I just started playing with Longhorn and if someone has already commented on this I aplogize. I went to logoff of the beta and disovered that there are 3 buttons now when I click Start. The first is a circle which doesa shutdown, a lock icon to lock the computer, and finally an arrow which expands to a menu where logoff is located. IMHO this is bad. On a server, the very first icon should be for logoff.If anything, shutdown should be harder to find so that some careless admin doesn't shut the system down. Yes, we've had it happen to the point where we use group policy to disable shutdown on certain servers. Will the Longhorn team please make that first icon be shutdown like it is on XP and Win2003. I know you guys like to play Where's Waldo with every new version, but some stuff really needs to remain consistent. Thanks, Dave.

It's been so long that I forgot that we did this via group policy. We use "Add Logoff to the start menu" and on some servers "Remove and prevent access to the shutdown command". On my Longhorn server, I logged on as the local administrator and set the local group policyfor "Add logoff to the start menu" to enabled, and "Remove and prevent access to the shut down, restart, sleep, and hibernate commands" to enabled. Now when I click on startI have 2 icons, the lock and the arrow. The arrow menu expands to switch user, logoff, and lock. So it appears that "Add logoff to the start menu" is not doing what it did on prior Windows versions. Our intent here is have "Logoff" be the most prominent icon/option on servers. We do not want "Shutdown" to be the first option. We have too many application owners who require administrative access, and even when they get prompted for a shutdown reason, they still find a way to accidently shut down servers. Dear Longhorn team, please put "Logoff" back as the first option (icon) on the start menu.

Holy crude, "Dear Longhorn team, please put "Logoff" back as the first option (icon) on the start menu." This should bethe DEFAULT!!!!!!!!!!! I cannot believe that this is missing! PUT IT BACK BY DEFAULT! Do Not Allow By Default A friggin Shutdown! MakeTHAT the huntable item, not LOGOFF! IMO (no humble about it), there should only be two options on a server, Log Off or "Other options" (aka the arrow), and THAT'S IT! Don't confuse the start menu actions. This is due to one reason only, Servers should never be shut down. PERIOD! They are logged onto from time to time and logged off of, and shutting it downshould bea deliberate action, not an accidental side-effect of the screwed up UI. I've had a long-standing policy that if anyone downs a server without a maintenance ticket in a maintenance window, or in a break-fix situation, that person AND their mananger is FIRED immediately! This CTP is too much like Vista, not worthy at all of a CTP designation, but more like Beta version number "let's try again". That said, I am running Vista exclusively at the house (and still 6 year old XP at work)and love them both, but a Server is NEVER supposed to be like the Workstation in these regards. You have it wrong this time! Make "turn off" anicon in the Vista Start Menu and make dang sure it isn't a clickable icon on the server's Start Menu! Make them look for the shutdown on the server. Slow down and do it right. Don't get into a hurry to get this server version out the door. We waited 6 years for Vista, and we're used to Server 2003. Make it right! You're on the right track, just do it right. We all know what rushing a product out the door is going to be like (Windows ME). Wow, this one REALLY upset me. Lack of prior planning is no excuse for the crtiticism you're going to take! This is a HUGE issue!

Narizz28 wrote: IMO (no humble about it), there should only be two options on a server, Log Off or "Other options" (aka the arrow), and THAT'S IT! Don't confuse the start menu actions. You can achieve this bycustomize the Start menuanduse the option ofClassic Start Menu: You can do so by right click on the taskbar, select Properties. SelectStart Menutab, select Classic Start Menu. Select Customized, select Display log off option under Advanced Start Menu Option.

On W2K3 I can also choose to use the classic start menu. In either case, theLogoff option is prominently displayed. There is no reason to change that in Longhorn or any future Windows Server version. I would like to see a reply from someone on the Microsoft Longhorn team on this topic. I suspect that Microsoft's user interface team has dictated that Vista and Longhorn will have the same UI and in order to not confuse Aunt Mary and Grandpa Bob with logoff, they put shutdown first. You've got to stop that. What makes sense for a home user does not always work on corporate servers. Hello?? Longhorn team??? Anybody out there??? This is a server OS!!! Please put logoff back!!!!

So is this not the appropriate forum for discussing the beta version of 2008? I'm still waiting for a reply fromsomeone fromMicrosoft. Your (bad) decision to put Shutdown as the first option is going to cost users real money. At some point in time someone with administrative authority is going to carelessly click on that first icon and is going to power off a server. Productivity will be lost. End users will not be able to do their jobs until someone who has physical access to a secure data center can walk in there and power up the server. This is not a home PC where little Billy turns it off after playing Doom. This is a server OS. The first icon should not be shutdown. I'm know I'm kind of an oddball, but I'm curious as what other users think. Do you agree or disagree with me? If the majority don't have a problem with it then I'll shut up and use group policy to disable shutdown and force admins to reboot from the command line.

I dont really think its a big deal. On win3k its the First clickable item on the bottom of the Start Menu when the menu is in classic form. The other thing is its in Plain English "Shut Down" not trying to be smart but if a admin does click it the server then prompts another window to confirm the actual full Shutdown. I would leave as is and move on. I see it as a non issue. Thanks .. Paul.