Policy

Disallow installation of printers using kernel-mode drivers

Windows 11 25H2

Back to categoryOpen picker

Policy overview

Key metadata and intent for this policy.

ClassComputer
CategoryPrinters
Supported onWindows Server 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000 only

Supported OS tags: Windows2000, WindowsServer2003, WindowsXP

Determines whether printers using kernel-mode drivers may be installed on the local computer. Kernel-mode drivers have access to system-wide memory, and therefore poorly-written kernel-mode drivers can cause stop errors. If you disable this setting, or do not configure it, then printers using a kernel-mode drivers may be installed on the local computer running Windows XP Home Edition and Windows XP Professional. If you do not configure this setting on Windows Server 2003 family products, the installation of kernel-mode printer drivers will be blocked. If you enable this setting, installation of a printer using a kernel-mode driver will not be allowed. Note: By applying this policy, existing kernel-mode drivers will be disabled upon installation of service packs or reinstallation of the Windows XP operating system. This policy does not apply to 64-bit kernel-mode printer drivers as they cannot be installed and associated with a print queue.

Internal name
KMPrintersAreBlocked
Policy ID
74a80b18467d
Elements
0

Registry values

How enabled and disabled states update the registry.

Registry locationTypeEnabled valueDisabled value
HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Printers\KMPrintersAreBlockedREG_DWORD
1
0

Policy elements

Inputs and configuration options exposed by this policy.

This policy has no additional user input fields.

Other policies in this category

Explore related policies at the same level.

View all policies in this category