Allowing Installation of Only Permitted Devices

Applies To: Windows Server 2008

By default, Windows allows installation of any device, provided that the device driver is staged in the driver store or the user has administrator permissions. With Microsoft® Windows Vista® and Windows Server® 2008, an administrator can choose to prevent installation of all devices except those specifically permitted by the policies described in this section.

To create a list that allows specified devices, you must first enable a policy setting that prevents all device installations unless they are on the list. Then you can add the devices that you want to permit to the list, using either the hardware IDs or the device setup class GUID for the device.

Task requirements

To complete this task, perform the following procedures:

1. Prevent Installation of All Devices By Default

2. Then you can perform either or both of the following:

   • Allow Installation of a Device by Hardware ID

   • Allow Installation of a Device by Device Setup Class