Applying security settings.... hangs on W2K client

[ElvisTie]

I have a Windows 2000 Pro with SP 2 on a laptop
installation that is taking an extraordinary amount of
time to reach the login screen upon booting. The "applying
security settings...." window hangs for up to 20 minutes,
then the Ctrl-Alt-Del screen finally appears. We have
local Group Policy settings established on this client.
Assistance with this issue would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

ET

 

[John]

Check the following path %systemroot%\security\templates\policies. Check to
see if the files located in this directory are read only. The policies dir
is a hidden by default.

If so, use attrib.exe to remove the read only bit and then delete the files.
Check the policies that are applying security as well to see if the
gpttmpl.inf is also read only and remove if necessary.

 

[Buz [MSFT]]

I good place to start with this woul be to disable thrid party services and
programs and see if the issue still occurs this is called a cleanboot.
Perhaps you will need to do this from Safe Mode.
Also make sure we are pointed to a Windows 2000 Domain Controller for DNS.
What happens when you log in as a different user? Is there another admin
account you can use, if not create one and test.

Here is the cleanboot process, you will need to first aquire the
MSCONFIG.exe utility from a machine running Windows XP and toss it in the
Winnt directory of this computer:

We want to implement the Clenaboot process using MSCONFIG to rule out 3rd
party software as the cause of this issue. MSCONFIG from XP can be used on a
Windows 2000 Pro or Server client.

Go to Start\Run type in Msconfig and press OK.
Go to the Startup tab.
Click on "Disable All"
Go to the Services Tab
Click on "Hide all Microsoft Services"
Uncheck the 3rd party services that are left
Press OK twice to reboot.

Once your computer is restarted see if the issue still occurs. if it still
does go to Msconfig and select Enable All on the startup tab.
If the issue does not occur go to the Startup tab and select items 4 at a
time or so with reboots in between to narrow down the exact item causing
your problem.

310353 How to Perform a Clean Boot in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=310353

Buz Brodin
MCSE NT4 / Win2K
Microsoft Enterprise Domain Support

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