Windows 7 / Getting Started

---

Group Policy Settings in Windows 7

Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 introduced many new categories of policy settings and enhanced some existing policy settings. Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 also present new policy setting categories by which administrators can configure and lock down various aspects of client computers and the experience of those who use them.

Table below summarizes many of the new and enhanced policy categories on these different platforms and indicates their location within the Group Policy Management Editor. This table also indicates whether you can find additional information on these policy settings within this resource kit. Categories of policy settings that are prefixed with an asterisk (*) are new in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, and categories of policy settings prefixed with a double asterisk (**) are enhanced with new policy setting subcategories of policy settings in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2.

New and Enhanced Group Policy Areas in Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Vista, and Windows Server 2008

Category	Decriptions	Location
Attachment Manager	Configures behavior for evaluating highrisk attachments	User Configuration\Policies \Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Attachment Manager
**BitLocker Drive Encryption	Configures behavior of BitLocker Drive Encryption	Computer Configuration\Policies \Administrative Templates\Windows Components\BitLocker Drive Encryption
*BranchCache	Configures BranchCache caching behavior	Computer Configuration\Policies \Administrative Templates\Network \BranchCache
Deployed Printers	Deploys a printer connection to a computer	Computer Configuration\Policies \Windows Settings\Deployed Printers User Configuration\Windows Settings\Deployed Printers
Device Installation	Permits or restricts device installation based on device class or ID	Computer Configuration\Policies \Administrative Templates\System\Device Installation
Disk Diagnostic	Configures level of information displayed by diskfailure diagnostics	Computer Configuration\Policies \Administrative Templates\System \Troubleshooting And Diagnostics\Disk Diagnostic
Disk NV Cache	Configures hybrid hard disk properties	Computer Configuration\Policies \Administrative Templates\System \Disk NV Cache
Event Log Service	Configures behavior for event logs	Computer Configuration\Policies \Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Event Log Service
*Filesystem	Configures compression and other NTFS file system (NTFS) behaviors	Computer Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\System \Filesystem
*HomeGroup	Prevents computers from joining a HomeGroup	Computer Configuration\Policies \Administrative Templates\Windows Components\HomeGroup
**Internet Explorer	Configures Internet Explorer	Computer Configuration\Policies \Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Internet Explorer User Configuration\Policies \Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Internet Explorer
*Network Connectivity Status Indicator	Is used by Network Awareness to verify the network environment	Computer Configuration\Policies \Administrative Templates\Network\Network Connectivity Status Indicator
Network Sharing	Prevents users from sharing from within their profile paths	User Configuration\Policies \Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Network Sharing
Offline Files	Configures slow-link mode for offline files	Computer Configuration\Policies \Windows Settings\Network \Offline Files
Online Assistance	Configures whether users can access untrusted Help content and other Help-related settings	Computer Configuration\Policies \Administrative Templates\Online Assistance User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Online Assistance
Performance Control Panel	Disables access to performance tool	Computer Configuration\Policies \Administrative Templates\System \Performance Control Panel User Configuration\Policies \Administrative Templates\System \Performance Control Panel
Power Management	Configures Power Management options, notifications, behavior of Power button, Sleep behavior, hard disk settings, and video settings	Computer Configuration\Policies \Administrative Templates\System \Power Management
Regional and Language Options	Restricts access to regional and language options	Computer Configuration\Policies \Administrative Templates\Control Panel\Regional And Language Options User Configuration\Policies \Administrative Templates \Control Panel\Regional And Language Options
Remote Assistance	Configures the behavior of remote assistance	Computer Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\System \Remote Assistance
Removable Storage	Controls reading data from and writing data to removable storage devices	Computer Configuration\Policies \Administrative Templates\System\Removable Storage Access User Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\System \Removable Storage Access
Search	Prevents indexing files in offline files cache	Computer Configuration\Policies \Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Search
*TCP/IP Settings	Configures IPv6 transition technologies for DirectAccess	Computer Configuration\Policies \Administrative Templates\Network \TCP/IP Settings
Terminal Services	Configures Remote Desktop client behavior	Computer Configuration\Policies \Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Terminal Services User Configuration\Policies \Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Terminal Services
**Troubleshooting and Diagnostics	Controls the behavior of built-in diagnostics	Computer Configuration\Policies \Administrative Templates\System \Troubleshooting And Diagnostics
User Account Protection	Configures elevation-prompt behavior and related settings	Computer Configuration\Policies \Windows Settings\Security Settings \Local Policies\Security Options
*Windows Anytime Upgrade	Prevents Windows Anytime Upgrade from running	Computer Configuration\Policies \Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows Anytime Upgrade User Configuration\Policies \Administrative Templates \Windows Components \Windows Anytime Upgrade
Windows Customer Experience Improvement Program	Configures Customer Experience Improvement Program behavior	Computer Configuration\Policies \Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows Customer Experience Improvement Program
Windows Defender		Computer Configuration\Policies \Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows Defender
Windows Error Reporting	Configures Windows Error Reporting behavior, including advanced settings and consent behavior	Computer Configuration\Policies \Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows Error Reporting User Configuration\Policies\Windows Components\Administrative Templates\Windows Error Reporting
Windows Firewall with Advance Security	Configures Windows Firewall and Internet Protocol security (IPsec) settings	Computer Configuration\Policies \Windows Settings\Security Settings \Windows Firewall With Advance Security
Windows Logon Options	Displays message when logging on with cached credentials and configures behavior when logon hours expire	Computer Configuration\Policies \Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows Logon Options User Configuration\Policies \Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows Logon Options
*Windows Reliability Analysis	Configures Reliability WMI providers	Computer Configuration\Policies \Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows Reliability Analysis
Windows Update	Enables Windows Update Power Management to wake the system automatically to install scheduled updates	Computer Configuration\Policies \Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows Update