Cannot Clear Group Policies???

Xoanon · 13 May 2021

I am hoping someone can help me with this. I have tried to clear the attached group policies from my Windows 10 Pro Ver. 20H2 as they are causing Windows Update to not update properly. I have tried both the gpedit.msc way (sorted by status) and also the command prompt method to no avail. I've paused my Windows updates to keep them from tying up my computer each time I reboot but I can't keep it that way indefinitely. Thanks very much for any assistance!

Cannot Clear Group Policies???-group-policy.png

dalchina · 13 May 2021

Noted user said he's using Pro, although it says Home under the Avatar... I was confused at first

Presumably you have used this:
Reset Local Group Policy Editor Settings to Default in Windows 10

You must be signed in as an administrator to be able to reset all Local Group Policy Editor settings.

Please confirm you are.

This will not reset Group Policy objects for a computer connected to a domain using Active Directory. The network administrator controls these settings instead.

Please confirm this is not the case.

How did you set these policies?

Paul Black · 13 May 2021

dalchina said:

Noted user said he's using Pro, although it says Home under the Avatar... I was confused..

Thanks dalchina, I Deleted my post.

Xoanon · 13 May 2021

dalchina said:

Noted user said he's using Pro, although it says Home under the Avatar... I was confused at first

I have corrected this in my profile to avoid confusion. Sorry about that.

Presumably you have used this:
Reset Local Group Policy Editor Settings to Default in Windows 10

Yes, I have tried this procedure from my local account to which I have administrator rights and the actual Administrator account to no avail.

Please confirm you are.

Please confirm this is not the case.

No, I am not using active directory either.

How did you set these policies?

I am not sure how they were set. The only thing I can figure is when I was using a "debloat" script, one of the settings in the script set the Policies without me knowing.

Thanks for the response!

dalchina · 13 May 2021

Hi, the problem seems to be that the group policy editor cannot reset policies set by using registry modifications by other means- no idea why.

If you ran this script recently, you may be able to use a System Restore point.

Otherwise you will need to work through each one by one.

I found this for you: most of the same policies seem to be set (post #4): poster seemed to be resolve it successfully:
Cannot be removed - Some settings are managed by your organization

Xoanon · 13 May 2021

dalchina said:

Hi, the problem seems to be that the group policy editor cannot reset policies set by using registry modifications by other means- no idea why.

If you ran this script recently, you may be able to use a System Restore point.

Otherwise you will need to work through each one by one.

I found this for you: most of the same policies seem to be set (post #4): poster seemed to be resolve it successfully:
Cannot be removed - Some settings are managed by your organization

Ok, this is bizarre. I use a 3rd party software called O & O Shut-Up to help protect some privacy on my system. I disabled it and rebooted and left for a while. When I came back and checked the Group Policies under Windows Update, all of them had disappeared except the one I've listed in the attached image. I still cannot get update KB5003173 to go through. It just reboots and says "We couldn't complete the updates. Undoing Changes" and reboots.

Cannot Clear Group Policies???-policy.png

Bree · 13 May 2021

Xoanon said:

Ok, this is bizarre. I use a 3rd party software called O & O Shut-Up to help protect some privacy on my system. I disabled it and rebooted and left for a while. When I came back and checked the Group Policies under Windows Update, all of them had disappeared except the one I've listed in the attached image...

There is a policy called 'Do not include drivers with Windows Update', you'll find it in 'Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update'. If it shows as enabled in gpedit, then set it to 'Not Configured'. If it doesn't show as enabled, then it may be because not all the relevant registry settings are in place. In that case try enabling it first, then set back to 'Not Configured'.

Xoanon · 13 May 2021

Bree said:

There is a policy called 'Do not include drivers with Windows Update', you'll find it in 'Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update'. If it shows as enabled in gpedit, then set it to 'Not Configured'. If it doesn't show as enabled, then it may be because not all the relevant registry settings are in place. In that case try enabling it first, then set back to 'Not Configured'.

Thank you so much! That did it. It was not enabled but when I enabled it and force updated and then set it back to 'Not Configured' and force updated, now all the Policies under Windows Update are Gone! Appreciate all the help!

Bree · 13 May 2021

dalchina · 14 May 2021

Telemetry and privacy are unfortunately confused. If people were truly convinced MS was spying on them, they would never use email (your emails could be read - especially by Google or MS, of course); they would never use any form of cloud service- especially not Onedrive - as MS would be reading all your documents- and they would never sync their devices- because all that data- and goodness knows how much that might be- is transmitted across the network and would surely be personally monitored by a dedicated team of MS employees.

This disproportionate and partial view of MS telemetry leads to people attempting to 'protect' themselves without putting that in context. Rolls Royce monitors the performance of their engines for pre-emptive maintenance. That's telemetry too.

Note that O&O shutup and the like typically have an option to reset everything to default.

Consider the time undoing this has cost...