Allow restore of system to default state

Requirements: Windows 7
Description: This policy setting controls whether users can access the options in Recovery (in Control Panel) to restore the computer to the original state or from a user-created system image.

If you enable or do not configure this policy setting, the items "Use a system image you created earlier to recover your computer" and "Reinstall Windows" (or "Return your computer to factory condition") appears on the "Advanced recovery methods" page of Recovery (in Control Panel) and will allow the user to restore the computer to the original state or from a user-created system image. This is the default setting.

If you disable this policy setting, the items "Use a system image you created earlier to recover your computer" and "Reinstall Windows" (or "Return your computer to factory condition") in Recovery (in Control Panel) will be unavailable. However, with this policy setting disabled, users can still restore the computer to the original state or from a user-created system image by restarting the computer and accessing the System Recovery Options menu, if it is available.

Supported on: Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7

Registry HiveHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Registry PathSOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WinRE
Value NameDisableSetup
Value TypeREG_DWORD
Enabled Value0
Disabled Value1

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Administrative Templates (Computers)

Administrative Templates (Users)