"Manage Your Server" Welcome Screen

  • Article

Yeah, I'm still running 2003. In fact, I'm still asking the lab admins to build out new 2003 boxes.  And when I log onto them, I get that next-to-useless "Manage Your Server" box.

Here's how to blow it away in a cmd.exe or PowerShell.exe window:

reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Setup\Welcome" /v srvWiz /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

Unfortunately, HKCU is instantiated only when I log on, so I can't use the remote reg hack to set it.

I could set it globally on the machine:

\\computername\HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\srvWiz

\\computername\HKU\.DEFAULT\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Setup\Welcome

but that would constitute a config change and I'd have to justify it to the Powers that Be.  (That's why I didn't ask for it to be set either in the image or as a GPO.)

Looks like I'll have to resort psexec.exe \\$myComputer -u $env:userDomain\$env:userName