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Turn off the Network Location wizard

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Applies To: Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 7

You can use this procedure to disable the Network Location wizard for all users on a computer or for a specific user.

Any user account can be used to complete this procedure.

The Network Location wizard provides the option of setting the default network as Home, Work, or Public location. Unless your network is part of a domain, the default setting for your network is Public location. If your network is not part of a domain, the Public location setting is recommended.

If you are an administrator, you can turn off the Network Location wizard, either for all users on a computer or only for a specific user, by creating a new registry key.

You can turn off the Network Location wizard for all users on the computer by creating the following registry key:

HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Network\NewNetworkWindowOff

When this key is configured on the local computer, the wizard is disabled, regardless of the value configured for the key. When a user connects the computer to any new network and this key is present, the wizard is turned off and does not appear.

To turn off the Network Location Wizard for all users on a computer

  1. Click Start, and then click Run.

  2. In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.

    Registry Editor opens.

  3. In Registry Editor, click Edit, click New, and then click Key.

  4. Type the following registry entry:

    HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Network\NewNetworkWindowOff

You can turn off the Network Location wizard for the current user on the computer by creating the following registry key:

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Network\NwCategoryWizard\Show

In order to disable the wizard for the user, the key must be present and its value set to 0. When the computer is connected to any new network and the key is present, the wizard does not appear for that user. The wizard does appear for other users on the computer, unless they too have set the key for disabling the wizard.

To turn off the Network Location Wizard for the current user

  1. Click Start, and then click Run.

  2. In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.

    Registry Editor opens.

  3. In Registry Editor, click Edit, click New, and then click DWORD (32-bit) Value.

  4. Type the following registry entry:

    HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Network\NwCategoryWizard\Show

  5. Configure the registry key with a value of 0.

See Also

Concepts

Manage the Network Icon, Network Location, and Network Map
Administer Network and Sharing Center