Would you like to learn how to configure a group policy to disable the use of external storage devices? In this tutorial, we will show you how to deny access to external storage devices using a GPO.
• Windows 2012 R2
• Windows 2016
• Windows 2019
• Windows 10
• Windows 7
Equipment list
The following section presents the list of equipment used to create this tutorial.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Windows Related Tutorial:
On this page, we offer quick access to a list of tutorials related to Windows.
Tutorial GPO – Disable external storage devices
On the domain controller, open the group policy management tool.
Create a new group policy.
Enter a name for the new group policy.
In our example, the new GPO was named: MY-GPO.
On the Group Policy Management screen, expand the folder named Group Policy Objects.
Right-click your new Group Policy Object and select the Edit option.
On the group policy editor screen, expand the Computer configuration folder and locate the following item.
Access the option named Removable storage access.
Enable the option named All Removable Storage classes: Deny all access.
Here is the list of external storage devices:
• USB flash drive
• USB disk
• CD and DVD
• Windows Portable Devices
• Tape drives
• Floppy drives
To save the group policy configuration, you need to close the Group Policy editor.
Congratulations! You have finished the GPO creation.
Tutorial – Applying the GPO to disable external storage devices
On the Group policy management screen, you need to right-click the Organizational Unit desired and select the option to link an existent GPO.
In our example, we are going to link the group policy named MY-GPO to the root of the domain.
After applying the GPO you need to wait for 10 or 20 minutes.
During this time the GPO will be replicated to other domain controllers.
To test the configuration, connect an external storage device to a computer.
In our example, we disabled the use of external storage devices on all domain computers using a GPO.
