Share this article
Improve this guide
You Don’t Have Permission to Perform This Operation [Fix]
Check verified solutions that worked for other users
5 min. read
Updated onOctober 4, 2023
updated onOctober 4, 2023
Share this article
Improve this guide
Read our disclosure page to find out how can you help Windows Report sustain the editorial teamRead more
Key notes
Group Policy Editor is a console in Windows that allows users to seamlessly change the security settings. However, many reported getting theYou don’t have permission to perform this operationmessage when opening Group Policy.
So, when the Group Policy Editor fails to launch, you are unable to manage permissions and configure what’s accessible and what’s not to the user accounts, along with a bunch of other critical settings.
But, you usually come across theYou don’t have permission to perform this operationerror due to a trivial issue with the Group Policy Editor or the system itself. So, let’s find out how you can get things up and running in this case.
Why do I seeYou don’t have permission to perform this operation?
The error message, as clearly evident, suggests that you don’t have the required permissions to access Local Group Policy Editor. And this is usually the case when you are logged in with a non-administrator account.
Also, for many, it turned out that the current user account was corrupt, which led to theYou don’t have permission to perform this operationerror message while opening Group Policy settings.
Besides, the underlying cause may very well be the misconfigured Registry. Certain apps modify the Registry keys, which can lead to the error message. So, you will have to check that as well.
How do I fixYou don’t have permission to perform this operationfor Group Policy?
1. Verify that you logged in with an administrator account
As stated earlier, theYou don’t have permission to perform this operationerror with Group Policy is usually encountered when you are not signed in with an administrator account.
So, check that, and if you are indeed signed in as a standard user, either log out and use an administrator account, or change the account type, as detailed in the next solution.
2. Change the account type to administrator
After changing the account type to Administrator, verify if theYou don’t have permission to perform this operationerror when opening Group Policy goes away. If not, head to the next method.
3. Try opening Group Policy with Command Prompt
For some users who came across theYou don’t have permission to perform this operationerror earlier with Group Policy, opening it via Command Prompt turned out to be an effective solution.
4. Modify the Registry
5. Create a new user account
If the previous methods didn’t work, you can alwayscreate a local accounton the computer. Once done,set the account as administratorto grant the required permissions.
This will work in case of a corrupt user account and get things up and running right away. Now on, you wouldn’t see theYou don’t have permission to perform this operationmessage when accessing Group Policy.
And, you can alwaysfix a corrupt user account, but since that takes time, creating a new one is often the easier solution. Though the linked guide is for Windows 10, the solutions work on the latest iteration as well.
How do I reset GPEdit.msc (Local Group Policy Editor)?
That’s it! Now, all you have to do is restart the computer, and Windows will automatically switch to the default settings for the Group Policy.
By now, you would have theYou don’t have permission to perform this operationerror with Group Policy fixed, and in case it started after you made some inadvertent changes, there’s the option to reset it.
Also, find out how toinstall Group Policy Editor in Windows 11 Home editionin case you are running it on the PC and want to modify the policies.
If you have any other queries or know of a method that’s not listed here, drop a comment below.
More about the topics:administrator account
Kazim Ali Alvi
Windows Hardware Expert
Kazim has always been fond of technology, be it scrolling through the settings on his iPhone, Android device, or Windows PC. He’s specialized in hardware devices, always ready to remove a screw or two to find out the real cause of a problem.
Long-time Windows user, Kazim is ready to provide a solution for your every software & hardware error on Windows 11, Windows 10 and any previous iteration. He’s also one of our experts in Networking & Security.
User forum
0 messages
Sort by:LatestOldestMost Votes
Comment*
Name*
Email*
Commenting as.Not you?
Save information for future comments
Comment
Δ
Kazim Ali Alvi
Windows Hardware Expert
Kazim is specialized in hardware devices, always ready to remove a screw or two to find out the real cause of a problem.
