Control mounting ReFS volumes on hot-pluggable disks

Policy ID
BlockHotplugMount
Scope
Computer Configuration
Supported on
At least Windows 11 Version 22H2
Source
Administrative Templates (.admx) for Windows 11 2026 Update (26H2) (version 1.0)
Category
System › Filesystem

Description

Controls whether ReFS volumes are allowed to mount on disks that the storage stack reports as hot-pluggable, whatever bus they are attached by. ReFS is not a supported configuration on hot-pluggable or removable disks.

Block refuses the mount and records an event in the System log.

Audit only allows the mount and records the same event, so the effect of enabling this policy can be assessed before it is enforced.

Off performs no auditing and no blocking.

For a Storage Spaces volume the check applies to the physical disks backing the pool, not to the space itself.

If this policy setting is not configured, the local setting on this computer is used. If no local setting exists, the default behavior for this version of Windows is used.

ReFS reads this setting when it loads, so a restart is required before a change applies. The setting is then evaluated each time a volume mounts, so a volume that is already mounted keeps its current state until it is dismounted and mounted again.

Options

  • Action for ReFS volumes on hot-pluggable disks
    • Off
    • Audit only
    • Block

Registry

ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
  • RefsHotplugMountPolicyREG_DWORD

Other policies in the same category

View all policies in this category (8)