How to Apply Group Policy to Windows 11, Servers or Desktops only

Last updated: Oct 27, 2024

It may be useful to be able to apply GPOs to a certain type of machines only. For example, you don't want the GPO that automatically shuts down the OS to be applied to servers. To meet this need, Microsoft offers a solution called WMI filter, so let's see how it works and how to create them!

Create a WMI Filter

Open the Group Policy Manager:

Opening the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) using the Run dialog in Windows

Create a WMI filter:

Creating a new WMI filter in Group Policy Management Console (GPMC)

Give the filter a name and description, then click on Add:

Creating a new WMI filter for Windows 10 in Group Policy Management Console, showing fields for name, description, and the option to add queries

Define the WMI filter, here with the following parameters:
- Version like "10.%" for Windows 10 and Windows 11
- And ProductType="1" for desktops

WMI Query creation window in Group Policy Management Console, showing namespace and query fields for filtering Windows 10 operating systems

We can now link the WMI filter to a Group Policy. Open the GPO, in the WMI Filtering section, select the filter we've just created and click Open:

Applying a WMI filter to a GPO in Group Policy Management Console, showing selection of the Windows 10 filter in the WMI Filtering section

Confirm by clicking on Yes:

Confirmation dialog in Group Policy Management Console asking to change the WMI filter to Windows 10 with Yes and No options

Some examples of WMI Filters

Desktop computer only:

select * from Win32_OperatingSystem WHERE ProductType = "1"

Windows 11:

select * from Win32_OperatingSystem where Version like "10.0.2%" and ProductType="1"

Windows 10:

select * from Win32_OperatingSystem where Version like "10.0.1%" and ProductType="1"

Windows 7 or Vista:

select * from Win32_OperatingSystem where (Version like "10.%" or Version like "6.0%") and ProductType="1"

Windows Server 2025:

select * from Win32_OperatingSystem where Version like "10.0.2%" and ProductType="3"

Windows Servers (Domain Controller Only):

select * from Win32_OperatingSystem where ProductType="2"

Windows Servers (Non-Domain Controller):

select * from Win32_OperatingSystem where ProductType="3"

Windows 10 64 bits or Windows 2016/2019 DC:

select * from Win32_OperatingSystem where Version like "10.0.1%" and (ProductType="1" or ProductType="2") and OSArchitecture = "64-bit"

Parameters List

Here are some parameters to help to make your own filters.

Parameters
Desktops	ProductType = "1"
Servers (Domain Controller Only)	ProductType = "2"
Servers (Non-Domain Controller)	ProductType = "3"
32 bits	NOT OSArchitecture = "64-bit"
64 bits	OSArchitecture = "64-bit"
Windows XP or Server 2003/R2	Version like "5.1%" or Version like "5.2%"
Windows Vista or Server 2008	Version like "6.0%"
Windows 7 or Server 2008R2	Version like "6.1%"
Windows 8 Server 2012	Version like "6.2%"
Windows 8.1 or Server 2012R2	Version like "6.3%"
Windows 10 or Server 2016/2019	Version like "10.0.1%"
Windows 11 or Server 2025	Version like "10.0.2%"

Note: Type "ver" in a terminal to display the Windows version.

Command Prompt showing Windows version information using the 'ver' command

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How to Apply Group Policy to Windows 11, Servers or Desktops only

Create a WMI Filter

Some examples of WMI Filters

Parameters List