Enabling the telnet client for all Windows 7 PCs on a domain

The telnet client is disabled by default in Windows 7. I would like to enable the telnet client for all Windows 7 PCs in our domain. I know how to enable it manually:

  • Start
  • Control Panel
  • Programs And Features
  • Turn Windows features on or off
  • Check Telnet Client
  • Hit OK

How can I do this for all Windows 7 PCs in the domain? All the Windows 7 PCs are in a separate OU.

Can this be enabled by a registry setting that I can apply to all Windows 7 PCs?

Can it be done by a Group Policy?


You can do this by creating a GPO and linking it to the OU where your Windows 7 PCs are.

Create a script (e.g. \\domain.com\netlogon\enable-telnet-client.cmd) with the following command in it:

dism /online /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:TelnetClient

Assign that script as a computer startup script in your GPO.