Windows 7 is a great operating system and it has a lot of features. However, some users may find that they don’t have the option to remove gadgets and resolution from the desktop context menu. This can be a problem if you want to use Windows 7 in an environment where you have a high-resolution monitor or if you want to use Windows 7 on a device with a lower resolution. To remove gadgets and resolution from the desktop context menu in Windows 7, you first need to open the Control Panel and then click on the “Gadgets” tab. Under “Gadgets,” you’ll find a list of all the devices that are connected to your computer. If there are any devices that are listed under “Gadgets,” then you can select them by clicking on their name and then clicking on the “Remove” button. If there are no devices listed under “Gadgets,” then you’ll need to add one by clicking on the “Add” button and then selecting “Computer.” Then, under “Computer,” you’ll need to enter your computer’s name and password. After entering these details, click on the “Add” button again and select “Desktop.” Finally, under “Desktop,” you’ll need to enter your desired resolution for your monitor. After entering these details, click on the “Add” button again and select “OK.”
No clue what we’re talking about? If you are using Windows 7 and you right-click on the desktop, you’ll see a bunch of new items at the bottom:
For extra credit, if you want to get rid of that Catalyst item, we’ve already written about how to remove the ATI Catalyst Control Center from the desktop context menu.
Remove Gadgets and Screen Resolution Items
Normally removing items from a menu should be a simple registry hack, without any complicated instructions—just like removing the ATI item that we mentioned above. The problem, in this case, is that the new Windows 7 items are actually protected by special permissions making them annoying to remove—but we’re geeks, so all things are possible.
You’ll want to open up regedit.exe through the start menu search or run box, and then browse down to the following registry key:
Once you’re there, you might notice that while you can see the three new items, you can’t remove or rename them.
What we’ll need to do is give ourselves permission to the keys, starting by right-clicking on the DesktopBackground key and choosing Permissions.
Now you’ll want to pretty much ignore everything in here, and click the Advanced button.
Head to the Owner tab, click on Administrators in the list, and then check the box for “Replace owner on subcontainers and objects”.
Make absolutely certain you’ve checked that box before you click Apply!
Now head back to the Permissions tab, and select Administrators in the list (which should say Full Control already), and check the box for “Replace all child object permissions with inheritable permissions from this object”.
Make absolutely certain you select that checkbox before clicking Apply!
You’ll be prompted by Windows, asking if you really want to proceed. We do.
And now, you should be able to rename or delete any of the keys. I would advise making a backup by right-clicking on DesktopBackground and choosing to export into a reghack file.
For example, to remove Gadgets and Screen Resolution from the menu, I’ve deleted both of those keys (after making a backup, of course).
Combined with removing the ATI Catalyst item from the menu, we now have a nice, clean desktop menu.
Stay tuned, because in an upcoming article we’re going to teach you how to do even more with the context menu.
