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

With a simple trick, you can open the gpedit tool in Windows 10 Home. All you have to do is enable the group policy editor in Windows 10 Home. Here is how.

If you running Windows 10 Home edition then you cannot use some tools and features that are exclusive to Windows 10 Pro and Windows 10 Enterprise editions. The Group Policy Editor or also known as gpedit is one such tool. Using the Group Policy Editor, you can set and enforce specific policies on a Windows system. What makes the Group Policy Editor special is its ease of use and the ability to act as a central place for many advanced Windows settings.

In the absence of the gpedit tool, you can use the registry editor to configure most of those settings. However, as most of you know, the registry editor is not that user-friendly and if you are not careful, there is a high degree of chance for things to go wrong.

That being said, Microsoft blocking access to gpedit in Windows 10 Home is an artificial restriction. This means that with a simple trick, you can open gpedit in Windows 10 Home. All you have to do is install gpedit in Windows 10 home and configure a few settings and you are good to go. Without further delay, let me show you how to do it.

Important note: To enable gpedit.msc in Windows 10, we need to use a third-party app that will make changes to the system files. So, before proceeding any further, I recommend you create a system restore point and create a full system backup. Also, follow the steps below at your own risk.

Open gpedit in Windows 10 Home

To install and open gpedit in Windows 10 Home follow the steps listed below.

1. To enable the group policy editor in Windows 10 home, we have to use a free application called Add GPEDIT. So, go ahead and download the zip file from the developer page.

2. After downloading the app, open the File Explorer and go to the “C:\Windows\SysWOW64” folder. You can simply copy the path, paste it in the address bar and press Enter to go to the target folder. Here, copy the “GroupPolicy” and “GroupPolicyUsers” folders. You can select both these folders at once by holding down the Ctrl button and clicking on them.

3. Now, open the downloaded zip file, extract it, and double-click on the “setup.exe” file. Follow the installation wizard. When you are at the end, don’t click on the Finish button. Just close the installer by clicking on the “X” icon at the top-right corner.

open gpedit in Windows 10 home

4. Open the File Explorer, type “C:\Windows\Temp\gpedit” in the address bar and press Enter.

5. Right-click on the “x86.bat” file and select “Edit.”

6. Once is file is opened in the Notepad, replace all instances of %username%:f with "%username%":f. In case you are wondering, all we did was add quotes around %username%.

7. Save the file with “Ctrl + S” shortcut and close it.

8. In the File Explorer window, right-click on the “x86.bat” file and select the “Run as administrator” option. This action will install the gpedit in Windows 10 and adds all the necessary DLL files that are needed to run the tool.

That is all. It is that simple to install the group policy editor in Windows 10 home. After installing, you can open the group policy editor by executing the gpedit.msc run command.

Do keep in mind that even though you have access to the Group Policy Editor, some features and options will still be unavailable to you. This is because the modules and snap-ins related to those settings and features might not be available for Home users. Nevertheless, having some access is better than no access.

I hope that helps. If you are stuck or need some help, comment below and I will try to help as much as possible.

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