How To Customize The Programs And Features In Control Panel

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Typically, users make use of the Programs and Features settings page to either add or remove programs to the Windows operating system. It is accessible through the Control Panel. This particular registry tweak allows system administrators to completely customize the various settings of this Add/Remove Programs page. Please note that this works perfectly well in Windows XP machine. However on Windows Vista and 7 machines, the results are less predictable and more variable.

Step-1 Open the regedit.exe file.

Step-2 Search or scroll down to the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Uninstall

Step-3 Within the above Windows registry key it is possible to create the following DWORD values and respective functionalities:

DWORD Value	Function
NoAddRemovePrograms	Disable Add/Remove Programs.
NoAddPage	Block Add Page.
NoRemovePage	Block Remove Page.
NoAddFromCDorFloppy	Disable Add from CD/Floppy option.
NoAddFromInternet	Disable Add from Internet option.
NoAddFromNetwork	Disable Add from Network option.
NoServices	Disable other services option.
NoWindowsSetupPage	Disable Windows Wizard.
NoSupportInfo	Hide Support Information.

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It is important to note that in each of the above cases, setting the DWORD value to 1 enables the restriction, while setting it to 0 disables it.

Step-4 Exit the Windows Registry. You might have to restart the Windows session for the changes to come into effect.

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