How to Disable the Group Policy Client Service

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The Group Policy Client service is a service on Windows that helps to control policies related to computer security and access restrictions. While this service normally can't be disabled through traditional channels, you can disable it by modifying the system registry. If this process is completed, your computer will thereafter warn you that it cannot connect to the Group Policy Client service every time you start it up, which may--depending on how you use your computer--become an annoyance.

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Step 1

Click on the "Start" button, open the "Run" menu and then type "REGEDIT" into the Run window.

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Step 2

Hit the "Enter" key and then use the left navigation pane of the Registry Window to browse to the "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\gpsrv" subkey in the registry.

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Step 3

Right-click on the "gpsrv" subkey and click on "Permissions." Open the "Advanced" tab, click on "Owner," select your user account from the list and then click on the "OK" button. Click on the "Administrators" group, click "Full Control" and then click "OK."

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Step 4

Double-click on the "Start" key in the right-hand pane and change its value to "4." Close the Registry Editor and reboot the computer. Upon rebooting, the Group Policy Client service is disabled.

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