This tutorial explains how to disable Control Panel in Windows 10. Control Panel is one of the important parts of Windows 10 as it contains many computer settings (like access User Accounts, Uninstall Programs, etc.). So when you don’t want anyone to access Control Panel, then you can temporarily or permanently disable it. For this, you need to use any of the two native features of Windows 10: Registry Editor and Group Policy window.
If you are running Education, Pro, or Enterprise edition, then you can use Registry as well as Group Policy methods. However, if you have Home edition of Windows 10, then only Registry Editor method can be used.
In the screenshot above, you can see the error window that will open when you try to access Control Panel after disabling it.
Note: Apart from disabling Control Panel in Windows 10, the changes happen for Settings app also, using both the methods. That means, along with Control Panel, access to Settings app is also disabled in Windows 10. Clicking on Settings option will show a flash of Settings window and then it will vanish.
How To Disable Control Panel In Windows 10 Pro, Enterprise, and Education Editions
Step 1: It’s the very first and basic step in which we have to open the LocalGPO (Local Group Policy Editor window). Opening it is very easy using Search box (type group policy and then hit the Enter).
Step 2: Look for Control Panel folder. You can access it by exploring User Configuration and then exploring Administrative Templates folder. When you select Control Panel folder, some options and folders will visible at the right side. Find and double-click on “Prohibit access to Control Panel and PC Settings“.
Step 3: Prohibit access to Control Panel….window will open. Here, you will see Disabled, Enabled, and Not Configured options. To disable access to Control Panel in Windows 10, choose Enabled option and save this setting.
This will disable access to Control Panel as well as Settings in your Windows 10 PC. To regain access, you can set Not Configured or Disabled option in Prohibit access to Control Panel….window and save changes.
How To Disable Control Panel In Windows 10 Home Edition
Step 1: Click on the Search box and write regedit. Press Enter and Registry window will be in front of you.
Step 2: In this step, access Explorer key available under the Policies key. HKEY_CURRENT_USER→SOFTWARE→Microsoft→Windows→CurrentVersion→Policies→Explorer.
Step 3: Create a DWORD value under the Explorer key (right-click on Explorer key or empty area at the right side→New → DWORD(32-bit) Value). When it is created, set its name as “NoControlPanel“.
Step 4: Now we are in the final step in which we need to double-click NoControlPanel DWORD value and add ‘1’ in the value data.
Save it and then restart the Explorer (if needed). This will disable Control Panel and Settings in your Windows 10 PC.
Anytime you want to access Control Panel and Settings again, simply set ‘0’ in value data of NoControlPanel window.
You can also learn to Hide Programs From Uninstall list In Control Panel and Start Menu and Disable Mouse Cursor Change In Windows 10.
The Verdict:
So, now you know how to easily disable Control Panel in Windows 10. As I mentioned above, this will disable Settings app as well. In fact, this method will work on Windows 8 / 8.1 and Windows 7 as well.
