How To Enable Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) In Windows 10 Home

Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) is an essential administrative tool to configure critical settings on a Windows computer. Unfortunately, Windows 10 Home does not include the Group Policy Editor by default.

What is gpedit.msc?

Local Group Policy Editor, also known as gpedit.msc, is an MMC snap-in that allows for easy management of Windows settings stored in the registry. Any changes made to a policy’s settings are immediately reflected in the associated registry parameter. This graphical add-in simplifies the process of managing Windows settings.

Cannot find ‘gpedit.msc’ error

If you run gpedit.msc on Windows 10 Home, you will get the following error:

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Windows cannot find "gpedit.msc". Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again. 

gpedit.msc is unrecognized in Windows Home

Although you can achieve most of the functionality available in the Group Policy editor with Windows Registry, it can be a very difficult and risky job.

Instead, we can enable the group policy editor in Windows 10 Home using the methods described below.

Enable Gpedit.msc in Windows 10 Home

If you are running Windows 10 or 11 Home edition, you can easily enable the group policy editor using the following steps:

1. Open Command Prompt in administrative mode.

   

   Open Command Prompts as Administrator

2. Run the following commands one after the other:

   FOR %F IN ("%SystemRoot%\servicing\Packages\Microsoft-Windows-GroupPolicy-ClientTools-Package~*.mum") DO (DISM /Online /NoRestart /Add-Package:"%F")
   FOR %F IN ("%SystemRoot%\servicing\Packages\Microsoft-Windows-GroupPolicy-ClientExtensions-Package~*.mum") DO (DISM /Online /NoRestart /Add-Package:"%F")

   

   Install GPEdit in Windows 10 Home

   These commands will install gpedit.msc console on your computer.

3. Run gpedit.msc.

   

   Group Policy Editor installed in Windows 10 Home

   After the commands are successfully executed, type in “gpedit.msc” in the Run Command box. This will open the Group Policy Editor in your Windows Home edition.

There are more ways to enable the Group Policy Editor in Windows 10, 11 Home, which are discussed below.

What is Group Policy Editor (GPedit)?

The Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) is a configuration manager for Windows which makes it easier to configure Windows settings for different users.

Local Group Policy Editor

“Gpedit.msc” is the command for opening the group policy management console for configuring different group policies.

Command to open the Group Policy Editor

If the group policy editor is missing from your version of Windows 10 or if you are getting an error on gpedit.msc not found, you should check out which Windows 10 edition you’re using. You should find gpedit.msc in the “C:\Windows\System32” folder and it should be owned by TrustedInstaller.

You can obtain your OS version, edition, and other details by typing in “winver” in the Run Command box.

In this article, we will guide you to install the Group Policy Editor for Windows 10 Home edition. This method can be used in Windows 11, Windows 7, and Windows 8 too.

Enable GPEdit.msc using PowerShell Script

If you are not comfortable with running the commands, you can download and run the batch file below. This will do the same thing and install gpedit.msc on your Windows Home computer:

1. Download the GPEdit Enabler script from the link below:

     GPEdit Enabler for Windows 10 Home Edition (393 bytes, 261,935 hits)

   This is a simple PowerShell script that will install the disabled Group Policy feature in the Windows 10 Home edition.

2. Right-click the downloaded “gpedit-enabler.bat” file and click “Run as administrator” from the context menu.

   

   Run script as administrator

   This will start the installation process. It may take some time depending on your system performance.

   
   

3. Once the process is complete, press any key to close the Command Prompt.

   

   Press any key to continue

   
   

4. (Optional) Restart the computer.

Enable Group Policy Editor using GPEdit Installer

If the above methods do not work for you, you can try this method, which lets you download and install the actual Group Policy Editor.

Since the Group Policy Editor is not included in Windows 10 Home by default, we will need to download the editor first. Follow these steps to download the setup files and install the Group Policy editor using the GPEdit installer:

1. Download the GPEdit Installer by clicking on this link:

     Download GPEdit.msc Installer (854.7 KiB, 209,524 hits)

   
   

2. Extract the contents of the compressed file.

   
   

3. Run the “Setup.exe” file.

   

   Run the setup file

   The installation wizard will now launch.

   
   

4. Click “Next.”

   

   Proceed with installation

5. Click “Install.”

   
   

   

   Begin installation

6. (Conditional) If asked to install .NET Framework 3.5, click “Download and install this feature.”

   

   Install .NET Framework 3.5

   Close the .NET installer when completed.

   
   

7. Click “Finish” on the Group Policy editor installer.

   

   Close the installation wizard

   
   

8. Restart the computer.

   The Group Policy editor will now be installed on your PC. However, you probably won’t be able to run it from the Run Command box. To do that, perform the remaining steps below.

   Note: The remaining steps below only need to be performed if you are using a 64-bit Windows OS.

9. Go to the following directory using File Explorer:

   C:\Windows\SysWOW64

10. Copy the following items:

    • GroupPolicy
    • GroupPolicyUsers
    • gpedit.msc

11. Paste the items in the following directory:

    C:\Windows\System32

You should now be able to run the Group Policy Editor by typing in “gpedit.msc” in the Run Command box.

Solving Common Problems when Running Gpedit.msc

If you are getting an “MMC cannot create a snap-in” error message while starting gpedit.msc, you may follow the steps below for the solution:

1. Navigate to the following directory and make sure it exists:

   C:\Windows\Temp\gpedit

   

   Navigate to the gpedit folder

2. Download the following zip file:

     gpedit-temp-files-x86x64 (1.3 KiB, 72,451 hits)

3. Extract the compressed file at the following location:

   C:\Windows\Temp\gpedit

   This should replace two files: x86.bat and x64.bat.

4. Now run the respective batch file as an administrator according to your system architecture:

   • x86.bat if your system architecture is 32-bit.
   • x64.bat if your system architecture is 64-bit.

After following the above-mentioned steps, you should have a working Group Policy Editor in Windows 10 Home edition. In case of any confusion or problem, you are always encouraged to discuss by leaving a comment below.

Policy Plus – Portable Policy Editor for Windows

Policy Plus is a third-party app and an alternative to the built-in Group Policy editor. The interface is very similar to GPEdit. One major benefit of using Policy Plus is that it comes with a search function where you can search for your required policies.

1. Download Policy Plus from this link:

     Policy Plus (363.5 KiB, 40,139 hits)

2. Run Policy-Plus.exe.

   

   Policy Plus

   It is a portable app so it will open immediately. You can make changes to the policies exactly how you do it in the Windows built-in group policy editor.

Hopefully, these methods will help you enable gpedit.msc in your system.

One thing to note here is that these methods are useful when you want to use a local group policy editor. If you are a domain administrator and want to configure group policies on a Windows 10 Home computer using Windows Server Active Directory, this method will not be effective as Windows 10 Home does not support joining a domain in an Active Directory.

How to Open Group Policy Editor

1. Open the Run Command box by pressing the “Windows key + R” shortcut keys.

2. Type in “gpedit.msc” and click Ok.

   

   Open the Group Policy editor

This will open up the local Group Policy Editor.

You can also enable other functionalities in Windows 10 Home:

Your experience and comments are highly appreciated.

Soucre