Compared to the Windows Registry, Group Policy is easy to change as you don’t have to create anything. However, it isn’t easy to find them. So, if you are geeky enough, in this post, we will share a simple command that can help you instantly figure it out.
Group Policy Registry Location in Windows 11/10
You can use any of these methods to find the Registry key for a Group Policy setting. Group Policy to Registry Mapping has been discussed in this post. Before we go ahead, be aware that not every Group Policy is available in Registry. Some of the settings are stored in a different place. So you will only find those which are mapped to the Registry.
1] Group Policy Search (GPS) service
Use the Group Policy Search (GPS) service, which allows you to search for registry-based Group Policy settings used in Windows operating systems. Once you open the website, you can search or expand each of them to find Group Policy Settings, Key, Value, and ADMX files.
2] Group Policy Settings Reference Guide
You can download an excel sheet from Microsoft—Group Policy Settings Reference Guide, which lists policy settings corresponding to the registry key.
3] MSDN – GPO to Registry Mapping
Microsoft has published a table—Group Policy Registry Table—which offers one to one GPO to Registry Mapping. All you need do is search for the registry path, and it will reveal the exact Group Policy Object. Visit this MSDN link.
4] Get-GPRegistryValue
Its a command that you can execute on PowerShell. It gets one or more registry-based policy settings under either Computer Configuration or User Configuration in a GPO. This is how the command looks like: It is fairly easy to use but only if you can understand how to use it. Here is a sample from Microsoft Document, which explains more on the official page. I hope the post was easy to follow, and you are now able to find the Registry key corresponding to Group Policy and vice versa. I wish there were a tool from Microsoft for admins, which would have made it easier, but yes, then there are Excel sheets getting that job done.
