Windows Terminal

Is there a way to permanently uninstall Windows Terminal, or completely disable it in Windows 11? Or a way to keep it from freezing when a user disconnects from Remote Desktop?

Background: I work at a civil engineering firm that does a lot of groundwater modeling, and the model group uses custom C scripting that runs scenarios/models that are used to create GIS models for a variety of clients. This scripting (while CPU intensive) runs fine on older machines using Command Prompt or PowerShell. Like many companies that withstood the Covid shutdown, many now work remotely and share company resources via Remote Desktop Protocol.
The company is growing, and we've slowly been adding/replacing computers. As a result, new, Windows 11 computers are being deployed.

We have a 13th generation Intel Core i9 with 64GB DDR5 with a 3080 GPU now being used by the modeling group. It works nearly flawlessly except for one, very important/annoying thing: Windows Terminal. The scripting does work with Windows Terminal, except that it adds to the CPU resources by adding processes like OpenConsole.exe and Runtime Broker. The model runs (depending on the project) can take hours, if not days, so it is not uncommon for the modeler to disconnect (not logoff) from Remote Desktop. However, when the modeler disconnects from this Windows 11 desktop, Windows Terminal stops responding.

I uninstalled Windows Terminal on that machine and the model runs completed normally (in PowerShell) even after the modeler disconnected (as it should and does on the Windows 10 computers). However, Windows Update reinstalled Windows Terminal and the problem started back up.

So, hence my initial question: is there a way to permanently uninstall Windows Terminal?

merkat106 said:

However, Windows Update reinstalled Windows Terminal and the problem started back up.

So, hence my initial question: is there a way to permanently uninstall Windows Terminal?

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If the update that reinstalled Terminal was the 22H2 Feature Update then that would be what I'd expect. The 22H2 feature update performed a full reinstall of the OS.

I would not expect the monthly cumulative updates to reinstall Terminal, so you should be safe until next year's 23H2 feature update.

Bree said:

If the update that reinstalled Terminal was the 22H2 Feature Update then that would be what I'd expect. The 22H2 feature update performed a full reinstall of the OS.

I would not expect the monthly cumulative updates to reinstall Terminal, so you should be safe until next year's 23H2 feature update.

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In 22H2, Terminal merged with Command Prompt, right? :)

I believe you can configure Windows Terminal to open the Command Prompt window instead of WT if that is what you want. I am not sure if it can be configured to open in PowerShell mode. See pdf and: -

"In 22H2, Terminal merged with Command Prompt, right? "
Totally different things, Terminal hosts an aggregate of cmd/ps/psh/ and others if configured.
command prompt (cmd.exe) is a stand alone executable.

James said:

In 22H2, Terminal merged with Command Prompt, right? :)

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Not quite, attempting to open Command Prompt in 22H2 by any of the usual methods gets redirected to open Terminal at its Command Prompt tab. However, there is one exception which may be of help to @merkat106 , opening Command Prompt as an administrator will still open as a normal command prompt.

22H2 was on there before I attempted to uninstall it.
It's no longer listed under apps, but it's still there.
Maybe I should look at file extensions if Terminal is part of the OS

" I am not sure if it can be configured to open in PowerShell mode."

The default profile can be set to use powershell if chosen but the default terminal application must be either Console or Terminal as those determine how you run bat/cmd, as shown on the screenshot.

merkat106 said:

Maybe I should look at file extensions if Terminal is part of the OS

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In 22H2 if you right-click on your script and run it as an administrator it will run in a normal window rather than in Terminal. This applies whether it is a command prompt or Powershell. You could make this easier to do by creating a shortcut to your script and set its advanced properties to run it as an administrator.

merkat106 said:

Is there a way to permanently uninstall Windows Terminal, or completely disable it in Windows 11? Or a way to keep it from freezing when a user disconnects from Remote Desktop?

Click to expand...

Yes but as mentioned, it may get re_installed.
Better off changing the default behavior as Bree said.

Bree said:

Not quite, attempting to open Command Prompt in 22H2 by any of the usual methods gets redirected to open Terminal at its Command Prompt tab. However, there is one exception which may be of help to @merkat106 , opening Command Prompt as an administrator will still open as a normal command prompt.

View attachment 49758

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22H2 looks great to me. I love Task manager on right click of taskbar, tabs in FE, and even more intergration of apps. But, when I installed it I had to go back since FE wasn't loading my D drive and crashing..

James said:

But, when I installed it I had to go back since FE wasn't loading my D drive and crashing..

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Sorry, but could you be more specific?
What is D: drive? internal/external/HDD/SSD/CD/DVD?
What do you mean explorer was crashing?
Do you have error code(s), patterns?

OAT said:

Sorry, but could you be more specific?
What is D: drive? internal/external/HDD/SSD/CD/DVD?
What do you mean explorer was crashing?
Do you have error code(s), patterns?

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I might start a new thread soon for such.

D: is an Internal HDD with 1tb Space.

I can't quite remember what it was saying, but when I went to access D in file explorer, it said (something along the lines of)... We're working on it.. for ages and then if I clicked X it would say 'not responding'

Thanks for showing interest, should I post a new thread?

Also, here's a previous thread describing such an issue (by me) and other issues:

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James said:

Thanks for showing interest, should I post a new thread?

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You posted you uninstalled that version already but if you think it's a topic worth raising, by all means do!
I would.
I would also post specifics on how that drive is being accessed, thru a shortcut, thru explorer.
Is the drive defined as containing certain types of media, i.e. photos/vids?
How are the items being displayed, i.e large icons, thumbnails?
Is the drive partitioned?
There are a lots of variables here, so you need to be specific in your thread.
Your Seagate HDD is a 7200 rpm/ 210 MB/s RS which is considerably slower than your SSD.