Preventing Users from Changing Start Menu Settings

This setting will disable and gray out the settings for the Start in the Settings app. It will also disable the Taskbar settings (Taskbar properties) context menu option that you can access by right-clicking on the Taskbar. However, it will not disable the Taskbar settings from the Settings app. The reason that it has a Taskbar included in this setting is that in the previous version of Windows, a user had to open the Taskbar and Start Menu settings by right-clicking on the Taskbar and choosing the properties option. By disabling that context menu through the previous version of Windows would have completely disabled the Taskbar and Start Menu settings. Whereas in Windows 10 the settings appear in the Settings app, so it does disable the Start Menu settings but not the Taskbar settings. You can use it to at least disable some of the Start Menu settings. Some of the settings in the Local Group Policy Editor were designed for previous versions of the operating system, but it can still work on the newest versions.

Method 1: Using the Local Group Policy Editor

The settings for disabling the Start Menu settings can be found in the Local Group Policy Editor. It is listed under the User Configuration, and it’s not available for the Computer configuration. The policy settings in the Local Group Policy Editor also show the details about that setting that you clicked. However, you can skip this method if you are using the Windows Home Edition because the Local Group Policy Editor isn’t available in that operating system.

Method 2: Using the Registry Editor

The Registry Editor is connected with the first method. Whenever you change the policy setting in the Local Group Policy Editor, it will automatically update your Registry. However, if you are using Windows Home Edition, then this may be the only method available for you. It requires a bit more steps than the first method, but it is not that hard. You can easily disable the Start Menu settings by following the below steps: Note: We always recommend users to create a backup before making any changes in their Registry Editor.

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