Policy
Specify the order in which Windows Installer searches for installation files
Microsoft Windows
Policy overview
Key metadata and intent for this policy.
Supported OS tags: Windows10, Windows10RT, Windows11, Windows2000, Windows7, Windows8, Windows81, WindowsRT, WindowsRT81, WindowsServer2003, WindowsServer2008, WindowsServer2012, WindowsServer2012R2, WindowsServer2016, WindowsVista, WindowsXP
This policy setting specifies the order in which Windows Installer searches for installation files. If you disable or do not configure this policy setting, by default, the Windows Installer searches the network first, then removable media (floppy drive, CD-ROM, or DVD), and finally, the Internet (URL). If you enable this policy setting, you can change the search order by specifying the letters representing each file source in the order that you want Windows Installer to search: -- "n" represents the network; -- "m" represents media; -- "u" represents URL, or the Internet. To exclude a file source, omit or delete the letter representing that source type.
Registry values
How enabled and disabled states update the registry.
No explicit registry values are set for enabled or disabled states.
Policy elements
Inputs and configuration options exposed by this policy.
| Scope | Element | Type | Registry mapping | Constraints & behavior | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| User | Search order ID SearchOrder | text | Path Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer Value name SearchOrder Type REG_SZ | None |