Lock or Unlock Control Panel in Windows 11

Have you ever faced problems accessing the Control Panel on your Windows computer? If so, this tutorial is for you. Today, I will explain the reasons for autoblocking on the Control Panel and the solution to fix it.

Yesterday, Gregory Samuel mentioned he could not open the Control Panel on his Windows 11 laptop.

Gregory is a client of CoreNetworkZ Tech Solutions, and we often talk to each other about the custom software solutions I developed for his company.

I checked his Windows 11 laptop and fixed the problem. I understand that some of my readers also may face a similar issue. So, I am writing a tutorial for those who cannot open the Control Panel on a Windows device.

Let me explain the reasons that prevent a Windows user from accessing the Control Panel.

According to the survey conducted by CoreNetworkZ Tech Solutions, the primary reason for a locked Control Panel on Windows computers is a malware infection.

Sometimes, you may witness a blocked Control Panel (CP) on your computer after a malware attack.

Malicious programs lock this App to prevent you from accessing Control Panel items. I understand that you want to know how they do it.

Most of the time, they change values in Group Policy or Windows Registry to lock it. It may remain locked even if you remove malware from your computer.

This tutorial tells how to unlock the disabled Control Panel on your computer with Group Policy and Registry.

Sangeetha Mohan, a regular reader of CoreNetworkZ Tech Solutions, mentioned she could not see the Control Panel in the Windows Start menu.

Well, that is not a problem. Even if you cannot find CP and Control Panel items on the Windows Start menu, you can fix it from Group Policy Editor.

I will explain two ways to unlock a blocked Control Panel on a Windows computer. The first method is by Group Policy Editor, and the second is by Windows Registry.

1. Use Group Policy Editor to Lock and Unlock Access to Control Panel

   1. Type gpedit.msc on Run (Press [Windows] and [R] to open the Run window).

      

   2. Click the 'User Configuration' under the Local Policy Editor.

   3. Click on Administrative Template and select Control Panel.

      

   4. Double-click "Prohibit Access to the Control Panel" and click Enable to block it on your laptop. If you select disable, CP will be accessible.

      

   5. Save the changes and reboot the PC.

2. Unlock and Lock the Control Panel From the Windows Registry

   Let me explain the second method in this section. Once you have unlocked CP from Group Policy( if the issue persists), you must look at Registry. Malware can disable the Control Panel from there, so you must unlock it manually.

   1. Start Windows Run by pressing the Windows and R keys together.

   2. Type regedit on the Run and press the OK button.

      

   3. Go to the location

      HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Policies\Explorer

   4. Select Explorer and right-click on the right side to create a new DWORD(32-bit) Value.

      

   5. Change the name to NoControlPanel and double-click on it. Now, change the value data to 1. Click OK.

      

      Reboot the PC.

   James C, a regular reader of CoreNetworkZ Tech Solutions, asked me about the keys. So, let me answer him here. If you set the key value as 1, your computer will not allow users to open the Control Panel. A value of 0 means you can access the Control Panel. I hope you understand the point.

Let me conclude this article now. Today, I explained how to block and unblock the Control Panel on Windows devices. I hope you enjoyed this article. Let me know your feedback in the comment section.