Windows Sidebar - Enable or Disable

How to Enable or Disable Windows Sidebar in Vista

information   Information
This will allow you to enable or disable Windows Sidebar from running for all user accounts on the computer.
Note   Note
If you just want to turn Windows Sidebar on or off, then see: How to Turn Windows Sidebar On or Off in Vista

EXAMPLE: Windows Sidebar Disabled
NOTE:
This is a message a user will get when they try to turn on Windows Sidebar.

Message.jpg



OPTION ONE
Through the Local Group Policy Editor

1. Open the all users, specific users or groups, or all users except administrators Local Group Policy Editor for how you want this policy applied.​
2. In the left pane, click on User Configuration, Administrative Templates, Windows Components, Windows Sidebar. (See screenshot below)​
Group_Policy.jpg

3. In the right pane, right click on Turn off Windows Sidebar and click Properties. (See screenshot above)​
4. To Enable Windows Sidebar
A) Select (dot) Disabled or Not Configured and click on OK. (See screenshot below 5A)​
B) Go to step 6.​

5. To Disable Windows Sidebar
A) Select (dot) Enabled and click on OK.​
Properties.jpg

6. Close Local Group Policy Editor window. Your done.​





OPTION TWO
Using a REG File Download

1. To Enable Windows Sidebar
A) Click on the Download button below to download the file below.​
Enable_Windows_Sidebar.reg
download

B) Go to step 3.​

2. To Disable Windows Sidebar
A) Click on the Download button below to download the file below.​
Disable_Windows_Sidebar.reg
download

3. Click on Save, and save the .reg file to the Desktop.​
4. Right click on the downloaded .reg file and click on Merge.​
5. Click on Run, Continue (UAC), Yes, and then OK when prompted.​
6. When done, you can delete the downloaded .reg file if you like.​
7. Log off and log on, or restart the computer to apply the changes.​





OPTION THREE
Manually in Registry Editor

1. Open the Start Menu.​
2. In the white line (Start Search) area, type regedit and press Enter.​
3. Click on the Continue button in the UAC prompt.​
4. In regedit, go to: (See screenshot below)​
NOTE: If Windows is not there, then right click on Policies in the left pane and click on New and Key and type Windows and press Enter.​
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Windows
Policies_Windows_Reg.jpg

5. To Disable Windows Sidebar
A) In the left pane, right click on Windows and click on New and Key and type Sidebar, then press Enter.​
NOTE: If you already have Sidebar, then proceed to step B below.​
B) In the right pane of Sidebar, right click on a empty area and click on New and DWORD (32-bit) Value. (See screenshot below)​
C) Type TurnOffSidebar and press Enter.​
D) Right click on TurnOffSidebar and click on Modify.​
Sidebar_Reg.jpg

E) Type 1 and click on OK. (See screenshot below)​
Modify_TurnOffSidebar.jpg

6. To Enable Windows Sidebar
A) In the right pane, right click on TurnOffSidebar and click on Delete. (See screenshot below step 5D)​
B) Click on Yes to confirm delete.​
C) In regedit, go to: (See screenshot below)​
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Windows
HKLM_Reg.jpg

D) In the right pane, repeat steps 6A and 6B if TurnOffSidebar is there to. (See screenshot above)​

7. Close regedit.​
8. Log off and log on, or restart the computer to apply the changes.​
That's it,
Shawn


 

Attachments

  • Enable_Windows_Sidebar.reg
    516 bytes · Views: 12,574
  • Disable_Windows_Sidebar.reg
    324 bytes · Views: 4,573
  • Windows_Sidebar.png
    Windows_Sidebar.png
    12.8 KB · Views: 485
Last edited:
PLEASE HELP!
Vista ultimate X64
my vista has no sidebar. it dosn`t even appears in the control panel neither in registry or in services??? what should i do? where should i get it from, i guess i have to install it but how?
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    e6300
    Motherboard
    asus p5l 1394
    Memory
    4.oo GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    asus EAH 4650
    Sound Card
    audigy soundblaster
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG L1919s
    Hard Drives
    Western Digital - WDC WD800AAJS-00WAA0 (74 GB)
    Western Digital - WDC WD1600JS-00NCB1 (149 GB)
    Keyboard
    Microsoft
Hello Giksy, and welcome to Vista Forums.

If this happened within the last 90 days, then you might try a System Restore using a restore point dated before this happened to see if it can fix it.

Hope this helps,
Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
it wasn`t there from the very beggining. it never show up. since i installed vista the sidebar was missing!
thx for trying to help me
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    e6300
    Motherboard
    asus p5l 1394
    Memory
    4.oo GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    asus EAH 4650
    Sound Card
    audigy soundblaster
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG L1919s
    Hard Drives
    Western Digital - WDC WD800AAJS-00WAA0 (74 GB)
    Western Digital - WDC WD1600JS-00NCB1 (149 GB)
    Keyboard
    Microsoft
Well, other than a clean reinstall of Vista, you might try a Repair (upgrade) install to see if it can fix it and save you some time reinstalling everything.

Hope this helps,
Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
i will try. thx a lot!
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    e6300
    Motherboard
    asus p5l 1394
    Memory
    4.oo GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    asus EAH 4650
    Sound Card
    audigy soundblaster
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG L1919s
    Hard Drives
    Western Digital - WDC WD800AAJS-00WAA0 (74 GB)
    Western Digital - WDC WD1600JS-00NCB1 (149 GB)
    Keyboard
    Microsoft
You're welcome Giksy.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
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