How to Clear Restrictions on the Internet Options Tab

Clear the restrictions from the Internet Explorer Internet Options settings from the Windows Registry Editor.

According to the Microsoft website, if you are receiving an error stating "This operation has been canceled due to restrictions in effect on this computer" while trying to access Internet Options from Internet Explorer, the network administrator may have restricted your access to the Internet Options configuration. You can use Windows Registry Editor to clear this restriction. However, this error can also occur if the Inetcpl.cpl file is missing from the Windows System32 folder on your computer. If the error is occurring due to the missing file, you must reinstall Internet Explorer to fix this problem.

Instructions

Registry Editor

1. Open the Windows "Start" menu and select "Run," type "regedit" into the "Run" dialog window and press "OK" to open the Windows Registry Editor. If you are using Windows Vista or 7, you can open the Windows Registry Editor by typing "regedit" into the "Start" menu search.

2. Double-click the "HKEY_CURRENT_USER" folder in the left-side folder list in Windows Registry Editor to view a list of its sub-folders. Expand the "Software," "Policies" and "Microsoft" folders as well.

3. Expand the "Internet Explorer" folder and find the "Restrictions" sub-folder. If there is no "Restrictions" sub-folder in the Internet Explorer folder, return to Step 1 and repeat these same steps with the "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE" folder.

4. Click on the "Restrictions" folder and find the "NoBrowserOptions" registry entry in the right-hand registry entry pane of the Windows Registry Editor. Right click on the "NoBrowserOptions" registry key and select "Modify" from the right-click menu. Type "1" into the "Value Data" input field and click "OK" to save these changes.

5. Close the Windows Registry Editor and restart your computer for these changes to take effect. If the Internet Options restriction error is still occurring, proceed to the Reinstall Internet Explorer section of this article.

Reinstall Internet Explorer

1. Open Internet Explorer, access the "Help" menu and select "About Internet Explorer" to find out which version of Internet Explorer you are using.

2. Visit the Microsoft Reinstall or Repair Internet Explorer website and follow the correct instructions pertaining to your version of Internet Explorer to reinstall Internet Explorer.

3. Restart your computer once Internet Explorer is finished reinstalling for these changes to take effect.

Tips & Warnings

• Access the Internet Options configuration by clicking on "Network and Internet" and then "Internet Options" from the Windows Control Panel.

• To access Internet Options from Internet Explorer, open the "Tools" menu and select "Internet Options."

• Do not edit or delete any registry values that you are not familiar with; this may result in corrupted or incomplete registry entries.

References

• Troubleshooting Windows: Restrictions Error While Opening Internet Options
• Microsoft Support: Windows Registry Information For Advanced Users
• Microsoft Support: Clicking "Internet Options" on the Tools Menu Returns Error Message
• Microsoft Support: Reinstall or Repair Internet Explorer

Resources

• Microsoft: Reinstall or Repair Internet Explorer