Note:We will be using a third party tool to change the system settings. It is best that you create a system restore point before proceeding, as a precaution.
What is Group Policy Editor
Group Policy Editor is a policy management tool for Windows users to configure and modify different policy settings for a computer or multiple computers over a network.
Enable Group Policy Editor in Windows
To enable the Windows Group Policy Editor, all you have to do is download a small file which changes the required system settings. Once you have downloaded the file, unzip it, execute the executable file and restart your Windows machine. If you are using the 64-bit version of Windows, here is an additional step that you need to do:
Once you have run the downloaded application, navigate to the directory “C:\Windows\SysWOW64\” and copy the folders “GroupPolicyUsers”, “GroupPolicy” and the file “gpedit.msc” to “C:\Windows\System32\” directory.
That’s all there is to do. From this point forward, you can use Windows Group Policy Editor by typing gpedit.msc in the Run dialog box (Win + R).
In case of MMC Snap-in Errors
In some cases, you may receive MMC (Microsoft Management Console) snap-in errors. In those special cases, re-run the application, and just before you click the “Finish” button, navigate to “C:\Windows\Temp\” directory and double click on the folder “gpedit” to open it. Depending on your computer architecture (32- or 64-bit), right click on either “x86.bat” or “x64.bat” and select the “edit” option.
The above action will open up the .bat file in Notepad. Find and replace all the instances of with If you can’t see the difference, you have to add a quote (“) before and after the %username% tag.
Save the file by pressing “Ctrl + S” and close the file. Now execute the .bat file by right clicking and selecting the “Run as administrator” option.
Now back to the installation Window. Click on the “Finish” button to complete the procedure. From this point forward, you can use the Group Policy Editor like any other Windows user. As a side note, being a powerful tool, don’t flip all the switches in the Group Policy Editor as a simple misconfiguration may lock you out of your Windows system, or you may face other awkward situations where you cannot use your Windows PC like you should. Do comment below if you face any problems while enabling the Group Policy Editor.
