Remove Add or Remove Programs
Verified with Windows 11 25H2 — updated on July 30, 2026
Supported on: Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000 only
Path in the GPO console
User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Control Panel\Add or Remove Programs Description
Prevents users from using Add or Remove Programs. This setting removes Add or Remove Programs from Control Panel and removes the Add or Remove Programs item from menus. Add or Remove Programs lets users install, uninstall, repair, add, and remove features and components of Windows 2000 Professional and a wide variety of Windows programs. Programs published or assigned to the user appear in Add or Remove Programs. If you disable this setting or do not configure it, Add or Remove Programs is available to all users. When enabled, this setting takes precedence over the other settings in this folder. This setting does not prevent users from using other tools and methods to install or uninstall programs.
Registry
HKCU
Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Uninstall Value name: NoAddRemovePrograms
MDM / Intune (CSP)
./User/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_AddRemovePrograms/NoAddRemovePrograms Microsoft Learn documentation Mapping data: Microsoft Learn (CC BY 4.0)
Export Builder
BETAConfigure the state, scope and options, then generate .reg, PowerShell, Intune and SCCM outputs — or add the setting to a multi-setting collection.
These exports write the registry — this is not a managed GPO. ⓘ
.reg file
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
; Exported from gporais.com
; Policy: Remove Add or Remove Programs
; State: Enabled
; Supported on: Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000 only
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Uninstall]
"NoAddRemovePrograms"=dword:00000001More formats (PowerShell, Intune, SCCM)
PowerShell
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Remove Add or Remove Programs
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000 only
# Warning: In SYSTEM context (the Intune default), HKCU targets the SYSTEM profile. Run this script using the logged-on credentials.
$path = 'HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Uninstall'
New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'NoAddRemovePrograms' -Value 1 -Type DWordIntune XML
OMA-URI: ./User/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_AddRemovePrograms/NoAddRemovePrograms
Data type: String
Value:
<enabled/>Intune Remediation
# === Detection script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Remove Add or Remove Programs
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000 only
# Warning: In SYSTEM context (the Intune default), HKCU targets the SYSTEM profile. Run this script using the logged-on credentials.
function Test-RegistryValue {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Path,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Name,
[object]$Expected,
[ValidateSet('String', 'DWord', 'MultiString')][string]$Kind = 'String',
[switch]$Absent
)
try {
$item = Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction Stop
} catch {
return $Absent.IsPresent
}
if ($Absent.IsPresent) { return $false }
$actual = $item.$Name
if ($Kind -eq 'DWord') { return ([int64]$actual) -eq ([int64]$Expected) }
if ($Kind -eq 'MultiString') {
$actualValues = @($actual)
$expectedValues = @($Expected)
if ($actualValues.Count -ne $expectedValues.Count) { return $false }
for ($i = 0; $i -lt $expectedValues.Count; $i++) {
if ([string]$actualValues[$i] -ne [string]$expectedValues[$i]) { return $false }
}
return $true
}
return [string]$actual -eq [string]$Expected
}
$checks = @(
(Test-RegistryValue -Path 'HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Uninstall' -Name 'NoAddRemovePrograms' -Expected 1 -Kind DWord)
)
if ($checks -notcontains $false) {
Write-Output 'Compliant'
exit 0
}
Write-Output 'Non-compliant'
exit 1
# === Remediation script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Remove Add or Remove Programs
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000 only
# Warning: In SYSTEM context (the Intune default), HKCU targets the SYSTEM profile. Run this script using the logged-on credentials.
$path = 'HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Uninstall'
New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'NoAddRemovePrograms' -Value 1 -Type DWordSCCM scripts
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Remove Add or Remove Programs
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000 only
# SCCM Configuration Item guidance:
# Create a Configuration Item of type "Setting: Script".
# Discovery script: use the Detection script below.
# Remediation script: use the Remediation script below.
# Compliance rule: the Discovery script output equals 'Compliant'.
# === Detection script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Remove Add or Remove Programs
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000 only
# Warning: In SYSTEM context (the Intune default), HKCU targets the SYSTEM profile. Run this script using the logged-on credentials.
function Test-RegistryValue {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Path,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Name,
[object]$Expected,
[ValidateSet('String', 'DWord', 'MultiString')][string]$Kind = 'String',
[switch]$Absent
)
try {
$item = Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction Stop
} catch {
return $Absent.IsPresent
}
if ($Absent.IsPresent) { return $false }
$actual = $item.$Name
if ($Kind -eq 'DWord') { return ([int64]$actual) -eq ([int64]$Expected) }
if ($Kind -eq 'MultiString') {
$actualValues = @($actual)
$expectedValues = @($Expected)
if ($actualValues.Count -ne $expectedValues.Count) { return $false }
for ($i = 0; $i -lt $expectedValues.Count; $i++) {
if ([string]$actualValues[$i] -ne [string]$expectedValues[$i]) { return $false }
}
return $true
}
return [string]$actual -eq [string]$Expected
}
$checks = @(
(Test-RegistryValue -Path 'HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Uninstall' -Name 'NoAddRemovePrograms' -Expected 1 -Kind DWord)
)
if ($checks -notcontains $false) {
Write-Output 'Compliant'
exit 0
}
Write-Output 'Non-compliant'
exit 1
# === Remediation script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Remove Add or Remove Programs
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000 only
# Warning: In SYSTEM context (the Intune default), HKCU targets the SYSTEM profile. Run this script using the logged-on credentials.
$path = 'HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Uninstall'
New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'NoAddRemovePrograms' -Value 1 -Type DWordBuilding a multi-setting collection? Add this setting and generate combined .reg / PowerShell / GPO scripts.