diff --git a/builder/amazon/common/run_config.go b/builder/amazon/common/run_config.go
index 307a177ed..1dbe3fca0 100644
--- a/builder/amazon/common/run_config.go
+++ b/builder/amazon/common/run_config.go
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ type RunConfig struct {
 	SourceAmi                string            `mapstructure:"source_ami"`
 	SpotPrice                string            `mapstructure:"spot_price"`
 	SpotPriceAutoProduct     string            `mapstructure:"spot_price_auto_product"`
+	DisableStopInstance      bool              `mapstructure:"disable_stop_instance"`
 	SecurityGroupId          string            `mapstructure:"security_group_id"`
 	SecurityGroupIds         []string          `mapstructure:"security_group_ids"`
 	SubnetId                 string            `mapstructure:"subnet_id"`
diff --git a/builder/amazon/ebs/builder.go b/builder/amazon/ebs/builder.go
index d8e8cea28..a4e9ebc5e 100644
--- a/builder/amazon/ebs/builder.go
+++ b/builder/amazon/ebs/builder.go
@@ -150,7 +150,10 @@ func (b *Builder) Run(ui packer.Ui, hook packer.Hook, cache packer.Cache) (packe
 				b.config.RunConfig.Comm.SSHUsername),
 		},
 		&common.StepProvision{},
-		&stepStopInstance{SpotPrice: b.config.SpotPrice},
+		&stepStopInstance{
+			SpotPrice:           b.config.SpotPrice,
+			DisableStopInstance: b.config.DisableStopInstance,
+		},
 		// TODO(mitchellh): verify works with spots
 		&stepModifyInstance{},
 		&awscommon.StepDeregisterAMI{
diff --git a/builder/amazon/ebs/step_stop_instance.go b/builder/amazon/ebs/step_stop_instance.go
index d6f135368..a704406f8 100644
--- a/builder/amazon/ebs/step_stop_instance.go
+++ b/builder/amazon/ebs/step_stop_instance.go
@@ -10,7 +10,8 @@ import (
 )
 
 type stepStopInstance struct {
-	SpotPrice string
+	SpotPrice           string
+	DisableStopInstance bool
 }
 
 func (s *stepStopInstance) Run(state multistep.StateBag) multistep.StepAction {
@@ -23,16 +24,22 @@ func (s *stepStopInstance) Run(state multistep.StateBag) multistep.StepAction {
 		return multistep.ActionContinue
 	}
 
-	// Stop the instance so we can create an AMI from it
-	ui.Say("Stopping the source instance...")
-	_, err := ec2conn.StopInstances(&ec2.StopInstancesInput{
-		InstanceIds: []*string{instance.InstanceId},
-	})
-	if err != nil {
-		err := fmt.Errorf("Error stopping instance: %s", err)
-		state.Put("error", err)
-		ui.Error(err.Error())
-		return multistep.ActionHalt
+	var err error
+
+	if !s.DisableStopInstance {
+		// Stop the instance so we can create an AMI from it
+		ui.Say("Stopping the source instance...")
+		_, err = ec2conn.StopInstances(&ec2.StopInstancesInput{
+			InstanceIds: []*string{instance.InstanceId},
+		})
+		if err != nil {
+			err := fmt.Errorf("Error stopping instance: %s", err)
+			state.Put("error", err)
+			ui.Error(err.Error())
+			return multistep.ActionHalt
+		}
+	} else {
+		ui.Say("Automatic instance stop disabled. Please stop instance manually.")
 	}
 
 	// Wait for the instance to actual stop
diff --git a/website/source/docs/builders/amazon-ebs.html.md b/website/source/docs/builders/amazon-ebs.html.md
index 10ba65f51..1529acd2a 100644
--- a/website/source/docs/builders/amazon-ebs.html.md
+++ b/website/source/docs/builders/amazon-ebs.html.md
@@ -116,6 +116,19 @@ builder.
 -   `availability_zone` (string) - Destination availability zone to launch
     instance in. Leave this empty to allow Amazon to auto-assign.
 
+-   `disable_stop_instance` (boolean) - Packer normally stops the build instance
+    after all provisioners have run. For Windows instances, it is sometimes
+    desirable to [run Sysprep](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/WindowsGuide/ami-create-standard.html)
+    which will stop the instance for you. If this is set to true, Packer *will not*
+    stop the instance and will wait for you to stop it manually. You can do this
+    with a [windows-shell provisioner](https://www.packer.io/docs/provisioners/windows-shell.html).
+
+    ``` {.javascript}
+    {
+      "type": "windows-shell",
+      "inline": ["\"c:\\Program Files\\Amazon\\Ec2ConfigService\\ec2config.exe\" -sysprep"]
+    }```
+
 -   `ebs_optimized` (boolean) - Mark instance as [EBS
     Optimized](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/EBSOptimized.html).
     Default `false`.
@@ -224,7 +237,7 @@ Here is a basic example. You will need to provide access keys, and may need to c
 environmental variables. See the configuration reference in the section above
 for more information on what environmental variables Packer will look for.
 
-Further information on locating AMI IDs and their relationship to instance types and regions can be found in the AWS EC2 Documentation [for Linux](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/finding-an-ami.html) or [for Windows](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/WindowsGuide/finding-an-ami.html).  
+Further information on locating AMI IDs and their relationship to instance types and regions can be found in the AWS EC2 Documentation [for Linux](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/finding-an-ami.html) or [for Windows](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/WindowsGuide/finding-an-ami.html).
 
 ## Accessing the Instance to Debug