WIN2K Srv SP4 & XP Pro SP1 GPO policy problems

[DCS]

I don't know if you can help or not but here goes... I
have a Win2k Server SP4 and Win XP Pro SP1 Attmpting to
apply OU GPO to the XP machine but it ignores the
policies.. Policies work fine between Win2k Server and
Win2k Pro machines... I have heard that there is a fix
available on Win2003 Server disk to address just this
issue, any truth or can you offer any help or advice?

 

[Doug Sherman [MVP]]

Probably what you are experiencing is WinXP's default 'fast logon' feature.
By default, Windows XP does not wait for the network to be fully initialized
at startup and logon. Any existing users logging on are logged on using
cached credentials. This provides faster logon times, but because the
computer doesn't wait for the network to be fully started, Group Policy is
applied in the background (asynchronously) once the network becomes
available.

As a result of this, many policies are are not immediately effective upon
log in and certain types of policy changes (eg. folder redirection) may not
be effective until you have logged on more than once. You can change this
behavior with - are you ready? - Group Policy:

Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\System\Logon - Always wait
for the network at computer startup and logon

For more information, see:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/tr...et/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/MngWinXP.asp

Doug Sherman
MCSE Win2k/NT4.0, MCSA, MCP+I, MVP