Recently I came across a thread on SPYAM regarding whether it’s possible to block SharePoint 2013 installations using group policy or through the registry.
Sure enough it’s possible to use the SharePoint 2010 installation blocking technique for SharePoint 2013 with a minor modification. Rather than having the Registry Key be for 14.0, just modify it to be 15.0.
So the key that end up implementing either through Group Policy, Power Shell or Registry key setting is:
HKLMSOFTWAREPoliciesMicrosoftShared ToolsWeb Server Extensions15.0SharePoint
With a DWORD Value of ‘DisableInstall’ with a property value of 1.
Sure you can still install the pre-reqs for 2013, but when you attempt to install the actual SharePoint 2013 binary, this is what you end up with:
Time to pick up that VOIP handset and call the administrator about the GPO that seems to be pushed to my server and why I should be allowed to be moved to another OU that has a different domain linked policy. 🙂