Microsoft removes policies from Windows 10 Pro
Professional editions of Windows 10 ship with the Group Policy Editor that enables users and administrators to make changes to the default configuration of the operating system.
Up until now, policy availability was more or less identical for all professional versions of Windows 10. Turns out, this is no longer the case when the Windows 10 Anniversary Update is released.
Some policies contain a note stating that they only apply to certain editions of Windows 10, with Windows 10 Pro not being listed as one of them.
Note: This setting only applies to Enterprise, Education, and Server SKUs
Furthermore, the corresponding Registry keys are not working either anymore which means that Pro users have no option to make changes to features affected by the change.
Update official Microsoft source
Microsoft published a new article on Technet that confirms that policies related to "tips and tricks" and "store suggestions" cannot be disabled anymore on Windows 10 Pro.
| Windows 10 edition | Disable | Show Microsoft apps only | Show Microsoft and popular third-party apps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windows 10 Pro | No | Yes | Yes (default) |
| Windows 10 Enterprise | Yes | Yes | Yes (default) |
| Windows 10 Pro Education | Yes (default) | Yes | No (setting cannot be changed) |
| Windows 10 Education | Yes (default) | Yes | No (setting cannot be changed) |
Affected Policies
The policies are still listed when you open the Group Policy Editor on Windows 10 Pro or another affected edition of Windows 10.
They do contain the note stating that the policy only applies to the listed editions of Windows 10, and modifying the policy has no affect on editions not listed there.
Turn off Microsoft consumer experiences
- Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Cloud Content
The big one is the Turn off Microsoft consumer experiences policy. We have talked about the feature previously. It powers among other things the installation of third-party apps and extra links on Windows 10.
So, if you did not want Candy Crush to be pushed to your operating system, you'd disable the policy to block that from happening.
The change prevents Windows 10 Pro users from enabling the policy to block third-party application installations or links.
Do not show Windows Tips
- Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Cloud Content
Windows 10 may show tips to the user of the operating system that explain how to use Windows 10, or how to use certain features of the operating system.
The release of Windows 10 Version 1607 restricts the policy to Enterprise and Education SKUs.
One option to at least limit the tips is to set the Telemetry level to Basic or below. You find the policy under Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Data Collection and Preview Builds > Allow Telemetry
Lock screen
- Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Control Panel > Personalization
The lock screen displays information such as a clock or notifications to the user of the operating system.
The policy "do not display the lock screen" allowed you to turn the lock screen off so that the logon screen is displayed right away.
The change blocks the policy on Windows 10 Pro systems, as it is only available on Enterprise, Education and Server SKUs after the Anniversary Update.
Similarly, "Prevent changing log screen and logon image" and"Force a specific default lock screen and logon image" are also no longer available on Windows 10 Pro devices.
Disable all apps from Windows Store
Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components> Store
The policy allows you to disable all applications from Windows Store. It blocks the launching of all store apps that came pre-installed or were downloaded before the policy was set. Also, it will turn of Windows Store.
The setting applies only to Enterprise and Education editions of Windows 10 once the Anniversary Update is installed.
Closing Words
The changes take away functionality that was previously a part of the Windows 10 Pro edition. It is without doubt an annoyance, considering that Pro users have no option anymore to disable third-party applications, links or Store apps in general on Windows 10 once the Anniversary Update is installed.
Considering that many Pro users won't be able to get Enterprise or Education versions of Windows 10, it is anything but customer friendly.
Now You: What's your take on the removal? (Thanks Sergey)
What mental age of reader are you targeting with the first sentence? 10?
Why not write an article on how to *avoid* upgrading from W10 to W11. Analogous to those like me who avoided upgrading from 7 to 10 for as long as possible.
If your paymaster Microsoft permits it, of course.
5. Rufus
6. Ventoy
PS. I hate reading these “SEO optimized” articles.
I used Rufus to create an installer for a 6th gen intel i5 that had MBR. It upgraded using Setup. No issues except for Win 11 always prompting me to replace my local account. Still using Win 10 Pro on all my other PCs to avoid the bullying.
bit pointless to upgrade for the sake of upgrading as you never know when you’ll get locked out because ms might suddenly not provide updates to unsupported systems.
ps…. time travelling?
written. Jan 15, 2023
Updated • Jan 13, 2023
This happens when you schedule a post in WordPress and update it before setting the publication date.
Anyone willing to downgrade to this awful OS must like inflicting themselves with harm.
I have become convinced now that anybody who has no qualms with using Windows 11/10 must fit into one of the following brackets:
1) Too young to remember a time before W10 and W11 (doesn’t know better)
2) Wants to play the latest games on their PC above anything else (or deeply needs some software which already dropped W7 support)
3) Doesn’t know too much about how computers work, worried that they’d be absolutely lost and in trouble without the “”latest security””
4) Microsoft apologist that tries to justify that the latest “features” and “changes” are actually a good thing, that improve Windows
5) Uses their computer to do a bare minimum of like 3 different things, browse web, check emails, etc, so really doesn’t fuss
Obviously that doesn’t cover everyone, there’s also the category that:
6) Actually liked W7 more than 10, and held out as long as possible before switching, begrudgingly uses 10 now
Have I missed any group off this list?
You have missed in this group just about any professional user that uses business software like CAD programs or ERP Programs which are 99% of all professional users from this list.
Linux doesn’t help anyone who is not a linux kid and apple is just a fancy facebook machine.
Microsoft has removed KB5029351 update
only from windows update though
KB5029351 is still available from the ms update catalog site
1. This update is labaled as PREVIEW if it causes issues to unintelligent people, then they shouldn’t have allowed Preview updates ot install.
2. I have installed it in a 11 years old computer, and no problems at all.
3. Making a big drama over a bluescreen for an updated labeled as preview is ridiculous.
This is probably another BS internet drama where people ran programs and scripts that modified the registry until they broke Windows, just for removing stuff that they weren’t even using just for the sake of it.
Maybe people should stop playing geeks and actually either use Windows 10 or Windows 11, but don’t try to modify things just for the sake of it.
Sometimes removing or stopping things (like defender is a perfect example) only need intelligence, not scripts or 3rd party programs that might mess with windows.
Windows 11 was a pointless release, it was just created because some of the Windows team wanted to boost sales with some sort of new and improved Windows 10. Instead, Microsoft cannot support one version well let alone two.
Windows 11 is the worst ugly shame by Microsoft ever. They should release with every new W11 version a complete free version of Starallback inside just to make this sh** OS functionally again.
motherboard maker MSI has recently released a statement regarding the “unsupported processor” blue screen error for their boards using Intel 600/700 series chipsets & to avoid the KB5029351 Win11 update:
https://www.msi.com/news/detail/MSI-On–UNSUPPORTED-PROCESSOR–Error-Message-of-Windows-11-Update-KB5029351-Preview-142215
check out the following recent articles:
Neowin – Microsoft puts little blame on its Windows update after UNSUPPORTED PROCESSOR BSOD bug:
https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-puts-little-blame-on-its-windows-update-after-unsupported-processor-bsod-bug/
BleepingComputer – Microsoft blames ‘unsupported processor’ blue screens on OEM vendors:
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/microsoft-blames-unsupported-processor-blue-screens-on-oem-vendors/
While there may be changes or updates to the Windows 10 Store for Business and Education in the future, it is premature to conclude that it will be discontinued based solely on rumors.
My advice, I left win 15 years ago. Now I’m a happy linux user (linuxmint) but there is Centos, Fedora, Ubuntu depending on your needs.
motherboard maker MSI has recently released new BIOS/firmware updates for their Intel 600 & 700 series motherboards to fix the “UNSUPPORTED_PROCESSOR” problem (Sept. 6):
https://www.msi.com/news/detail/Updated-BIOS-fixes-Error-Message–UNSUPPORTED-PROCESSOR–caused-BSOD-on-MSI-s-Intel-700-and-600-Series-Motherboards-142277
I try to disable the Diagnostics Tracking Service (Connected Devices Platform User Services) but it wont let me disable it, any help will be greatly appreciated.
Tank you for your help