How to install Group Policy Editor on Windows 10 Home [QUICK STEPS]
The Group Policy Editor is a really handy tool for Windows operating systems. It can be used for solving a huge variety of problems, but not all versions of Windows have it pre-installed.
Only Windows Pro, Enterprise and Ultimate editions come with this tool, while it’s not featured in Home edition. That was the case in previous versions of Windows, that’s also the case in Windows 10.
How can I install Group Policy Editor on Windows 10 Home?
Some programmers/Windows enthusiasts found a way to install the Group Policy Editor on every version of Windows. Windows7forums davehc created his own installer for Group Policy Editor (and user @jwills876 posted it on DeviantArt), and thanks to these guys, you can install the GPE on every version of Windows, including Windows 10 Home.
So, first thing we’re going to do is to download the installer. You can download it for free from jwills876’s DeviantArt page. After you downloaded the installer, just follow these instructions:
- Before you run a downloader, you’ll need to go to “SysWOW64” folder present in “C:\Windows” folder and copy “GroupPolicy”, “GroupPolicyUsers” folders and gpedit.msc file from there and paste them in “C:\Windows\System32” folder.
- Now, run the installer, follow the instructions, but close it at the last step (don’t hit the Finish button)
- Now, go to C:\Windows\Temp\gpedit folder
- Right-click on x86.bat (or x32.bat, if you’re running a 32-bit version of Windows Home), and choose Open With > Notepad. If you don’t like Notepad and want some more alternatives, you can check out this list with the best note taking apps.
- In the document, you’ll find a total of 6 code lines which contain the following string:
- %username%:f
- Replace every %username%:f with “%username%:”f ( example, replace %WinDir%SysWOW64gpedit.dll /grant:r %username%:f with icacls %WinDir%SysWOW64gpedit.dll /grant:r “%username%”:f)
- Now, just save the file, and run it as Administrator
If nothing happens when you click on Run as administrator, check out this useful guide to fix the issue.
Also, if copy-paste isn’t working and you can’t move the above-mentioned folders, follow this guide to fix the problem quickly.
That’s that, after performing this, you should be able to run Group Policy Editor on your Windows 10 Home. We also should mention that this method is originally for Windows 7, but it also works well on Windows 10.
If you’re experiencing any Group Policy issues on your computer, here are a few troubleshooting guide that you can use:
- Full Fix: Corrupt local group policy on Windows 10, 8.1, 7
- Full Fix: Windows Defender is deactivated by Group Policy
- Windows Defender is deactivated by Group Policy [FULL FIX]
If you encountered other Group Policy bugs that we didn’t cover, feel free to use the comments below. Give us more details about these issues and we’ll try to find a solution as soon as possible.
RELATED STORIES TO CHECK OUT:
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- How to Clean the Windows 10/8.1 Registry
- If you can’t edit Windows 10’s Registry, this quick solution will help you
- The group policy client service failed the logon error on Windows 10 [FIX]
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in January 2016 and has been since updated for freshness, and accuracy.