Enforce Removal of Remote Desktop Wallpaper
Verified with Windows 11 25H2 — updated on July 30, 2026
Supported on: At least Windows Server 2003 operating systems or Windows XP Professional
Path in the GPO console
Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Remote Desktop Services\Remote Desktop Session Host\Remote Session Environment Description
Specifies whether desktop wallpaper is displayed to remote clients connecting via Remote Desktop Services. You can use this setting to enforce the removal of wallpaper during a Remote Desktop Services session. By default, Windows XP Professional displays wallpaper to remote clients connecting through Remote Desktop, depending on the client configuration (see the Experience tab in the Remote Desktop Connection options for more information). Servers running Windows Server 2003 do not display wallpaper by default to Remote Desktop Services sessions. If the status is set to Enabled, wallpaper never appears in a Remote Desktop Services session. If the status is set to Disabled, wallpaper might appear in a Remote Desktop Services session, depending on the client configuration. If the status is set to Not Configured, the default behavior applies.
Registry
SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Terminal Services Value name: fNoRemoteDesktopWallpaper
Enabled: fNoRemoteDesktopWallpaper = 1
Disabled: fNoRemoteDesktopWallpaper = 0
MDM / Intune (CSP)
./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_TerminalServer/TS_DISABLE_REMOTE_DESKTOP_WALLPAPER 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: Enforce Removal of Remote Desktop Wallpaper
; State: Enabled
; Supported on: At least Windows Server 2003 operating systems or Windows XP Professional
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Terminal Services]
"fNoRemoteDesktopWallpaper"=dword:00000001More formats (PowerShell, Intune, SCCM)
PowerShell
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Enforce Removal of Remote Desktop Wallpaper
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2003 operating systems or Windows XP Professional
$path = 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Terminal Services'
New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'fNoRemoteDesktopWallpaper' -Value 1 -Type DWordIntune XML
OMA-URI: ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_TerminalServer/TS_DISABLE_REMOTE_DESKTOP_WALLPAPER
Data type: String
Value:
<enabled/>Intune Remediation
# === Detection script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Enforce Removal of Remote Desktop Wallpaper
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2003 operating systems or Windows XP Professional
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
}
$checks = @(
(Test-RegistryValue -Path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Terminal Services' -Name 'fNoRemoteDesktopWallpaper' -Expected 1 -Kind DWord)
)
if ($checks -notcontains $false) {
Write-Output 'Compliant'
exit 0
}
Write-Output 'Non-compliant'
exit 1
# === Remediation script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Enforce Removal of Remote Desktop Wallpaper
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2003 operating systems or Windows XP Professional
$path = 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Terminal Services'
New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'fNoRemoteDesktopWallpaper' -Value 1 -Type DWordSCCM scripts
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Enforce Removal of Remote Desktop Wallpaper
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2003 operating systems or Windows XP Professional
# 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: Enforce Removal of Remote Desktop Wallpaper
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2003 operating systems or Windows XP Professional
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
}
$checks = @(
(Test-RegistryValue -Path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Terminal Services' -Name 'fNoRemoteDesktopWallpaper' -Expected 1 -Kind DWord)
)
if ($checks -notcontains $false) {
Write-Output 'Compliant'
exit 0
}
Write-Output 'Non-compliant'
exit 1
# === Remediation script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Enforce Removal of Remote Desktop Wallpaper
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2003 operating systems or Windows XP Professional
$path = 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Terminal Services'
New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'fNoRemoteDesktopWallpaper' -Value 1 -Type DWordBuilding a multi-setting collection? Add this setting and generate combined .reg / PowerShell / GPO scripts.