W11 - now thinks I'm a managed computer

Background: I recently upgraded from W10 to W11. We have 2 identical laptops. My husband's got his notification to upgrade to W11, but I never did. So I manually performed the PC Health Check and manually upgraded to W11.

I've had so many problems since upgrading: Quite a few of them seem to be linked to the fact that now my computer thinks I'm managed by some organization. This has always been a home computer. I only have 1 user account, and it's a Microsoft user account, set up as admin.

I chatted with a Microsoft Support (I should say 'non-support') person for a Defender issue. He asked if this was a work/school computer, to which I answered no (because I hadn't yet linked the problems to that 'other' issue). After many attempts to solve my Defender issue, he said I would have to reset Windows from the cloud. I'm trying really hard not to have to do that, because a) I would have to reinstall all my personal programs again and b) I'm not sure it would solve the issue, if the main issue is that my computer suddenly thinks it's a work or school computer

lliefveld said:

now my computer thinks I'm managed by some organization.

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Welcome to Eleven Forum.

A 'Managed by your organization' notice just means that you have made some registry changes that modify how Windows behaves. If you have Pro and have used the Group Policy Editor to enable one or more policies than that would do it. Likewise, some manual registry edits can have the same effect, as would some tweaks using the like of Winaero Tweaker.

For example, I have one group policy in place to make Windows ask me before downloading and installing updates.

I have Windows Home version, and I've never used the Group Policy function.

There seem to be a bunch of things I don't have access to (grayed out or function missing) because it thinks I'm 'managed'.

How do I fix this? I checked the function you shows a picture of, and here's what it says"

lliefveld said:

There seem to be a bunch of things I don't have access to (grayed out or function missing) because it thinks I'm 'managed'.

How do I fix this?

Click to expand...

Have you ever tweaked any registry settings, or used an app like WinAero Tweaker to do so? If so you need to undo the changes (if you can remember what they were).

lliefveld said:

I recently upgraded from W10 to W11

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Did you upgrade within the last 10 days? If so then you still have time to roll back to Windows 10.
..................................
Oops! I just saw the 21st April 2022 date lower down so forget my post.

Based on what you told tech support and the reason why you answered the way you did....

lliefveld said:

I chatted with a Microsoft Support (I should say 'non-support') person for a Defender issue. He asked if this was a work/school computer, to which I answered no (because I hadn't yet linked the problems to that 'other' issue).

Click to expand...

for me, the question still remains.... do you have a Microsoft 365 Office business or school account? "If" so, that "may" be the issue.

The other possibility is you had a registry tweak you did under 10 and is now causing the notification in 11.

Dru2 said:

Based on what you told tech support and the reason why you answered the way you did....

for me, the question still remains.... do you have a Microsoft 365 Office business or school account? "If" so, that "may" be the issue.

The other possibility is you had a registry tweak you did under 10 and is now causing the notification in 11.

Click to expand...

I don't have Microsoft 365. I have Office 2016. It's possible I did a registry tweak under 10, but if so, it's been so long I have no idea what it might have been. The only time I tweak the registry is if I end up with some kind of error and when I google it, I find some way to fix it in the registry.

What I first noticed after I upgraded to W11 was that Defender didn't show up on my taskbar, but I figured it would just be somewhere else in 11. Then, I tried to go to Windows Security, and got a message something like "you need an app to do this..." . I started googling that and executing a few recommended cmd commands. But I still got that message. That's when I called MS Support. He was able to get me around that message, and I can now get into Windows Security. But most of the Defender options are grayed out. And the new Chrome update has a 'privacy and security' option that isn't showing up, and that update says it won't show up if the computer is managed by the organization.

So..... if I do bite the bullet and 'reset Windows using the cloud', as the support guy suggested', will it clear up the 'managed by an organization' issue? or will it just keep those settings? I think it's really weird that I could have done something in 10 and not had any issues, but suddenly had issues in 11.

I don't see anyplace where it says what organization it thinks I'm managed by, but there was something I looked at to try (can't remember now what it was), and it said I had to log in as an admin, not as my regular email address. But my Microsoft accounts (which is my email address) is an admin account.

lliefveld said:

It's possible I did a registry tweak under 10, but if so, it's been so long I have no idea what it might have been.

Click to expand...

Yeah, it's hard to undo what you don't remember you did

lliefveld said:

So..... if I do bite the bullet and 'reset Windows using the cloud', as the support guy suggested', will it clear up the 'managed by an organization' issue? or will it just keep those settings? I think it's really weird that I could have done something in 10 and not had any issues, but suddenly had issues in 11.

Click to expand...

Honestly if you're having all those issues, perhaps a reset is in order. The other option is a clean install, but as in most things in life it's dependent on tech level and what you feel like tackling. In a clean install, you'll likely have to hunt for and install drivers. And obviously all your programs will need to be reinstalled... so that means finding your product keys, and getting thing reactivated.

If it was me, I'd probably do a clean install... but that decision means I accept what goes with it.

Good luck.

Dru2 said:

Yeah, it's hard to undo what you don't remember you did



Honestly if you're having all those issues, perhaps a reset is in order. The other option is a clean install, but as in most things in life it's dependent on tech level and what you feel like tackling. In a clean install, you'll likely have to hunt for and install drivers. And obviously all your programs will need to be reinstalled... so that means finding your product keys, and getting thing reactivated.

If it was me, I'd probably do a clean install... but that decision means I accept what goes with it.

Good luck.

Click to expand...

So, what's the difference between a 'reset from the cloud' that he told me to do, and a 'clean install'.

To me, a 'clean install' is installing from an original CD. But of course, I don't have an actual Win11 disc. I installed 11 from the Microsoft website, as I recall. Or is a 'clean install' the same as wiping everything out to an empty drive and installing from there???

And either way, I'll have to reinstall all of my software. As I understand it, a reset will leave the 'standard' Windows programs (whatever those are), but all the software I personally installed goes away.

lliefveld said:

either way, I'll have to reinstall all of my software. As I understand it, a reset will leave the 'standard' Windows programs (whatever those are), but all the software I personally installed goes away.

Click to expand...

Yes, a reset will do that.

Before you try one, or do a clean install, it would be worth seeing in an in-place repair upgrade would sort out your issues. This retains all your files and installed apps.

I'm unfamilar with "reset from cloud" but it's apparently the same as resetting from a local partition. Either way, you'd lose all installed programs. (You'd have the option to keep data files.)

A quick Web search finds some solutions that require deleting Window Registry entries. My concern is how those entries might have been created in the first place, if you've never had a corporate or educational version.

I don't know if this would help, but if it was me, I'd image the current installation, and then do a repair install. It's not 100% guaranteed, but a repair install is usually not destructive.

Another path: try MS support again. In the past, I've found that after a few tries, I got a support tech who could offer better advice than re-installing the OS.

Dru2 said:

If it was me, I'd probably do a clean install.

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I second that. If you decide to go the reset route, be sure to choose the 'delete everything' option. That will put Windows 11 in OOBE (out of box experience) where you can set up your user account and start from scratch. Backup your personal files first.

lliefveld said:

So, what's the difference between a 'reset from the cloud' that he told me to do, and a 'clean install'.

To me, a 'clean install' is installing from an original CD. But of course, I don't have an actual Win11 disc. I installed 11 from the Microsoft website, as I recall. Or is a 'clean install' the same as wiping everything out to an empty drive and installing from there???

And either way, I'll have to reinstall all of my software. As I understand it, a reset will leave the 'standard' Windows programs (whatever those are), but all the software I personally installed goes away.

Click to expand...

I've not heard of a "reset from cloud"? Perhaps they meant this...

And you follow these instructions for a clean install of Windows 11...

That said, and in keeping things simple, perhaps for you the better route is a reset. A repair install as indicated above it also another option, but it requires an install disk.

With everything going on and a question of whether you have any install media, I would suggest resetting the PC. "If" the PC then reverts back to Windows 10, you can always upgrade to Windows 11 again.

Good luck.

Dru2 said:

I've not heard of a "reset from cloud"? Perhaps they meant this...

Click to expand...

In the tutorial you linked to there is this note that explains it:

You can use the Cloud download option to get Windows from the cloud to reinstall, instead of reusing the existing Windows files to construct a fresh copy. This can be a more reliable way to reinstall Windows and, depending on internet speed, can be faster too. To get a similar result before, you would have to download Windows and create a USB stick. But because this is built-in to Windows, it doesn’t require the extra steps of creating a USB stick to do the installation.

lliefveld said:

So..... if I do bite the bullet and 'reset Windows using the cloud', as the support guy suggested',

Click to expand...

Dru2 said:

I've not heard of a "reset from cloud"? Perhaps they meant this...

Reset Windows 11 PC

This tutorial will show you how to reset Windows 11 and Remove everything or Keep my files. You can reset Windows 11 when your PC isn’t working well and it’s been a while since you installed an app, driver, or update. Resetting reinstalls Windows 11, but lets you choose whether to keep your...

www.elevenforum.com

Click to expand...

See note under step #5 inside the linked tutorial. And yes, use that if the option is available.

What is a problem with "Managed" like that ? If you are admin with Admin account, you are the one that manages it.

Try this:

1. Open command prompt with admin permission
2.Execute these commands then restart the computer
reg delete "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies" /f
reg delete "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\WindowsSelfHost" /f
reg delete "HKCU\Software\Policies" /f
reg delete "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Policies" /f
reg delete "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies" /f
reg delete "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsStore\WindowsUpdate" /f
reg delete "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\WindowsSelfHost" /f
reg delete "HKLM\Software\Policies" /f
reg delete "HKLM\Software\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Policies" /f
reg delete "HKLM\Software\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies" /f
reg delete "HKLM\Software\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsStore\WindowsUpdate" /f

CountMike said:

What is a problem with "Managed" like that ? If you are admin with Admin account, you are the one that manages it.

Click to expand...

I don't have any input on the Defender issue. I can get in and out of the Windows Security section without any issues. But the above is my thought also.

I have almost the same setup as the OP (slight difference in OS Build, I'm still using .675.). I updated from W10 to W11, when I was notified in December 2021. I see the same message as the OP, when I look under "Configured Update Policies". But I expect that. I have never changed any policies of any kind, nor do I intend to. I am the admin with the admin account and I am the one managing it. There is no other organization, other than maybe MS, that is managing things. That seems to be just a stock message that MS generates.

lliefveld said:

I've had so many problems since upgrading: Quite a few of them seem to be linked to the fact that now my computer thinks I'm managed by some organization.

Click to expand...

What other issues do you have, that you have linked to the "managed" issue? W11 does have a few warts. I have several small issues that I just live with. I have a audio issue with "one" single web site (the audio is fine on my phone, but not my laptop) and I have Explorer windows shrinking on their own.

For my own system, I would hesitate reinstalling. I have a similar issue, with applications that I would hate to reinstall. I'm still running Office 2007.

CountMike said:

What is a problem with "Managed" like that ? If you are admin with Admin account, you are the one that manages it.

Click to expand...

for some reason, even though my account is an admin, there are functions not available.
Examples: This is what Windows Security looks like. Several features, including 'virus and threat protection' are missing'. Note: This is coming from the 'Start' menu.




From Control Panel:



The above is the issue that started the whole thing. I'm trying to find the place where all but one of the options were grayed out, so I couldn't change the settings, but can't find it again.

It's strange, I have that Manged message too but no problems.