Windows 10 GPOs and more

Author by Marcus Musial

Here are a few links that I send to my customers who are starting to manage and tweak Windows 10.  Most of the items below are GPO related.  I also included how to modify the Start menu, and a nice script on GitHub that has many different settings that can be changed in Windows 10 (using PowerShell).  I hope these help you get started with Windows 10.

When creating a Win10 image, the script in the link below can be handy. At the minimum, you can see a bunch of settings you can turn on or off in Win10.  If you see something here that interests you, then you should consider finding the GPO that adjusts that setting and apply it using the spreadsheet in the link further below.
https://gist.github.com/alirobe/7f3b34ad89a159e6daa1
  

The following are other links that will help with Win10 GPOs.
GPO items that apply only to Win10 Enterprise and EDU:
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/itpro/windows/manage/group-policies-for-enterprise-and-education-editions
Download link for latest GPO reference spreadsheet (you can sort by when each policy was released):
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=25250
Administrative Template download site:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=53430

Start menu layout:
Creating XML:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/configuration/customize-and-export-start-layout
Adding to GPO:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/configuration/customize-windows-10-start-screens-by-using-group-policy

Other:
Disable "Check online for updates":
https://miketerrill.net/2016/10/11/disable-check-online-for-updates-from-microsoft-update-in-windows-10/
Turn off Creators update notification:
https://osddeployment.dk/2017/03/21/how-to-remove-windows-10-creators-update-is-on-its-way-in-windows-update/


Below is a list of about 13 GPOs to consider starting with.  You can do a search for the name in the spreadsheet that has all the GPOs (above) if you need to see what the descriptions is for these.  Please research for yourself what each does before you implement them into your environment.

Policy Name Location Special Note
Turn off Microsoft consumer experiences Computer Configuration \ Administrative Templates \ Windows Components \ Cloud Content https://www.ghacks.net/2016/03/02/turn-off-microsoft-consumer-experience/
Show first sign-in animation Computer Configuration \ Policies \ Admin Templates \ System \ Logon\  
Only display the private store within the Windows Store app User Configuration or Computer Configuration \ Administrative Templates \ Windows Components \ Store https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/itpro/windows/manage/stop-employees-from-using-the-windows-store
Allow antimalware service to remain running always Computer Config \ Policies \ Admin Templates \ Windows Components \ Windows Defender May be needed if another anti-virus is running and you also want Defender to run.
Start Layout User Configuration or Computer Configuration \ Administrative Templates \ Start Menu and Taskbar  
Allow Cortana Computer Configuration \ Administrative Templates \
Windows Components \
Search		  
Allow Telemetry User Configuration or Computer Configuration \ Administrative Templates \ Windows Components \ Data Collection and Preview Builds Turns off reporting of system usage to Microsoft. (The setting of Enabled is not a misprint.)
Turn Off Application Telemetry Computer Configuration \ Administrative Templates \ Windows Components \ Application Compatibility Turns off reporting of application usage to Microsoft.
Allow Input Personalization Computer Configuration \ Administrative Templates \ Control Panel \ Regional and Language Options Turns off remote analysis of typing history, contacts, calendar, and e-mail information
Turn Off Advertising ID Computer Configuration \ Administrative Templates \ System \ User Profiles  
Allow Windows to automatically connect to suggested open hotspots, to networks shared by contacts, and to hotspots offering paid services Computer Configuration \ Administrative Templates \ Network \ WLAN Service\WLAN Settings\Allow Windows to automatically connect to suggested open hotspots, to networks shared by contacts, and to hotspots offering paid services  
Download Mode Computer Configuration \ Administrative Templates \ Windows Components \ Delivery Optimization  
Prevent the usage of OneDrive for file storage Computer Configuration \ Administrative Templates \ Windows Components \ OneDrive  

 

Author

Marcus Musial