If you are a system administrator, you may have your reasons for wanting to hide, remove or disable Administrative Tools in Windows 11/10 and restrict users from using them. In this post, we will see how you can display it in Start Menu Search or disable it using Group Policy Editor and the Registry Editor.
Hide Administrative Tools using Group Policy in Windows 11/10
Run gpedit.msc to open the Local Group Policy Editor. Navigate to the following path:
User Configuration > Administrative Template > Control Panel
In the right pane, select Hide Specified Control Panel Items. Double-click on it.
Click Enabled, and then on Show. In the Show content box which appears, type the following in the Value space:
Microsoft.AdministrativeTools
Click Apply / OK / Save and Exit.
Hide Administrative Tools using Registry Editor in Windows 11/10
Run regedit to open the Registry Editor, and navigate to the following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
Locate and change the DWORD value of StartMenuAdminTools as follows:
- To disable Administrative Tools : 0
- To enable Administrative Tools: 1
Deny access to Administrative Tools menu
You can also do the following to hide the Administrative Tools menu from Standard Users.
The Administrative Tools shortcut is located at:
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs
Right-click on the Administrative Tools folder and select Properties. Click Security tab. Select Everyone and click on the Edit button. In the Permissions box which opens, again select Everyone and then click on the Remove button. Next click on the Add button, select the domain administrators and give full Access and Full Control. Click OK and Exit.
Do share if you know of better ways to achieve this.
