If you are an administrator and do not want users to use the Turn Windows Features on or off in the Control Panel to add or remove components in Windows Vista, then you can disable this feature in the Control Panel. Here is how :
- Press the key combination Windows Key + R to open the Run dialog. Type gpedit.msc in the Run dialog and press Enter.
- In the Group Policies Editor, navigate to User Configuration → Administrative Templates → Control Panel → Programs in the left side treeview.
- In the right hand side pane, you will find a value Hide “Windows Features”. Double click on it. Choose Enabled and click OK to save the settings and close the dialog.
Now if a user tries to access the Windows Features, they will get a message that it is disabled by the administrator.
With this group policy setting enabled, no user on your computer will be able to access Turn Windows Features on or off. Even if they try to run OptionalFeatures.exe from the Run dialog, they will get a message that it is disabled.