The Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool (MSDT) collects diagnostic data for support professionals to analyze. For some issues, MSDT may prompt the user to download extra debugging tools. These tools are necessary to fully troubleshoot the issue. If tool download is restricted, it may be impossible to identify the source of the problem. If you enable this policy setting for remote troubleshooting, MSDT will request the user to download additional tools in order to diagnose problems solely on remote PCs.
If you enable this policy setting for local and remote troubleshooting, MSDT will always prompt you to download additional tools. If you disable this policy option, MSDT will never download tools and will be unable to diagnose problems on distant systems. If you do not configure this policy option, MSDT notifies the user before downloading any more tools. No reboots or service restarts are necessary for this policy setting to take effect. Changes take effect immediately.
To learn more on some diagnostic tools you can read these: Workaround for Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool Vulnerability, How to turn on Windows 10 Tamper Protection for Microsoft Defender, Microsoft Endpoint Manager: How to manage Microsoft Defender Antivirus with Group Policy and Microsoft Malware Protection via the Command Line Utility, Smart App Control and how to enable Phishing Protection: Windows 11 New Security Features, New Windows 11 encryption features and security enhancements will help protect hybrid work.
How to Restrict Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool Download Using Group Policy Editor
To stop the troubleshooting wizard from downloading additional tools on your PC using the Group Policy Editor, follow the steps below.
Press Windows key + R to open the Run Dialog Box and type gpedit.msc to open the Group Policy Editor.
Go to: Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System >Troubleshooting and Diagnostics > Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool
Double-click on the Microsoft Support Diagnostic: Restrict Tool Download.
In the pop-up window, check Disabled and click on Ok.
How to Restrict Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool Download via the Registry
To stop the troubleshooting wizard from downloading additional tools on your PC via the registry, follow the steps below.
Press Windows key + R to open the Run Dialog Box and type regedit to open the Registry Editor.
Enter the following path in the registry editor search bar:
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WDI{C295FBBA-FD47-46ac-8BEE-B1715EC634E5}
Double-click on DownloadToolsEnabled and change the value data from 0 to 1 if not already so.
I hope you found this blog post helpful. If you have any questions, please let me know in the comment session.