Disable Windows Calendar in Vista

Disabling the Windows Calendar in Windows Vista

For users who do not utilize the integrated Windows Calendar application, or prefer to view their Google Calendar through alternative means, removing the application from Windows Vista may be desirable. Direct removal isn't readily available through standard Microsoft procedures. Therefore, utilizing system policies to disable the calendar represents the most effective solution.

Impact of Disabling

Even after implementing these steps, the Windows Calendar icon may persist within Windows Mail. Attempting to access the calendar via this icon will then generate an error message, confirming that the application has been disabled.

However, the calendar can be effectively removed from most other locations within the operating system.

Manual Registry Modification

To implement this change, initiate the Registry Editor by typing "regedit.exe" into the Start menu search field. Navigate to the following registry key, creating it if it does not already exist:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Windows

Within this key, create a new 32-bit DWORD value. Name this value "TurnOffWinCal" and assign it a value of 1.

Removing the Start Menu Shortcut

To remove the Windows Calendar shortcut from the Start menu, paste the following command into the address bar of Windows Explorer:

shell:Common Start Menu

This will open the Common Start Menu folder. Locate the shortcut for Windows Calendar and delete it.

Should you wish to re-enable the calendar after deleting the shortcut, a new shortcut to "wincal.exe" must be manually created within this folder.

Automated Registry Hack

An alternative method involves downloading and applying a pre-configured registry hack. Download TurnOffWinCal.zip, extract its contents, and then double-click the TurnOffWinCal.reg file to disable the Windows Calendar via group policy. A corresponding TurnOn registry hack is also available to restore the calendar to its default functionality.