Automatically restore apps after a reboot

[MS Bob 11]

Seriously cool but not under-utilized feature in Windows! :woot:

In Windows Vista and later, using the command line tool shutdown.exe with the /G switch will automatically restore many (note but not all) apps which you have running before the reboot! No need to close them manually and restore them one by one.

What apps are restored depends on which apps register with Windows' RegisterApplicationRestart function for reboot.

Using a tool like Application Recovery and Restart Explorer, you can easily see which apps will automatically restart!

Windows Update already uses this feature but the Start Menu's Restart command does not. But you can use Shutdown /G.

[LittleNeutrino Veteran]

I thought that this pretty much just did a hibernate rather than an actual shutdown/restart?

[MS Bob 11]

With hibernate and sleep, there is no need to even close your apps. :) This trick is for the those occasions like installing updates, drivers and app installs/uninstalls or dual boots into another OS that require a proper restart.

[c3ntury]

Brilliant for updates when I've got 8-10 programs in the background. Thanks!

[MS Bob 11]

Here's a list of applications with register for Application Recovery and Restart (which means they will be automatically restarted):

In Windows Vista and later:

**********************************

Explorer

Internet Explorer

All in-box games

All Office apps

Magnifier

Narrator

OSK

Mobility Center

Regedit

MSPaint

Sidebar

XPS Viewer

Sound Recorder

Backup

Character Map

Disk Defragmenter

System Information

System Restore

Defender

Movie Maker

DVD Maker

Photo Gallery

Windows Calendar

Windows Mail

Windows Media Center

Snipping Tool

Sticky Notes

Handwriting Personalization

Windows Journal

Windows Mobile Device Center

MSConfig

Remote Assistance

Problem Reports and Solutions

Windows Live Mail

Windows Live Photo Gallery

Visual Studio 2008

In Windows 7 and later:

******************************

WordPad

Calc

Resource Monitor

Non-built-in apps:

***********************

Security Essentials

Google Chrome

Do not register for restart :(

************************************

Notepad

Task manager

Windows Fax and Scan

Sndvol

Cmd

RDP

Windows Speech Recognition

Easy Transfer

Disk Cleanup

Task Scheduler

PowerShell

PowerShell ISE

Windows Media Player

MMC Applets

Zune Software

Virtual PC 2007

Paint.NET

Firefox

Safari

WinRAR

7-Zip

PDF XChange Viewer (Crashes and hangs only, no reboot)

Picasa

Windows Live Messenger 2009

Windows Live Movie Maker 2009

Windows Live Writer 2009

[MS Bob 11]

Just create a shortcut to: shutdown.exe -g -t 00 and use it instead of "Restart" on the Start Menu.