How To Use the Group Policy Editor to Manage Local Computer Policy in Windows XP

This article describes how to use the Group Policy Editor to change local policy settings for the computer or for users of the computer.

Uses of Group Policy

In Microsoft Windows XP, you use Group Policy to define user and computer configurations for groups of users and computers. You create a specific desktop configuration for a particular group of users and computers by using the Group Policy Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in. The Group Policy settings that you create are contained in a Group Policy Object (GPO), which is in turn associated with selected Active Directory containers, such as sites, domains, or organizational units (OUs). With the Group Policy snap-in you can specify policy settings for the following:

•Registry-based policies.

These include Group Policy for the Windows XP operating system and its components and for programs. To manage these settings, use the Administrative Templates node of the Group Policy snap-in.

•Security options.

These include options for local computer, domain, and network security settings.

•Software installation and maintenance options.

These are used to centrally manage program installation, updates, and removal.

•Scripts options.

These include scripts for computer startup and shutdown, and user logon and logoff.

•Folder redirection options.

These allow administrators to redirect users' special folders to the network. With Group Policy, you can define the state of users' work environment once and rely on the system to enforce the policies that you define.

How to Start the Group Policy Editor

To start the group policy editor, follow these steps.NOTE: You must be logged on to the computer using an account that has administrator privileges in order to use Group Policy Editor.

1.Click Start, and then click Run.

2.In the Open box, type mmc, and then click OK.

3.On the File menu, click Add/Remove Snap-in.

4.Click Add.

5.Under Available Stand-alone Snap-ins, click Group Policy, and then click Add.

6.If you do not want to edit the Local Computer policy, click Browse to locate the group policy object that you want. Supply your user name and password if prompted, and then when you return to the Select Group Policy Object dialog box, click Finish. NOTE: You can use the Browse button to locate group policy objects linked to sites, domains, organizational units (OU), or computers. Use the default Group Policy Object (GPO) (Local Computer) to edit the settings on the local computer.

7.Click Close, and then in the Add/Remove Snap-in dialog box, click OK.The selected GPO is displayed in the Console Root.

How to Use the Group Policy Editor

The Group Policy snap-in contains the following major branches:

•Computer Configuration

Administrators can use Computer Configuration to set policies that are applied to computer, regardless of who logs on to the computers. Computer Configuration typically contains sub-items for software settings, Windows settings, and administrative templates.

•User Configuration

Administrators can use User Configuration to set policies that apply to users, regardless of which computer they log on to. User Configuration typically contains sub-items for software settings, Windows settings, and administrative templates.To use the group policy editor, follow these steps:

1.Expand the GPO that you want. For example, Local Computer Policy.

2.Expand the configuration item that you want. For example, Computer Configuration.

3.Expand the sub-item that you want. For example, Windows Settings.

4.Navigate to the folder that contains the policy setting that you want. The policy items are displayed in the right pane on the Group Policy Editor snap-in.NOTE: If no policy is defined for the selected item, right-click the folder that you want and then on the shortcut menu that appears, point to All Tasks, and then click the command that you want. The commands that are displayed on the All Tasks submenu are context sensitive. Only those commands that are applicable to the selected policy folder appear on the menu.

5.In the Setting list, double-click the policy item that you want.NOTE: When you work with policy items in the Administrative Templates folder, click the Extended tab in the right pane of the MMC if you want to view more information about the selected policy item.

6.Edit the settings of the policy in the dialog box that appears, and then click OK.

7.When you are finished, quit the MMC.

Example

The following example illustrates the use of the Group Policy Editor to customize the Windows XP user interface. In this example, we will use the Group Policy Editor to temporarily remove the Turn Off Computer button from the Start menu. To do this, follow these steps:

1.Start the Group Policy Editor and open the Local Computer policy by using the steps provided in the How to Start the Group Policy Editor section of this article.NOTE: You can start the Group Policy Editor snap-in from the command line. This automatically loads the Local Computer GPO. To do this, follow these steps:

a. Click Start, and then click Run.
b. In the Open box, type Gpedit.msc, and then click OK.

2.Expand User Configuration (if it is not already expanded).

3.Under User Configuration, expand Administrative Templates.

4.Click Start Menu and Taskbar.

5.In the right pane, double-click Remove and disable the Turn Off Computer button.

6.Click Enabled, and then click Apply.

7.Click Start.Notice that the Turn Off Computer button is no longer displayed.

8.Select the Remove and disable the Turn Off Computer button Properties dialog box.

9.Click Not Configured, then click Apply, and then click OK.

10.Click Start.Notice that the Turn Off Computer button is again displayed on the Start menu.

11.Quit the Group Policy Editor snap-in.

Shift to delete

Ever want totally remove a file form your computer? In Windows, when you delete a file by pressing the Delete key, a copy pf your file is moved to the Recycle Bin.

Anyone who opens your Recycle Bin can easily see the files that you have deleted recently. To prevent files from being deleted to the Recycle Bin, select the file you wish to delete, hold down the Shift key, and then press Delete.

Remember that when you use this method to delete files, you will not to able to retrieve them from the Recycle Bin.

Keeping Tabs On Startup Programs

Q : What’s a good program to see what runs on my computer when I start it up? MSConfig just confuses me.

A : I used to recommend MsConfig, a configuration tool included in most version of Windows, but I can’t anymore. It offers next to zero guidance about the identity of each start-up component – you basically have to Google or guess to learn what each eight-character filename listed in MsConfig means.

If you run Windows XP, use Microsoft’s free Windows Defender (www.microsoft.com/windowsdefender) instead. This antispyware program includes a System Explorer (available under its toolbar’s Tool icon) that list every start-up program, including its full name and creator, and lets you disable any of them. Altough Defender is still in beta testing, it’s been trouble-free in my use.

If you run an older version of Windows or you have problems that stymie Windows Defender, try SysInternals’ free Autoruns (www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/Autoruns.html)

This program presents more technical data but remains relatively simple to operate : Select its “Everything” tab, then click checkboxes under the Autorun heading to disable unwanted startup programs. (you don’t need to do anything else to confirm your changes, just exit the program and restart at that point).

Microsoft itself thought well enough of Autoruns to buy SysInternals in July – LAT-WP

Create a startup disk

IN WINDOWS XP, you can easily create a bootable floppy disk.

Just place a blank disk in the drive, right-click the floppy disk drive icon in My Computer, and then click Format on the shortcut menu.

In the "Format options" section, check the box next to "Create an MS-DOS startup disk," and then click Start.

In a few minutes, you will have a bootable startup disk.