Settings are managed by your administrator - PC was part of a Domain

snipusmaximus said:

So if you follow where I am going for Group Policy Editor:

1) Click Start
2) in the search bar type "gpedit.msc" (no quotes) and hit enter

A console snap in will open --- this is the local machine GP editor -

That's not available in Windows 7 Home Premium without a hack which might contravene the licensing terms.

Also it's hit or miss whether those settings actually stick. Some do and some don't.

Registry Help please! - Page 2 - Windows 7 Help Forums

snipusmaximus said:

Isnt joining a domain not an option for home-based OSes?

That is correct however group policy can be applied locally without using a server. However on the home versions you have to use registry entries rather than group policy editor. It is still possible to do do things like disable automatic updates, it's just not as easy to do.