Policy settings for the Start menu in Windows XP

This post provides descriptions of the registry entries for policies that you can apply to the Start menu in Microsoft Windows XP.


The settings on Start menu is controlled by the registry values under the registry key,
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

Here, we can create a D-WORD registry value for a setting, that has values 1 (enable) or 0 (Disable).
That is, for a setting such as, for Run in start menu, NoRun D-WORD is used. Setting its value to 1 will remove Run from Start menu, Task Manager etc. And setting the value to 0 will show Run in respective areas.

Below are the D-WORDs and its description.
All this D-WORDS must be created under the key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer (except in those case which has given its on path) to take effect.(you may need to restart)
To create a D-WORD, after getting to the above key, right click in an empty space and select New > DWORD Value.

Warning :
Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These problems might result you to even reinstall your operating system. You must Export the key before you make any changes.Modify the registry at your own risk.

Policies and Description:


Policy:Disable the new simple Start Menu
Description:Disables the new simple Start menu and forces the classic
Start menu.
Registry Value:"NoSimpleStartMenu"

Policy:Remove pinned programs list from the Start menu
Description:Removes the pinned programs list from the Start menu. Also
removes the Internet and E-mail checkboxes from the Start menu
customization CPL.
Registry Value:"NoStartMenuPinnedList" 

Policy:Remove frequent programs list from the Start Menu
Description:Removes the frequently-used programs list from the Start
menu.
Registry Value:"NoStartMenuMFUprogramsList"

Policy:Remove More Programs list from the Start menu
Description:Removes the More Programs list from the Start menu.
Registry Value:"NoStartMenuMorePrograms"

Policy:Remove common program groups from Start Menu
Description:Removes items in the All Users profile from the More
Programs list on the Start menu.
Registry Value:"NoCommonGroups"

Policy:Gray unavailable Windows Installer programs Start Menu shortcuts
Description:Displays partially installed programs in gray text on the
Start menu.
Registry Value:"GreyMSIAds"

Policy:Disable and remove links to Windows Update
Description:Removes the Windows Update link from the More Programs list
in Start menu, from the Tools menu in IE, and blocks user access to
windowsupdate.Microsoft.com.
Registry Value:"NoWindowsUpdate"

Policy:Remove user folders from the Start Menu
Description:Removes all user-specific folders except My Documents (My
Pictures, My Music, Favorites, and Recent Documents) from the Start menu.
Also removes the corresponding checkboxes from the Start menu
customization CPL.
Registry Value:This is a combination of the following:
"NoStartMenuMyMusic", "NoSMMyPictures","NoFavoritesMenu",
"NoRecentDocsMenu"

Policy:Prohibit user from changing user folder paths
Description:Prevents users from changing the path to the My Pictures,
My Music, Favorites, and Recent Documents folders.
Registry Value:"DisableMyPicturesDirChange", "DisableMyMusicDirChange",
"DisableFavoritesDirChange".

Policy:Remove My Documents folder from the Start Menu
Description:Removes My Documents folder from the Start menu and
corresponding checkbox from the Start menu customization CPL.
Registry Value:"NoSMMyDocs"

Policy:Prohibit user from changing My Documents path
Description:Prevents users from changing the path to the My Documents
folder.
Registry Value:"DisablePersonalDirChange"

Policy:Remove Recent Documents item from Start Menu
Description:Removes the Recent Documents folder from the Start menu. Also
removes the corresponding checkbox from the Start menu customization CPL.
Registry Value:"NoRecentDocsMenu" 

Policy:Maximum number of recent documents
Description:Specifies the number of shortcuts displayed on the Recent
Documents submenu.
This policy exist under the following location in Group Policy:
User Configuration \ Administrative Templates \ Windows Components
Registry Value:"MaxRecentDocs" 

Policy:Clear history of recent documents on exit
Description:Deletes all shortcuts shown in the Recent Documents menu when
the user logs off.
Registry Value:"ClearRecentDocsOnExit"

Policy:Remove Favorites item from Start Menu
Description:Prevents users from adding the Favorites item to the Start
menu. Also removes the corresponding checkbox from the Start menu
customization CPL.
Registry Value:"NoFavoritesMenu"

Policy:Remove My Computer from the Start Menu
Description:Removes the My Computer item from the Start Menu and the
corresponding checkbox from the Start menu customization CPL.
Registry Value:"{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}" under
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\NonEnum.

Policy:Remove Network Connections from the Start Menu
Description:Removes the Network Connections item from the Start menu
and the corresponding checkbox from the Start menu customization CPL.
Registry Value:"NoNetworkConnections"

Policy:Remove Network Places from the Start Menu
Description:Removes the Network Places item from the Start menu and the
corresponding checkbox from the Start menu customization CPL.
Registry Value:"NoStartMenuNetworkPlaces"

Policy:Do not add shares of recently used documents to Network Places
Description:Remote shared folders are not added to Network Places whenever
you open a document in the shared folder.
Registry Value:"NoRecentDocsNetHood"

Policy:Remove Help item from Start Menu
Description:Removes the Help item from the Start menu, but does not
disable Help files from running.
Registry Value:"NoSMHelp"

Policy:Remove Search item from Start Menu
Description:Removes the Search item from the Start menu and disables some
Windows Explorer search elements.
Registry Value:"NoFind"

Policy:Remove Run item from Start Menu
Description:Removes the ability to execute programs from the Run option
on the Start menu, Task Manager, or by pressing Winkey + R. Also removes
the corresponding checkbox from the Start menu customization CPL.
Registry Value:"NoRun"

Policy:Add "Run in Separate Memory Space" check box to Run dialog box
Description:Allows 16-bit programs to run in a dedicated Virtual DOS
Machine (VDM) process.
Registry Value:"MemCheckBoxInRunDlg"

Policy:Do not use the search-based method when resolving shell shortcuts
Description:Prevents the system from conducting a comprehensive search of
the target drive to resolve a shortcut.
Registry Value:"NoResolveSearch"

Policy:Do not use the tracking-based method when resolving shell shortcuts
Description:Prevents the system from using NTFS features to resolve a
shortcut.
Registry Value:"NoResolveTrack"

Policy:Force Logoff to the Start Menu
Description:Forces the Logoff button to the Start menu and prevents users
from removing the Logoff option from the Start menu.
Registry Value:"ForceStartMenuLogoff"

Policy:Disable Logoff on the Start Menu
Description:Removes the "Logoff" button from the Start menu and prevents
users from adding the Logoff button to the Start menu.
Registry Value:"StartMenuLogoff"

Policy:Disable and remove the Turn Off Computer button
Description:Removes the "Turn Off Computer" button from the Start Menu and
prevents shutting down Windows using the standard shutdown user interface.
Registry Value:"NoClose"

Policy:Disable and remove the Undock PC command
Description:Removes the "Undock PC" button from the Start Menu and
prevents undocking of the PC (laptop).
Registry Value:"NoStartMenuEjectPC"

Policy:Disable drag-and-drop menus on the Start Menu
Description:Prevents users from modifying the Start menu by dragging and
dropping items. Other methods of customizing the Start menu are still
enabled.
Registry Value:"NoChangeStartMenu"

Policy:Disable changes to Taskbar and Start Menu settings
Description:Removes the Taskbar & Start Menu item from the Control
Panel, and removes the Properties item from the Start menu (and button)
context menu.
Registry Value:"NoSetTaskbar"

Policy:Disable user tracking
Description:Prevents the system from remembering the programs run, paths
followed, and documents used.
Registry Value:"NoInstrumentation"

Policy:Remove user name from Start Menu
Description:Removes the user name from the Start menu.
Registry Value:"NoUserNameInStartMenu"

Example: For the above policy (Remove user name from Start Menu) , create a D-WORD and name it NoUserNameInStartMenu. Set its value to 0 for showing and to 1 for hiding the User name in Start menu.

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