How to disable Control Panel and Settings in Windows 11

If you want to disable the Control Panel and/or the Settings menu in Windows 11, you are just in the right place. In this article, we are going to explain the process of how to disable the Control Panel and Settings.

 

How to disable the Control Panel and/or Settings in Windows 11

You can disable the Control Panel and Settings using two distinct methods.

A. Using the Registry Editor

B. Using the Local Group Policy Editor

You can choose any of these two ways to effectively disable the Control Panel and Settings.

A. Use the Registry Editor

This method involves the registry editor in the process.

1. At first, press the Windows key+R keys together.

2. Then, write “regedit” and click on “OK“.



 

Regedit In Run

 

IMPORTANT

You are going to create a new key in the Registry Editor. Any wrong alteration of the existing registry editor may lead to further errors.

a. Once you have opened the Registry Editor, you will need to click on the “File” and then click on “Export“.

b. Save the backup in a secure place.

 

Export Registry

 

If anything goes wrong, you can easily restore the registry to its original state.

3. When the Registry Editor opens up, expand the header file or simply paste this address in the address bar and hit Enter.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies

 

4. Now, on the right-hand side right-click on the “Policies” key and click on “New>” and further click on “Key“.

 

New Key Min

 

5. Name this key as “Explorer“.

6. Now, on the right-hand side, “New>” and tap on “DWORD (32-bit) Value” to create a new key.

 

New Key Explorer Min

 

7. Next. name this key as “NoControlPanel“.

8. After that, double-click on the key to change it.

 

No Control Panel Dc Min

 

9. Set the value to “1” for this new key.

10. Then, tap on “OK” to save this change.

 

Value Data 1 Ok Min

 

11. After that, go to this location –

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies

 

12. Check if there is an ‘Explorer’ key already. Otherwise, right-click on the space on the right-hand side and click on “New>” and further click on “Key“.

 

Policies New Min

 

5. Set the name of the new key as “Explorer“.

6. Now, on the right-hand side, right-click on “New>” and tap on “DWORD (32-bit) Value“.

 

New Key Again Min

 

7. Rename this new key as “NoControlPanel“.

8. Next, double-click on the “NoControlPanel” key to modify it.

 

No Control Panel Dc 2 Min

 

9. Again set the value of the key to “1“.

10. Further, hit Enter to save this particular change.

 

Value Data 1 Ok Min

 

After doing all these modifications, finally, you can just close the Registry Editor and restart the machine. After that, try to access the Control Panel and Settings window.

 

B. Using the Local Group Policy Editor

If you don’t want to use the Registry Editor, you can use the Local Group Policy Editor.

1. At first, press the Windows key+R keys together.



2. Then, type “gpedit.msc” and hit Enter.

 

Gpedit New Windows 11 Min

 

3. When the Local Group Policy Editor appears, go this way –

User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Control Panel

4. Then, on the right-hand side, you will find the “Prohibit access to Control Panel and PC settings“.

5. Next, double-click on the particular policy to modify it.

Prohobit Dc Min

 

6. Then, set the policy to “Enabled“.

7. Finally, click on “Apply” and “OK” to save this setting on your computer.

 

Enabled Min

 

Close the Local Group Policy Editor window.

This will disable the Control Panel and Settings in Windows 11. If you want to re-enable the settings and control panel once again, you just have to disable the particular policy on your computer. Then, Settings and Control Panel will work just fine.