Preventing users from changing display settings

This FAQ first appeared as a tip in the Windows '98 forum.

Open notepad and create the following reg file:

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies]

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System]
"NoDispCPL"=dword:00000001
"NoDispBackgroundPage"=dword:00000001
"NoDispScrSavPage"=dword:00000001
"NoDispAppearancePage"=dword:00000001
"NoDispSettingsPage"=dword:00000001


Save the file as NODISP.REG, double-click on it and click Okay when Windows asks if you want add the contents to the registry.
That will restrict all display settings for the "default" user. If you want to set restrictions for individual users you should substitute "[HKEY_USERS\User Name\" (where User Name is the login name for a user) for "[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\".
The settings are fairly straightforward. You can enable any or all by changing "00000001" to "00000000".

Remember, you should always back up the registry before making changes.