Prohibit User Installs

ComputerNative Intune settingMSI_DisableUserInstalls

Supported on Microsoft Windows XP or Windows 2000 with Windows Installer v2.0

22H2 · 1.0

What it does

This policy setting allows you to configure user installs. To configure this policy setting, set it to enabled and use the drop-down list to select the behavior you want. If you do not configure this policy setting, or if the policy setting is enabled and "Allow User Installs" is selected, the installer allows and makes use of products that are installed per user, and products that are installed per computer. If the installer finds a per-user install of an application, this hides a per-computer installation of that same product. If you enable this policy setting and "Hide User Installs" is selected, the installer ignores per-user applications. This causes a per-computer installed application to be visible to users, even if those users have a per-user install of the product registered in their user profile.

What it writes

Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Registry key: Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer

In Intune

Native Intune setting: Yes — Policy CSP

./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_MSI/MSI_DisableUserInstallsADMX_MSI on Microsoft LearnADMX-backed: Windows ships this template, so it is set with the template's own values, without an import.Windows builds listed: 10.0.22000, 10.0.19043.1202, 10.0.19042.1202, 10.0.19041.1202.

From Microsoft's Policy CSP DDF files (DDF v2 Files, February 2026), read 18 Oct 2026.

Options

Option	Type	Registry value	Allowed values
User Install BehaviorRequiredDefault: Hide User Installs	Drop-down list	`DisableUserInstalls`	Allow User Installs`0` Hide User Installs`1`

Configure and deploy

Choose a state and the option values; the output below is generated from the template for exactly that.

Enabled · Computer · template defaults

Registry file (.reg)

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer]
"DisableUserInstalls"=dword:00000001

PowerShell

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'

function Set-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $PropertyType,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Value
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        New-Item -Path $Path -Force | Out-Null
    }

    New-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -PropertyType $PropertyType -Value $Value -Force | Out-Null
}

function Remove-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

function Clear-RegistryKeyValues {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return
    }

    foreach ($propertyName in (Get-Item -LiteralPath $Path).Property) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $propertyName -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

# Policy: Prohibit User Installs
# Name: MSI_DisableUserInstalls
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: MSI.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer' -Name 'DisableUserInstalls' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 1

These deployment candidates come from the ADMX template; they are separate from the native CSP mapping above.

The OMA-URI is an inferred ADMX-backed Policy CSP candidate derived from the source ADMX file name and policy name.
Some Microsoft policies use built-in Policy CSP pages whose area names don't match the ADMX file name, so verify the candidate against Microsoft Learn before deployment.

ADMX profile candidate (OMA-URI)

./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_MSI/MSI_DisableUserInstalls

ADMX SyncML candidate

<SyncML xmlns="SYNCML:SYNCML1.2">
  <SyncBody>
    <Replace>
      <CmdID>1</CmdID>
      <Item>
        <Meta>
          <Format>chr</Format>
          <Type>text/plain</Type>
        </Meta>
        <Target>
          <LocURI>./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_MSI/MSI_DisableUserInstalls</LocURI>
        </Target>
        <Data>&lt;enabled/&gt;
&lt;data id="MSI_DisableUserInstallsBox" value="1"/&gt;</Data>
      </Item>
    </Replace>
    <Final/>
  </SyncBody>
</SyncML>

Intune remediation scripts

Detection

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
$reasons = [System.Collections.Generic.List[string]]::new()

function Test-RegistryValueExists {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return $false
    }

    return $null -ne (Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)
}

function Test-RegistryValueEquals {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Kind,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Expected
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return $false
    }

    $valueObject = Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    if ($null -eq $valueObject) {
        return $false
    }

    $actual = $valueObject.$Name
    switch ($Kind) {
        'String' { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
        'ExpandString' { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
        'DWord' { return [uint32]$actual -eq [uint32]$Expected }
        'QWord' { return [uint64]$actual -eq [uint64]$Expected }
        'MultiString' {
            $actualArray = @($actual)
            $expectedArray = @($Expected)
            if ($actualArray.Count -ne $expectedArray.Count) { return $false }
            for ($index = 0; $index -lt $actualArray.Count; $index++) {
                if ([string]$actualArray[$index] -cne [string]$expectedArray[$index]) { return $false }
            }
            return $true
        }
        'Binary' {
            $actualArray = [byte[]]$actual
            $expectedArray = [byte[]]$Expected
            if ($actualArray.Length -ne $expectedArray.Length) { return $false }
            for ($index = 0; $index -lt $actualArray.Length; $index++) {
                if ($actualArray[$index] -ne $expectedArray[$index]) { return $false }
            }
            return $true
        }
        default { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
    }
}

# Policy: Prohibit User Installs
# Name: MSI_DisableUserInstalls
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: MSI.admx

$isMatch = Test-RegistryValueEquals -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer' -Name 'DisableUserInstalls' -Kind 'DWord' -Expected 1
if (-not $isMatch) {
    $reasons.Add('Value mismatch: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer\DisableUserInstalls') | Out-Null
}

if ($reasons.Count -eq 0) {
    Write-Output 'Compliant'
    exit 0
}

$reasons | ForEach-Object { Write-Output $_ }
exit 1

Remediation

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'

function Set-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $PropertyType,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Value
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        New-Item -Path $Path -Force | Out-Null
    }

    New-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -PropertyType $PropertyType -Value $Value -Force | Out-Null
}

function Remove-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

function Clear-RegistryKeyValues {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return
    }

    foreach ($propertyName in (Get-Item -LiteralPath $Path).Property) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $propertyName -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

# Policy: Prohibit User Installs
# Name: MSI_DisableUserInstalls
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: MSI.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer' -Name 'DisableUserInstalls' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 1

History 2 retained releases

22H2 · 1.015 Jul 2024
- Translations changed; choose a language above to compare its wording.
1607 · 2.015 Jul 2024
- Already present in the first release ChangeIntel keeps.

Template

Internal name: MSI_DisableUserInstalls
Namespace: Microsoft.Policies.MSI
Template file: MSI.admx
Release: Windows 10 22H2 · 1.0 · file set bc15f6a5271783ee…

Definition, editor controls and support

Definition

<policy class="Machine" displayName="$(string.MSI_DisableUserInstalls)" explainText="$(string.MSI_DisableUserInstalls_Help)" key="Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer" name="MSI_DisableUserInstalls" presentation="$(presentation.MSI_DisableUserInstalls)" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.MSI:MSI" />
      <supportedOn ref="Microsoft.Policies.MSI:SUPPORTED_MSI15" />
      <elements>
        <enum id="MSI_DisableUserInstallsBox" required="true" valueName="DisableUserInstalls">
          <item displayName="$(string.MSI_AllowUser)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="0" />
            </value>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.MSI_HideUser)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="1" />
            </value>
          </item>
        </enum>
      </elements>
    </policy>

Editor controls

<presentation id="MSI_DisableUserInstalls" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
        <dropdownList defaultItem="1" noSort="true" refId="MSI_DisableUserInstallsBox">User Install Behavior:</dropdownList>
      </presentation>

Supported platforms and category

Microsoft.Policies.MSI:category:MSI
<category displayName="$(string.MSI)" name="MSI" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents" />
    </category>
Microsoft.Policies.MSI:definition:SUPPORTED_MSI15
<definition displayName="$(string.SUPPORTED_MSI15)" name="SUPPORTED_MSI15" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
        <or>
          <reference ref="Microsoft.Policies.Products:MicrosoftWindowsXP" />
          <reference ref="Microsoft.Policies.Products:SUPPORTED_Win2KWithWindowsInstaller20" />
        </or>
      </definition>
Microsoft.Policies.MSI:unresolved:Microsoft.Policies.Products:MicrosoftWindowsXP
<unresolved reference="Microsoft.Policies.Products:MicrosoftWindowsXP" />
Microsoft.Policies.Products:definition:SUPPORTED_Win2KWithWindowsInstaller20
<definition displayName="$(string.SUPPORTED_Win2KWithWindowsInstaller20)" name="SUPPORTED_Win2KWithWindowsInstaller20" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
        <and>
          <reference ref="Microsoft.Policies.Products:MicrosoftWindows2000" />
          <reference ref="Microsoft.Policies.Products:WindowsInstaller20" />
        </and>
      </definition>
Microsoft.Policies.Products:unresolved:Microsoft.Policies.Products:MicrosoftWindows2000
<unresolved reference="Microsoft.Policies.Products:MicrosoftWindows2000" />
Microsoft.Policies.Products:unresolved:Microsoft.Policies.Products:WindowsInstaller20
<unresolved reference="Microsoft.Policies.Products:WindowsInstaller20" />
Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:WindowsComponents
<category displayName="$(string.WindowsComponents)" explainText="$(string.WindowsComponents_Help)" name="WindowsComponents" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
Microsoft.Policies.MSI:category:MSI
<category displayName="$(string.MSI)" name="MSI" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents" />
    </category>
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.MSI:MSI">Windows Installer</string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.MSI:definition:SUPPORTED_MSI15
<definition displayName="$(string.SUPPORTED_MSI15)" name="SUPPORTED_MSI15" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
        <or>
          <reference ref="Microsoft.Policies.Products:MicrosoftWindowsXP" />
          <reference ref="Microsoft.Policies.Products:SUPPORTED_Win2KWithWindowsInstaller20" />
        </or>
      </definition>
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.MSI:SUPPORTED_MSI15">Microsoft Windows XP or Windows 2000 with Windows Installer v2.0</string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.Products:definition:SUPPORTED_Win2KWithWindowsInstaller20
<definition displayName="$(string.SUPPORTED_Win2KWithWindowsInstaller20)" name="SUPPORTED_Win2KWithWindowsInstaller20" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
        <and>
          <reference ref="Microsoft.Policies.Products:MicrosoftWindows2000" />
          <reference ref="Microsoft.Policies.Products:WindowsInstaller20" />
        </and>
      </definition>
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Products:SUPPORTED_Win2KWithWindowsInstaller20">Windows 2000 with Windows Installer v2</string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:WindowsComponents
<category displayName="$(string.WindowsComponents)" explainText="$(string.WindowsComponents_Help)" name="WindowsComponents" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents">Windows Components</string><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents_Help">Contains settings for operating system components.</string></strings>