Temporarily remove Group Policy in Windows 7

Question

Using Windows 7 Professional I need to get access to the Folder Options screen.

At work we primarily use Windows XP and are connected to a domain. Through Group Policy we disable access to the Folder Options. We use a tool called KillPol that temporarily removes Group Policy and lets me access the screen. This tool doesn't work on Windows 7 and I can't find a replacement.

Any ideas on how I can get access to the Folder Options screen in Windows 7 when it is disabled through GP?

Answer 1

Silly, impatient me! Here's my solution.

To use KillPol on Windows 7 I had to disable UAC. I disabled UAC and was still unable to use the program to remove GP. I did not know I had to reboot the computer after I disabled UAC. After the reboot the program worked like a charm.

Answer 2

This is relatively easy with administrator co-operation: move the computer in AD to a different OU and modify the policy on that OU. Then force a refresh of the policy on the computer.

Without administrator co-operation you might be breaking corporate rules to bypass policy, but it can be done by a local administrator. If you identify the registry key that the policy sets you can modify the value to the default and set a deny ACL to prevent SYSTEM from modifying the key (this will black GP re-applying the policy).