Windows 11 Enterprise default permissions

I did a fresh install of Windows 11 Enterprise and I noticed that, by default, it has restrictions in place such as not being able to access network drives, etc.

My primary interest in the Enterprise version is the extra year of support compared to the regular versions, which is especially relevant for older hardware that won't be supported by 24H2 and will have to ride-out 23H2 as long as possible.

So is it possible to install Windows 11 Enterprise with the same default permissions that you would get with Windows 11 Pro? If so, what is the easiest way to accomplish this?

Without knowing what kind of restrictions in place, there is no way to help resolve them.

FreeBooter said:

Without knowing what kind of restrictions in place, there is no way to help resolve them.

Click to expand...

This is a completely fresh install of Windows 11 Enterprise onto a system with only one hard drive, a drive that was completely unpartitioned prior to the install. So I'm just assuming that these restrictions are inherent to Windows 11 Enterprise. I have never encountered them with Windows 11 Pro.

I am getting error 0x800704f8 "You can't access this shared folder because your organization's policies block unauthenticated guest access. These policies help protect your PC from unsafe or malicious devices on the network"

In addition, the Optical drive is not showing up, and USB thumb drives are not being recognized. This is all consistent with what you might expect in an office environment to protect data, etc, but in this case, these restrictions have been enabled by default on a fresh install. The computer is not part of a domain or anything like that.

You should check for applied group policies that may place restrictions.

Open the Command Prompt with admin rights and execute the below command.

Enterprise versions no longer allow Guest access to a Network Share. The computer must login to a User Name Password.
Read the Resolution section of this Web Page Guest access in SMB2 and SMB3 is disabled - Windows Server

Your USB drive and Optical drive may be due to drivers missing.
Press the Windows key +X and choose Device Manager. Any devices with yellow marks needs drivers to be installed from the Computer or Motherboard manufacturer.

FreeBooter said:

You should check for applied group policies that may place restrictions.

Open the Command Prompt with admin rights and execute the below command.

Code:

GPRESULT /H %UserProfile%\Desktop\GPReport.html /F

Click to expand...

I'm not sure what to look for specifically, but nothing sticks out like a sore thumb.

Spunk said:

Enterprise versions no longer allow Guest access to a Network Share. The computer must login to a User Name Password.
Read the Resolution section of this Web Page Guest access in SMB2 and SMB3 is disabled - Windows Server

Your USB drive and Optical drive may be due to drivers missing.
Press the Windows key +X and choose Device Manager. Any devices with yellow marks needs drivers to be installed from the Computer or Motherboard manufacturer.

Click to expand...

OK, well that explains the network issue. The optical drive is definitely related also though, and can't be a driver issue. It's a SATA optical drive, connected to the same ICH7 SATA controller that the SSD is connected to. In trying to diagnose the issue, I did an install of Windows 11 Pro first. Everything worked great. Network, Optical Drive, and USB Flash Drive. I changed the key from Pro to Enterprise, and like turning off a light-switch, the optical drive disappeared and no longer appears in device manager at all. The USB flash drive disappeard, does not show up in device manager at all, and acts like it's not even plugged in.

There should be not any policy set by default, but if there is you will see it at log file.

It sounds like the Enterprise Windows is not Activated?
Enterprise Editions are activated via a KMS Server on the Domain Controller or Network.

Spunk said:

Enterprise Editions are activated via a KMS Server on the Domain Controller or Network.

Click to expand...

Or with a MAK from the VLSC, which is now moved to the 365 admin center.

GotNoRice said:

I did a fresh install of Windows 11 Enterprise and I noticed that, by default, it has restrictions in place such as not being able to access network drives, etc.

My primary interest in the Enterprise version is the extra year of support compared to the regular versions, which is especially relevant for older hardware that won't be supported by 24H2 and will have to ride-out 23H2 as long as possible.

So is it possible to install Windows 11 Enterprise with the same default permissions that you would get with Windows 11 Pro? If so, what is the easiest way to accomplish this?

Click to expand...

Do you have a valid Enterprise licence?

The 24H2 issue is a total red herring unless your pc is over 15 years old in which case, it would struggle to run Windows 10 anyway.

cereberus said:

The 24H2 issue is a total red herring unless your pc is over 15 years old in which case, it would struggle to run Windows 10 anyway.

Click to expand...

It's been my experience that a Core2Quad system can still make a fine basic office system, so long as it has an SSD and enough RAM. I have several of them running Windows 11 23H2 already. At this point I'm simply exploring options regarding what versions of Windows could be used on these systems past when 23H2 expires in November 2025. I was investigating Education/Enterprise because 23H2 gets an additional year of support compared to Pro.