Microsoft has released different versions of the same operating system. Like, Windows 11 itself has a Home, Pro, and Enterprise version. On the front, these all look identical, but they function quite differently. Each version has been designed with the user base, i.e. the customer, in mind. However, things can be underwhelming when you can’t find a particular feature that you want to access. One of the missing features will have to be the Group Policy Editor aka gpedit.msc. Here is a fix for Windows cannot find gpedit.msc.
If you have the Pro or Enterprise versions of the Windows 11 OS or for that matter any Windows OS, you might have seen the Group Policy Editor. This is a particularly important feature that is used by System Administrators in large corporations, where they might have to handle and deal with tons of computers. So is it the end of the world if you have a Windows Home PC without Group Policy Editor or gpedit.msc? This guide will be telling you everything about it. Read on till the end.
Enable Group Policy Editor on Windows PC
Like I said earlier, if you only have the Pro or Enterprise versions of Windows, only then the Group Editor Policy will show up. There is however a method to get this feature on Windows Home versions. Follow these steps.
- First things first, open up the Notepad on your Windows PC.
- You can find the Notepad from the Start Menu or simply right-click on an empty space on the desktop and select New followed by Text Document.
- Once you have the newly created text file, simply copy and paste the following lines into the Notepad.
@echo off
pushd “%~dp0”
dir /b %SystemRoot%\servicing\Packages\Microsoft-Windows-GroupPolicy-ClientExtensions-Package~3.mum >List.txt dir /b %SystemRoot%\servicing\Packages\Microsoft-Windows-GroupPolicy-ClientTools-Package~3.mum >>List.txt
for /f %%i in (‘findstr /i . List.txt 2^>nul’) do dism /online /norestart /add-package:”%SystemRoot%\servicing\Packages\%%i”
pause
- Now that you have pasted the contents, save the Notepad file as a .bat file.
- To do this, go to File, click on Save As.
- You will be able to give a name for this file. Also, make sure to change the file type to all files.
- The file can now be run easily as it is now a Windows Batch File.
- Now, run the bat file as Administrator and allow it.
- Now, the Command Prompt will open up. It will take around 4-6 minutes for the whole file to be executed.
- Once it has completed its work, you will now have Group Policy Editor on your Windows Home PC.
How to Open the Group Policy Editor
There are multiple ways to open up the Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) on your Windows PC. These are simple and easy ways. There is no need for any third-party program to open the Group Policy Editor.
Method 1
- Press the Windows and R keys on the keyboard to open the Run dialogue.
- Now, type in gpedit.msc and hit the Enter key.
- The Group Policy Editor will now open up.
Method 2
- Open the Start menu and type in Command Prompt.
- Once the Command Prompt window opens up, type in gpedit.msc
- Now hit the Enter key.
- The Group Policy Editor will show right up on your Desktop.
Method 3
- Click on the Start Menu and type in Windows PowerShell.
- Open the Windows PowerShell app.
- Type in gpedit and hit the Enter key.
- You will see the Group Policy Editor open on your screen.
Conclusion
And this is how you can install and run the Group Policy Editor on your Windows PC and solve Windows cannot find gpedit.msc error. Now you will no longer see the error that gpedit.msc cannot be found, as you already have installed it on your Windows 11 Home PC. With this feature, you can manage all the systems on your network such as being able to control when an update gets installed, admin and change passwords, disable connecting of removable devices, etc. We hope this guide has helped you understand how to enable and open the Group Policy Editor on your Windows Home PC.
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