UPDATE: Lots of new restrictions added and the descriptions have been updated for easy understanding.
Many times people access our system and change our customized settings here and there. Wouldn't it be great if we can restrict them to change the settings and other things like restrict from changing Folder Options, Taskbar settings, Desktop settings, etc.
Today in this tutorial, we'll share a list of some important and useful restrictions, which can be put in Windows 2000, XP, Server 2003, Vista, Server 2008, Windows 7 and Windows 8.
STEP 1: Open Registry Editor
All restrictions are based on Registry editing. So you'll need to open Registry Editor by providing regedit command in RUN or Start menu Search box and press Enter. After that go to the registry key mentioned in step 2.
STEP 2: Create Registry Key
Once you are in Registry Editor. Go to following keys and create or modify required DWORD value as mentioned below:
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1. Restricting Desktop Properties
Go to following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Policies\System
Create new DWORD NoDispCPL and set its value to 1
If you want to restrict any particular tab in Desktop Properties like Themes, Screen Saver, etc, you can take help of following tutorial:
How to Enable / Disable Changing Themes, Wallpapers, Screen Savers and Other Settings
Also check: How to Restrict Users from Changing Desktop Wallpaper in Windows?
2. Restricting Taskbar Properties
Go to following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Policies\Explorer
Create new DWORD NoSetTaskbar and set its value to 1
3. Restricting System Properties
Go to following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Policies\Explorer
Create new DWORD NoPropertiesMyComputer and set its value to 1
4. Restricting Folder Options
Go to following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Policies\Explorer
Create new DWORD NoFolderOptions and set its value to 1
5. Restricting Registry Editor
Go to following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Policies\System
Create new DWORD DisableRegistryTools and set its value to 1
6. Restricting Task Manager
Go to following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Policies\System
Create new DWORD DisableTaskMgr and set its value to 1
7. Restricting Control Panel
Go to following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Policies\Explorer
Create new DWORD NoControlPanel and set its value to 1
Also check following tutorial:
How to Hide / Show Specific Control Panel Applets / Icons in Windows?
8. Restricting Command Prompt
Go to following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System
Create new DWORD DisableCMD and set its value to 2
9. Restricting Locking/Unlocking of Taskbar
Go to following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Policies\Explorer
Create new DWORD LockTaskbar and set its value to 1
10. Restricting right-click on Taskbar
Go to following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Policies\Explorer
Create new DWORD NoTrayContextMenu and set its value to 1
11. Restricting Toolbars in Taskbar
Go to following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Policies\Explorer
Create new DWORD NoToolbarsOnTaskbar and set its value to 1
12. Restricting drag-and-drop and right-click in Start Menu
Go to following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Policies\Explorer
Create new DWORD NoChangeStartMenu and set its value to 1
13. Restricting RUN in Start Menu
Go to following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Policies\Explorer
Create new DWORD NoRun and set its value to 1
14. Restricting Shut Down, Restart, Sleep and Hibernate commands
Go to following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Policies\Explorer
Create new DWORD NoClose and set its value to 1
15. Restricting Log off in Start Menu
Go to following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Policies\Explorer
Create new DWORD StartMenuLogOff and set its value to 1
16. Restricting Active Desktop Feature
Go to following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Policies\Explorer
Create new DWORD NoActiveDesktop and set its value to 1
17. Restricting adding/removing items to/from Toolbars
Go to following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Policies\Explorer
Create new DWORD NoToolbarCustomize and set its value to 1
18. Restricting adding/removing Toolbars
Go to following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Policies\Explorer
Create new DWORD NoBandCustomize and set its value to 1
19. Restricting Autorun Feature
Visit following tutorial:
How to Disable Autorun Functionality in Windows Using Registry Editor?
20. Restricting notification at low disk space
Go to following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Policies\Explorer
Create new DWORD NoLowDiskSpaceChecks and set its value to 1
21. Restricting Writing to USB Drives
Go to following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Current Control Set\Control\StorageDevicePolicies
Create new DWORD WriteProtect and set its value to 1
Also check following tutorial:
How to Disable / Restrict Use of USB Storage Devices in Windows?
22. Restricting "New" option in context menu
Go to following key:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Background\shellex\ContextMenu Handlers\New
And delete the value of Default, e.g., empty it.
Also check: How to Enable / Disable “New -> Shortcut” in Windows XP, Vista and 7 Context Menu?
23. Restricting "Send To" option in context menu
Go to following key:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AllFilesystemObjects\shellex\ContextMenu Handlers\Send To
And delete the value of Default, e.g., empty it.
24. Restricting any desired application
Go to following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Policies\Explorer\DisallowRun
Create new String value with any name, like 1 and set its value to the desired program's EXE file.
e.g., If you want to restrict msconfig, then create a String value 1 and set its value to msconfig.exe. If you want to restrict more programs, simply create more String values with names 2, 3 and so on and set their values to the program's exe file.
25. Restricting Drives in My Computer
Go to following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Policies\Explorer
In right-side pane, create new DWORD NoViewOnDrive and change its value as following:
3 : To Restrict A and B drives only.
4 : To Restrict C drive only.
7 : To Restrict A, B, and C drives only.
8 : To Restrict D drive only.
F : To Restrict A, B, C, and D drives only.
03FFFFFF : To Restrict all drives.
If you want more specific restrictions, like you want to restrict a combination of drives, you can use decimal no. instead of hexadecimal no. Following is a list for all drives decimal no.:
A: 1
B: 2
C: 4
D: 8
E: 16
F: 32
G: 64
H: 128
I: 256
J: 512
K: 1024
L: 2048
M: 4096
N: 8192
O: 16384
P: 32768
Q: 65536
R: 131072
S: 262144
T: 524288
U: 1048576
V: 2097152
W: 4194304
X: 8388608
Y: 16777216
Z: 33554432
ALL: 67108863
So if you want to disable a combination of drives, just sum their numbers and give the same value to NoViewOnDrive. e.g., for restricting C, D, E and F drives, give the value: 4+8+16+32 = 60
PS: You can also hide the drives using NoDrives DWORD value. The location and its value remain same as the above trick.
Also check: How to Restrict / Hide / Remove Drives in Windows Explorer?
26. Restricting Settings and Options in Internet Explorer Web Browser
Check out following topics to restrict users from changing homepage and various settings in Internet Explorer:
How to Restrict Users from Changing Internet Explorer Homepage Settings?
How to Disable Options, Disable Tabs in Internet Explorer’s Internet Options Dialog Box?
27. Restricting Desired Key in Keyboard or Changing Key Action
Check out following tutorial to customize any key behavior or disable a key permanently:
Customize or Disable Any Key in Your Keyboard Using SharpKeys
28. Restricting "Always use selected program to open this kind of file" Option in Open With Dialog Box?
Check out following tutorial to disable the "Always use selected program to open this kind of file" checkbox which appears in "Open With" dialog box:
How to Disable "Always use selected program to open this file" Option in Open With Dialog Box?
29. Restricting "Switch User" Option in Windows Vista and 7
Visit following article to learn how to disable "Switch User" option in Windows:
How to Disable “Switch User” Option in Windows Vista and 7?
30. Restricting Settings, Downloads, Bookmarks, etc in Mozilla Firefox
Check out following topic to restrict users from changing options, adding bookmarks, downloading files, etc in Mozilla Firefox:
How to Set Restrictions in Mozilla Firefox?
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NOTE: If you want to remove a restriction, simply delete the new DWORD which you created to set the restriction or change its value to 0.
OK guys! That's all for now. Above were some common restrictions which you might want to implement in your computer system. If you want to know about any specific restriction, please let me know in your comment.
PS: Mozilla Firefox users can use following extension to directly open the registry keys in Registry Editor:
Open in Regedit: Open Registry Keys Directly from Mozilla Firefox
Thanks to our reader "j_veen" for suggesting it...
This article was posted by VG in following section: Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP.
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HBK
AMAZING VG!
HNKelley
Hi VG.
Great list of registry edits! I've bookmarked it for quick access. A lot of these I know from reading the registry manually to find them, but some I didn't know and it's nice having a list to look at. I'd love to see it expanded with more restrictions over time.
One note for a common question:
"How do I add a restriction to a single user?" The method you give obviously works. There are a couple others I like. If you want it to apply to everybody except the Administrator, you can put it in a script in the 'Run' key for the system and block it for the Admin login. Make sure to use the command line switch to force it in. Depending on your system and choices, it is either /f to force it, /s for silent, or both.
If you want to apply it to just a particular user and you're working on that PC, it's easy to do as Administrator. In the registry editor, navigate to HKEY_USERS, then on the registry editor menu, click on File/Load Hive. In the pop-up window, navigate to the user's profile (c:\documents and settings\user) and select the user.dat or user.man file. A new pop-up displays asking for a name to apply to the hive; you can give it any name you like (I use the profile's name just to keep it clear in my mind what I'm working on). Once it's loaded, you can make your edits in that hive (HKEY_USERS\{prifile name}) and they will only affect that user.
Mian Sahib
Sir,
How we have add a specific "drive" or "Folder" in Send To Option
Thanks
Mian Ghulam Mustafa
VG
^^ Create a shortcut of that specific drive or folder. Then type sendto in RUN and press Enter. It'll open "Send To" folder. Now copy the shortcut in "Send To" folder. It'll add that specific drive/folder in Send To context menu.
Ajaya
Hi Vishal,
I have been reading your articles for the last few days and have found them to be very helpful. I also have a problem in my PC and hope you can suggest me a solution.
I cannot change my Date/Time Properties. When I try to do so, it will give me an error message stating "You do not have the proper privilege level to change the System Time."
I am the administrator of my PC and have full control (...at least I suppose so :(. I'm not sure if it's a virus problem. I have gone through running processes and looks fine to me though.
Your help is really appreciated.
Cheers,
Ajaya
VG
^^ Open gpedit.msc and goto:
Computer Configuration -> Windows Settings -> Security Settings -> Local Policies -> User Rights Assignment
Now look for "Change the system time" and "Change the time zone" options in right-side pane and make sure your user account is present in the allowed users list.
Someone
Can you delete all the program shortcuts on the start menu for one user without affecting the other users?
VG
^^ Yes. Right-click on start button and select "Open". It'll open the folder which contains program shortcuts installed only for the currently logged in user.
Denis
I need a single file to enable/disable all these settings. Or even one file to enable and another to disable.
Is it possible to have a single file (something like a executable file) which will execute these registry commands?
I see that you have, at many pages here, included such registry editing files that automate registry values.
Can you provide a tutorial on how to write such a registry editor files?
VG
^^ Once you put the restriction using the above trick, right-click on the key in Registry Editor and select "Export" option. It'll create a .REG file which you can use in future.