Copying Server 2003 Group Policies

[cwissy]

How do you copy Group Policies from one Organizational Unit to another? I tried adding the group policy from one OU to another, but that doesn't seem to work.

 

[aftertaf]

GPOs are not in a specific OU, they are created and stored at the domain level (or site...).

You create a GPO then link it to one or more OUs.

Are you using AD users console or GPMC console?? GPMC is a lot easier

You say you have created a GPO in an OU... when you created your GPO for the OU, it was created in the domain then linked to the OU....

Now you want the same GPO to affect a 2nd OU.... am i right?
Tell us what version of windows you have (2000, 2003) and if you are doing this from a workstation, is it 2000 or XP ??
David

Aftertaf (david)

 

[cwissy]

David
We are using server 2003, we create the group policy in the OU that we want it to apply to, if we right click the OU we have under properties an option for Group Policy, this is where we said 'new' and then edited the policy as to how we wanted it. We now want to apply this policy to another OU in the same domain, the policy gets applied but does not work. Are you saying we should have made it at the domain level and them applied further down? We use the 'edit policy' on the server. We may in the future use on a client (XP Pro) . We have also applied a background in our policy, this sometimes comes through ok but at other times it only half comes, which leaves the screen half black, any idea how to fix this?
Thanks for the help

 

[aftertaf]

Chris,

no matter where you "create" the GPO, it is stored at the domain level... you then link it to one or more OUs.

If you have created your GPO in the OU called Accounts, it is not in the GPO, but in a domain container (actually, in SYSVOL) with all the other GPOs, and it has a link to the OU Accounts...

if you then want to link it to an OU called Helpdesk, you right click this OU, go to group policy and choose to Add.....

you then have a window Add Group Policy Object link (or something like that - translating from french!!)
in the dropdown list, choose your domain... and you will see all the GPOs in your domain
its not the most intuitive tool...
try downloading GPMC.... much more fun to use, and much clearer on this notion of creating and linking GPOs to OUs.

ps cant use it on windows 2000 clients, only XP with .Net framework...
you'll have to put it on yourserver (don't worry, its safe!!!)

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/gpmc/default.mspx

for the background, no idea.... sorry!
try a different one, see if same thing happens...



Aftertaf (david)

 

[cwissy]

Thanks David for that info, ok then we have tried to do just what you said, 'link the gpo to another ou' it seems to have done it ok and it appears but when you login as a user in the 'new' ou the policy does not apply? Sorry to be a pain but I am not understanding this very well.
Chris

 

[aftertaf]

there is a latency, refresh time needed for the PC to update its policy....

reboot the client pc and try again...

if not, GPMC tool has what is called RSOP, resulting set of policy... showing which policies are applied to which user.
I really recommend this tool to you, it will make your GPO use much easier to understand!!

if not there are command line tools, e.g. gpresult .. off the top of my head cant tell you how it works..

http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/reskit/tools/existing/gpresult-o.asp

Aftertaf (david)

 

[Rhodizzle]

Just set the policy, then run gpupdate from the DC.

 

[cwissy]

New info

The policy will work if we make the user a local profile but not as a roaming profile. So we have to make the user a local and them login - policy works ok, - then copy the profile to the server - then all ok?? Any ideas??