Disable ability to run games off CD

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I am dealing with a serious gaming addiction. I can make the entire PC
inaccessible but that would make it too easy to get out of doing homework. If
there a way to set up a user account that does not have the ability to run
anything off a CD?
 
Loren said:
I am dealing with a serious gaming addiction. I can make the entire PC
inaccessible but that would make it too easy to get out of doing
homework.
Click to expand...

Not if you put the computer in the living room, etc., and just allow them to
use it when they're being supervised.
If there a way to set up a user account that does not have
the ability to run anything off a CD?
Click to expand...

Don't give them anything but limited user accounts. I think you can deny
access to the CD via a policy - but I'm not sure where/how. Note that if the
computer has Internet access & you're letting your kids use it unsupervised,
you have larger problems anyway. It is not easy to lock down a computer such
that a smart kid can't get around your layers of protection.

One of my favorite quotes - "There are seldom good technological solutions
to behavioral problems." - Ed Crowley. Maybe your child can use the computer
in the school library, if this is available, or write out his homework
longhand until he/she can demonstrate that house rules are being obeyed.
 
Actually, you can disable access to the CD drive via policies, but in a standard XP configuration, the restriction will apply to all users of the machine (if done via GPEDIT.MSC, XP Pro Only).

See www.dougknox.com, Win XP Tips, Advanced Registry Editing for information on accessing another user's NTUSER.DAT file.

Then once you've loaded the other user's "hive", go to:

<loaded hive>\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

Look in the right pane for a value called NoViewOnDrive. This is a Binary value, so you need to determine the corresponding number to enter, for the drive you wish to restrict.

A = 1
B = 2
C = 4
D = 8
E = 16
and etc.......

The numbers are also additive, so for example if you have two CD drives, E and F, then the number would be 16 (E) + 32 (F).

If the NoViewOnDrive value does not exist, right click in a blank area of the right pane and select New, DWord value. Name it NoViewOnDrive and modify its value appropriately.
 
Loren said:
I am dealing with a serious gaming addiction. I can make the entire PC
inaccessible but that would make it too easy to get out of doing homework.
If
there a way to set up a user account that does not have the ability to run
anything off a CD?
Click to expand...


Anything you can do, software-wise, a smart kid will probably figure out how
to un-do.

You could just remove the CD drive entirely. If it's required that he burns
things to CDs, you could get an external CD burner and keep it in a locked
drawer somewhere, and only pull it out when required.

Or unplug the internal power on the CD drive and use some sort of unusual
screws on the case. A spanner would be sufficiently unusual. Then lock up
that screwdriver. Some cases have tabs where you can put a lock to keep it
from being opened.

Of course, this makes it inconvenient for you, if you also use the computer
and need the CD drive.

Most of the things I can think of, I can also think of a way around it, if
the kid is sufficiently motivated and has time and access to the computer.

You might want to look into denying access to this particular computer, then
getting one that is sufficient for homework but inadequate for game playing.
 
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