Last Updated on August 1, 2026
Group Policy is the “engine” Windows uses to manage system settings, security restrictions, and software configurations. In a corporate environment, it’s how IT admins disable the Control Panel or map network drives for thousands of PCs at once. However, even on a home PC, policies can be changed by software installations or leftovers from a previous work network, leading to frustrating restrictions like “Some settings are managed by your organization.”
If you find yourself locked out of certain Windows settings, you need to see exactly which policies are active. The Resultant Set of Policy (RSOP) tool is the fastest way to get a visual report of every active restriction currently affecting your computer.
If you notice that access to something like Control Panel is blocked or you aren’t able to change your desktop wallpaper it could be a result of a group policy on your computer. There is an easy way to check what policies if any are applied to your computer and that is to run the Resultant Set of Policies (RSOP) on your computer. Then you can see if you want these policies to be in effect and if not disable them assuming you have the right permissions.
Using the RSOP Console
1. Open the Windows Run Box
Press Windows Key + R on your keyboard to open the Run box. You can also right-click the Start button and select Run from the context menu. This gives you direct access to execute system commands.
2. Execute the RSOP Command
Type rsop.msc into the text field and press Enter. This specific command launches the Microsoft Management Console pre-loaded with the Resultant Set of Policy snap-in. Ensure you are logged in with administrative privileges to see the full scope of system restrictions.
3. Wait for the Policy Scan
Windows will immediately begin “Calculating Resultant Set of Policy.” This scan looks at your local settings and any domain-level policies to see what the final “winning” configuration is. It parses through thousands of registry keys to build a visual report.
4. Browse the Active Folders
Once the console opens, you can browse through the folders just like the standard Registry or Group Policy Editor. Note that RSOP will only show you settings that are currently Defined. If a folder appears empty, it means no special policies are active in that specific category.
5. Review the Applied Results
Then you will be shown the RSOP results but you will need to click though all the sections to see what policies are applied to your computer. Notice that it will only show the ones that are applied and not any that haven’t been changed. For example in the Microsoft OneDrive section it shows that 1 policy has been disabled and 1 policy has been enabled.
6. Compare with the Group Policy Editor
If you run gpedit.msc to open the Group Policy Editor and then go to the OneDrive section you will see that it shows all of the settings. It displays the one that was disabled, the one that was enabled, and every single unconfigured policy. RSOP filters out the noise so you only see what is actively restricting your machine.
The “All Settings” Shortcut
1. Launch the Group Policy Editor
If RSOP feels too slow, you can see every active policy in one single list using the Local Group Policy Editor. Type gpedit.msc in the Start menu and press Enter. This opens the master configuration console for your Windows operating system.
2. Navigate to All Settings
Navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > All Settings on the left side menu. This specific folder aggregates every single machine-level policy into one massive list.
3. Sort by Policy State
Click the State column header to sort the list. Any policy marked as Enabled or Disabled is currently active. You can double-click them and change them to Not Configured to restore the Windows default behavior immediately.
4. Understand Remote Capabilities
So you may be thinking, what is the point of the Resultant Set of Policies tool if you can just sort by State in the regular console? You can run the RSOP on remote computers to see what policies are applied on them rather than having to go to each computer and run it locally. Of course you will need the appropriate network permissions to do so.
Generate a Detailed Report Using GPResult
1. Open an Administrative Terminal
For the most detailed report, use the Command Prompt. This is necessary because RSOP cannot see “Group Policy Preferences” like mapped network drives or specific registry tweaks. Right-click the Start button and select Terminal (Admin) or Command Prompt (Admin).
2. Run the Computer Scope Command
To generate a report for the computer settings, type the command gpresult /scope computer /v and press enter. This prints a highly detailed text output directly into your terminal window showing every active machine-level restriction.
3. Run the User Scope Command
To see the report for the current user, type the command gpresult /scope user /v and press enter. This isolates the output to show only the policies affecting your specific Windows user profile.
4. Export the Results to HTML
Expert Tip: To save this report as a clean web page you can read easily, type gpresult /h report.html. This will create a file named “report.html” in your current folder that contains a beautiful, organized summary of absolutely everything.
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