Remove user's folders from the Start Menu

UserNative Intune settingNoStartMenuSubFolders

Supported on Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows 10

22H2 · 1.0

What it does

Hides all folders on the user-specific (top) section of the Start menu. Other items appear, but folders are hidden. This setting is designed for use with redirected folders. Redirected folders appear on the main (bottom) section of the Start menu. However, the original, user-specific version of the folder still appears on the top section of the Start menu. Because the appearance of two folders with the same name might confuse users, you can use this setting to hide user-specific folders. Note that this setting hides all user-specific folders, not just those associated with redirected folders. If you enable this setting, no folders appear on the top section of the Start menu. If users add folders to the Start Menu directory in their user profiles, the folders appear in the directory but not on the Start menu. If you disable this setting or do not configured it, Windows 2000 Professional and Windows XP Professional display folders on both sections of the Start menu.

What it writes

Hive: HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Registry key: Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
Value name: NoStartMenuSubFolders
When enabled: DWORD 1
When disabled: value removed

Why it needs changes for Intune

Policy references a Windows supportedOn definition.
ADMX-INTUNE-WINDOWS-SUPPORTEDON-REFERENCE

In Intune

Native Intune setting: Yes — Policy CSP

./User/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_StartMenu/NoStartMenuSubFoldersADMX_StartMenu 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.

Configure and deploy

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

Enabled · User · template defaults

Registry file (.reg)

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
"NoStartMenuSubFolders"=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: Remove user's folders from the Start Menu
# Name: NoStartMenuSubFolders
# Scope: User
# State: Enabled
# Source: StartMenu.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer' -Name 'NoStartMenuSubFolders' -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)

./User/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_StartMenu/NoStartMenuSubFolders

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>./User/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_StartMenu/NoStartMenuSubFolders</LocURI>
        </Target>
        <Data>&lt;enabled/&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: Remove user's folders from the Start Menu
# Name: NoStartMenuSubFolders
# Scope: User
# State: Enabled
# Source: StartMenu.admx

$isMatch = Test-RegistryValueEquals -Path 'Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer' -Name 'NoStartMenuSubFolders' -Kind 'DWord' -Expected 1
if (-not $isMatch) {
    $reasons.Add('Value mismatch: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoStartMenuSubFolders') | 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: Remove user's folders from the Start Menu
# Name: NoStartMenuSubFolders
# Scope: User
# State: Enabled
# Source: StartMenu.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer' -Name 'NoStartMenuSubFolders' -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: NoStartMenuSubFolders
Namespace: Microsoft.Policies.StartMenu
Template file: StartMenu.admx
Release: Windows 10 22H2 · 1.0 · file set bc15f6a5271783ee…

Definition, editor controls and support

Definition

<policy class="User" displayName="$(string.NoStartMenuSubFolders)" explainText="$(string.NoStartMenuSubFolders_Help)" key="Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer" name="NoStartMenuSubFolders" valueName="NoStartMenuSubFolders" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:StartMenu" />
      <supportedOn ref="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:SUPPORTED_Windows7To2kAndWindows10" />
    </policy>

Editor controls

Supported platforms and category

Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:StartMenu
<category displayName="$(string.StartMenu)" explainText="$(string.StartMenu_Help)" name="StartMenu" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
Microsoft.Policies.Windows:definition:SUPPORTED_Windows7To2kAndWindows10
<definition displayName="$(string.SUPPORTED_Windows7To2kAndWindows10)" name="SUPPORTED_Windows7To2kAndWindows10" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      </definition>
Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:StartMenu
<category displayName="$(string.StartMenu)" explainText="$(string.StartMenu_Help)" name="StartMenu" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:StartMenu">Start Menu and Taskbar</string><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:StartMenu_Help">Contains settings that allow you to add, remove, or disable items from the Start menu, taskbar, and notification area.</string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.Windows:definition:SUPPORTED_Windows7To2kAndWindows10
<definition displayName="$(string.SUPPORTED_Windows7To2kAndWindows10)" name="SUPPORTED_Windows7To2kAndWindows10" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      </definition>
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:SUPPORTED_Windows7To2kAndWindows10">Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows 10</string></strings>