There may be times when you want to prevent users from accessing the Control Panel in Windows 11/10. This post shows how to restrict access to the Control Panel and Settings in Windows 11/10 using a Group Policy setting and the Registry Editor.
Many customization options are available on Windows 11 with the Settings app and the Control Panel. With Windows 10, Microsoft introduced the Settings app that can do almost everything we do with the Control Panel. But still, both Settings and Control Panel are available on Windows 11/10. There might be some special reasons like setting up the PC for your children or where you want to disable the Settings and Control Panel on Windows 11/10. This makes things hard to change or alter the settings or customize them. We have some solutions to help you disable the Settings and Control Panel in Windows 11/10.
Restrict access to Control Panel & Settings
To disable, prohibit, prevent, or restrict users from accessing the Control Panel & Settings in Windows 11/10 using Group Policy and Regedit, follow these steps:
1] Using Group Policy Editor
If your version of Windows has the Group Policy Editor, Run gpedit.msc to open it. Navigate to the following setting:
User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Control Panel
In the right pane of Control Panel, double click/tap on Prohibit access to Control Panel and PC settings.
This setting disables all Control Panel programs and the PC settings app. It prevents Control.exe and SystemSettings.exe, the program files for Control Panel and PC settings, from starting. As a result, users cannot start Control Panel or PC settings, or run any of their items. It removes Control Panel from the Start screen and File Explorer, and removes PC Settings from the Start screen, Settings charm, Account picture and Search results. If users try to select a Control Panel item from the Properties item on a context menu, a message appears explaining that a setting prevents the action.
2] Using Registry Editor
If your version of Windows does not have Group Policy, you can use the Registry Editor to disable access to Control Panel and Settings. To do so, Run regedit and navigate to the following registry key:
Current User
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
All Users
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
In the left pane, create a new DWORD (32-bit). Name it NoControlPanel and give it value 1. The following are the possible values and how they work:
- 0 will enable Control Panel and Settings
- 1 will disable Control Panel and Settings
After you prohibit access to Control Panel and Settings, if any user tries to access them, they will receive the following error box:
This operation has been cancelled due to restrictions in effect on this computer. Please contact your system administrator.
I hope you are able to get it to work. If you are an IT admin wanting to restrict access to Windows 11/10 Settings page then this post will show you how to configure Windows Settings visibility to hide all or select settings.
How do I turn off Windows Control Panel?
You can turn off Windows Control Panel in two ways: using the Registry Editor or the Local Group Policy Editor. Find a suitable method and make the necessary changes, as shown above.
How do I enable settings disabled by the administrator?
It can be done in the same ways as we disabled them using the Registry Editor and Group Policy Editor. You have to change the DWORD (32-bit) Value to 0 in the Registry Editor or check the box beside Disabled or Not Configured in the Prohibit access to Control Panel and System Settings in the Group Policy Editor.
Related reads:
The Group Policy Editor is only available in Windows 8/8.1 Pro & Enterprise. Windows 8/8.1 Standard (core) & RT does not have it. Whilst you can still control some restrictions via the registry editor, not all will work for the core version.
Same applies to Windows 7, Vista and XP. It can be installed in all the core versions, but it’s not really advisable.
But can admin’s still access it?
Is there a way to block specific parts of the PC Settings screen? Some but not all
I do not think that would be possible.
how to prohibit user to access pc settings screen only?
I think denying Read permissions to the respective .cpl files would prevent users from opening them – But they may still be visible to the end users