On Windows, using group policy to modify and manage advanced Windows settings is pretty common. Especially for system administrators and pro users. In fact, you’ll find several Windows tips in my blog that require modifying group policies.
If you configured a policy wrongly or if a policy conflicts with others, or interferes with normal system operations, you can reset the group policy to its default settings. That way, you can start over and reconfigure the group policy settings properly.
In this tutorial, I will show you how to reset an individual group policy and all group policies at once. Let’s get started.
Before You Begin
- You need administrator rights to reset the Group Policy.
- Back up Group Policy settings before resetting it. This allows you to restore Group Policy settings, if necessary.
How to Reset Group Policy on Windows 10 & 11
There are two ways to reset Group Policy settings. That is, you can either reset an individual policy or reset the entire group policy in one go for a fresh start. I will show both methods, follow the one depending on your use case.
Reset a Policy in Group Policy Editor
If you no longer need a policy or configured it incorrectly, you can simply reset a policy via the Group Policy Editor. Here’s how to do it.
1. First, press the Windows key + R shortcut to open the Run dialog box.
2. Type gpedit.msc in the Run field and click OK to open the Group Policy Editor.
3. In the group policy editor, browse through the folder to find the policy you want to reset.
Note: If you can’t remember the policy you want to reset, you can use RSoP to see what group policies are applied on Windows.
4. Double-click on the policy to open its properties.
5. In the policy properties window, select the Not Configured option and click OK.
6. Finally, close the group policy editor and restart your PC.
With that, the target group policy is reset. Once the system has been restarted, you can reconfigure the policy as needed. In case you are wondering, Not Configured is the default policy setting and it means the policy is managed by Windows without user customization.
Reset the Entire Group Policy to Its Default
Sometimes, there might be a lot of policies to reset or you might want to start afresh. In that case, you can reset the entire Group Policy in one go using the command line approach.
1. Open the Start menu.
2. Search for Command Prompt.
3. Right-click on the Command Prompt result and select the Run as administrator“option to open Command Prompt as an administrator.
4. In the command line window, run the following command.
RD /S /Q "%WinDir%\System32\GroupPolicy"
5. After that, run the following second command.
RD /S /Q "%WinDir%\System32\GroupPolicyUsers"
6. Once done, close the Command Prompt window.
7. Restart your PC.
After restarting, the group policy is reset to default.
Wrapping Up – Resetting Group Policy
As you can see, whether you want to reset a specific policy or all policies at once, it’s a pretty easy task.
While it’s easy, like with anything, there are a few limitations to both the methods shown above. That is if your system is maintained by a system or network administrator, some policies may not reset due to them being managed by the said administrator. In those cases, you have to contact the system administrator and ask them to reset those policies.
If you have any questions, comment below and I will answer.
