Where are changes to group policy stored?

[Norman R]

Hi
I am trying to learn more about how changes to group policy are stored. I do
know how to make changes using the group policy editor. I am interested in
where the data is stored for all those changes.
Are they in the registry or a file or ...

Thanks

Norman

 

[davetest]

Hi
I am trying to learn more about how changes to group policy are stored. I do
know how to make changes using the group policy editor. I am interested in
where the data is stored for all those changes.
Are they in the registry or a file or ...

Thanks

Norman

They're in the registry...
Dave

 

[S.J.Haribabu]

Hi Norman,

Group policies are stored in Active directory partitions. Look at the white
paper on Storage of Group Policy objects

Each computer running Windows 2000 has exactly one local Group Policy
object. It is stored in %systemroot%System32\GroupPolicy.

Group Policy objects other than the local Group Policy object consist of
two parts, stored separately: the Group Policy container and the Group
Policy template. Information that is small and infrequently changed resides
in the Group Policy template, while information that is large or frequently
changed is kept in the Group Policy container. The Group Policy user
interface does not expose them separately.

Group Policy container
====================
The Group Policy container is a directory service object. It includes
subcontainers for computer and user Group Policy information. The Group
Policy container contains the following data:

Version information. This is used to make sure the information is
synchronized with Group Policy template information.
Status information. This indicates whether the Group Policy object is
enabled or disabled for this site, domain, or organizational unit.
List of components. This specifies which extensions to Group Policy have
settings in the Group Policy object.
The Group Policy container stores information for the Software Installation
snap-in and the Folder Redirection snap-in, two extensions of Group Policy.

Group Policy template
===================
The Group Policy template is a folder of domain controllers for the storage
domain of the Group Policy object. A typical Group Policy template folder
might look like this example:

systemroot\Sysvol\SYSVOL\Streetmarket.com\Policies\
{34975054-fd77-df75-54fe-074936850457}

Subfolders of the Group Policy template
==================================
The Group Policy template folder contains subfolders including but not
limited to the following:

adm. Contains all of the .adm files for this Group Policy template.
Scripts. Contains all the scripts and related files for this Group Policy
template.
User. Includes a Registry.pol file that contains the registry settings to
be applied to users. When a user logs on to a computer, this Registry.pol
file is downloaded and applied to the HKEY_CURRENT_USER portion of the
registry. The User folder contains the following subfolders:
User\Applications. Contains the .aas files (application advertisement
scripts) used by the operating system-based installation service. These are
applied to users.
Machine. Includes a Registry.pol file that contains the registry settings
to be applied to computers. When a computer initializes, this Registry.pol
file is downloaded and applied to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE portion of the
registry. The Machine folder contains the following subfolders:
Machine\Applications. Contains the .aas files used by the operating
system-based installation service. These are applied to computers.

Look at the Group Policy Storage Model at
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/reskit/samplechapters/dsec/dse
c_pol_cxxv.asp

Group policy history is stored in registry, go thru KB article for more
details
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=http://support.microsoft.com:
80/support/kb/articles/q201/4/53.asp&NoWebContent=1

Hope this will help you to give better understanding on GP storage.

Thanks,

(e-mail address removed)

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

 

[Kelly]

Hi Norman,

In XP, they are stored in the registry. To get a clear read on them all,
download and run Regmon. As per the former, start here:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Group Policy
Objects .....

 

[Alex Nichol]

Group policies are stored in Active directory partitions. Look at the white
paper on Storage of Group Policy objects

Each computer running Windows 2000 has exactly one local Group Policy
object. It is stored in %systemroot%System32\GroupPolicy.

This is a Windows XP group. Please do not post Windows 2000 methods
without checking that they are still correct. Group policies in XP Pro
may have not relation to Active Directory - indeed Active Directory may
not be in use at all.