Group Policy Editor Question

1) In the Group Policy Editor, I find some rules in both the Computer Configuration and User Configuration.

For example, Disable Windows Error Reporting is in both, Microsoft Edge options are also duplicated in both, does one need to apply both rules in the computer configuration and user configuration or would the Computer Configuration rules be enough and would apply to all users?

2) How come the Do not show "new application installed" notification has no effect, all my new apps show NEW until I right click on them once or open them for the NEW tag to go away. I initially thought this is a temporary glitch and would get resolved by Windows updates later but it's been this way forever

1)The user configuration only applies to the current user while the computer configuration affects all users. If you're the sole user of the computer you can use either of them.

2)I don't know this setting but maybe what it means is it wont show a notification (the ones shown in the bottom right corner and when you click on the date/ time).

Spartan said:

2) How come the Do not show "new application installed" notification has no effect, all my new apps show NEW until I right click on them once or open them for the NEW tag to go away. I initially thought this is a temporary glitch and would get resolved by Windows updates later but it's been this way forever

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I’ve read about this annoyance before. I believe there is a Vivetool fix for it but don’t know the ID number associated.

This is normally an administrative tool. It's why it doesn't come preinstalled with Windows Home, only with Pro (gamers in particular - confuse this terminology with Ultra/Mega/Ultimate - the best of the best, but it's quite literally an abbreviation from Professional - as in - a Windows for workstations - where extra tools like Group Policy Editor come handy - and same goes for features like BitLocker Drive Encryption - which offers an extra layer of protection). Maybe you've noticed - that making some changes with GPE - you'll get a notification on certain setting pages - which states that " some settings are managed by your organization (restriction set by an Admin - this being a workstation with limited access for whatever reason)". This notification can confuse home users - even sounding rather silly (for a home computer). And that's just it... this feature was not meant for a home computer - but a work group (where it makes perfectly sense).

That being said, at work - you can have different users using same computer - but some have higher privileges (at what they can do on that computer) - and thus - each user account will have its own specific configuration. While the settings from Computer Configuration apply to all users. But this settings are not interlinked - meaning - they apply individually. Computer settings are applied when the computer starts. While User settings - are applied only when a user is logged in.

Side Note: since this is your personal computer - more than likely you're using it on Admin account. And Not - a User account (as it tends to happen in a work environment). Also, more commonly - this work computer is part of a network/domain - and it's not managed directly - but using an Active Directory (from the main server/s - it's where all the configs for Computer, Users, Printers, etc are stored and can be managed remotely).

Some settings are redundant (part of old Windows builds - but Microsoft is infamous for being really messy - taking years to clean, remaster or remake a feature - to the modern state of Windows), but if it's a setting that's still part of current Windows Build (as it's the case with the feature you mentioned) and that setting doesn't apply - you probably broke something. :) Reset all settings to default:: Reset All Local Group Policy Settings to Default in Windows 11 and change that setting again - see if it works now.

When a Group Policy rule is created, it can be defined as:

• Applies only to Machine
  
  There is one setting shared for all Users on the system. Typically it's for a system-level feature, like you cannot have different Windows Update settings for individual users.
  
  
• Applies only to User
  
  One or more users may have the setting applied to them. Having the rule is optional, and every user can end up with a different value.
  
  
• Applies to both User & Machine
  
  When a rule applies to both User and Machine, the policy is evaluated in this order:
  1. If the User has configured the setting, it always applies to that user.
  2. When the User doesn't have a preference, the Machine setting (if it exists) applies as a fallback.

The software developer who created the policy decides how it works. They're just reading a set of specific HKLM or HKCU reg keys, and deciding what actions to take based on the presence (or absence) of those keys and their values. But this is the convention all Windows features are expected to follow.

garlin said:

Applies only to User

One or more users may have the setting applied to them. Having the rule is optional, and every user can end up with a different value.

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You can choose to apply user policies to specific users on your PC. see @Brink tutorial Apply Local Group Policy to Specific User in Windows 10 . But if you don't make those preparations, any user policy you set will apply to all current and future users. If you're administering a domain, you should have your users in domain groups and can apply policies to those groups.

The tutorial also shows that you can apply policies to Admin or Non-Admin users. You might want to apply policies on that basis, but should understand that any admin user can stop user policies applying to themselves. You can't constrain an admin user who knows what they are doing with group policies.