How to disable Default and User Installed Desktop Gadgets in Windows 7

Desktop Gadgets are small utilities that come up on our desktop. Sometimes we do not want the Desktop Gadgets to be present on the desktop. Here is the way to disable them.

There are two types of gadgets that are available. One are the default desktop gadgets and the second are the user installed gadgets. The former are the ones that come with the Windows 7 pack itself and the later are the ones that are installed from Microsoft website.

The following are the steps to disable the default desktop gadgets:

Step 1: Go to start and type gpedit.msc

Step 2: Click on User Configuration.

Step 3: A window will come up, navigate through the following from the window present in the left side.

Administrative Templates / Windows Components / Desktop Gadgets

Step 4: Click on the Turn-off user-installed desktop gadgets option on the right side of the window.

Step 5: A window will come up. Click on Enabled option and select OK.

Similarly to disable the user installed desktop gadgets then the following steps are to be followed:

Step 1: Go to start and type gpedit.msc

Step 2: Click on User Configuration.

Step 3: A window will come up, navigate through the following from the window present in the left side.

Administrative Templates / Windows Components / Desktop Gadgets

Step 4: Click on the Turn-off desktop gadgets option on the right side of the window.

Step 5: A window will come up. Click on Enabled option and select OK.

Now when the user tried to install or enable the user installed or the inbuilt desktop gadget then a window will pop up with the message “Desktop gadgets are managed by your system administrator”.

In order to make the changes effective all the users should be logged off and then logged in.