

Windows Power Troubleshooter can fix the problem for you and offer you the ease of use while on the Windows Operating System. Follow the steps here and learn how you can use the Windows Power Troubleshooter,

Firstly, Press the Windows Logo Key + R and open the Run search box from your PC
Now, type in ms-settings:troubleshoot in the search box and hit the enter button on your Keyboard
After opening the troubleshooter window locate Power-Troubleshooter
Now, click on the Power Troubleshooter to run and wait until the process completes the scan
Finally, follow the on-screen instructions and apply the fixes.

Turn Off Fast Startup

Windows 10 comes with a feature called Fast Startup.

In some cases, Windows Fast Startup can be the reason behind the blank app preventing shutdown error. So, disabling the Fast Startup feature can act as a quick fix to this problem. You can follow the steps below to disable Fast Startup on your computer,

To disable Fast Startup firstly, open the Control Panel from the Start Menu
Now, locate the Power Options from the list
After that, navigate to the left side of the panel and click on ‘Choose what the power button does.’
Then, click on Change Settings
Now, scroll down and locate ‘Turn on fast startup’ and then uncheck the option
Then, select Save Changes to save and exit
Finally, Restart the computer to proceed with the changes

If disabling the fast startup doesn’t resolve the issue for you, then there is some other solution as well.

Perform a Clean Boot of Your System

Cleanly rebooting your system can stop you from facing the error if there is any third party app causing the problem. Your task manager may show “Unknown Program in Startup” in this situation. However, follow the steps below to perform a clean boot,

At first, Press the Windows Logo Key + R to open the Run dialogue box
Now, type “msconfig” in the box and hit the enter button. It will open the System Configuration window
Then as the System Configuration Window opens, Select the Services tab
Under services tab check the box beside the option Hide all Microsoft Services
Now, click on the Disable all button
After that, Click on Open Task Manager under the Startup tab
As you have all the programs that open on startup are in front of you, what you need to do is right-click on each of the programs one by one and select disable
Finally, restart your system and check whether the problem got resolved or not.

If the problem persists then, there might be a missing or corrupted system file in your operating system because of which you are facing the error.

Run Windows System File Checker

Your Windows PC comes with an in-built system file checker utility program. It can scan your system files and let you know if there is some corruption over there for which you get smashed with the error message “Task Host Window Preventing Shutdown”. You must follow these simple steps here to run the Windows System File Checker,

Press the Windows Logo Key + X from your PC
From the drop-down list select the Command Prompt(Admin)
Click on Yes if prompted for permission. It will open the elevated command prompt on your system
Now, type in the following command and press the enter button
sfc /scannow
Then, wait until the System File Checker continues the process of scanning. Press Y if the program asks for permission to apply the fixes for your missing system files
Finally, Restart your PC once again and check if you can get over the problem there

In case this solution doesn’t work out, follow the next one.

Run Event Viewer

Running the event viewer will not fix your problem, but it can help you to find out the actual reason behind the problem you are facing. You can follow the steps below to run the Event Viewer on your computer.

At first press the Windows Logo key + X on your keyboard
Now open Event Viewer from the list

Then, on the left side panel click on Windows Logs and then select System

Now in the middle panel, there are different entries. Have a look at the one marked as Error or Warning. Click on it to get the detail information about what went wrong in a specific time range.

That’s it! You are good to go now!

Final Verdict

We have reached the final phase of our discussion. Now try all of these methods and resolve the App Preventing Shutdown error. If you have a further query or any doubt regarding our guidelines, feel free to reach us. Just throw your words in the comment box below, and we will contact you in no time!