08/04/2011, 1:15 pm
If you edit Group Policy on you local computer you will be glad to hear that Microsoft has just released the Remove Server Admin Tools update for Windows 7 Service Pack 1 which has an updated version of GPMC. This resolves the "The update does not apply to your system” error message if you had re-installed Windows 7 and loaded Service Pack 1 and then you tried to install RSAT.
Get it here http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=7d2f6ad7-656b-4313-a005-4e344e43997d
Related Article: How to download and install the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC)
18/02/2011, 9:25 pm
Update: Now that I have installed the final version of IE9 on 6 computers 2 of them needed to rebook so it would seem that it may or may not require a reboot. This seems to be dependent on what application you are running at the time. Therefore it would still be prudent to plan for a reboot but not always expect it to happen.
I have just install IE9 on a Windows 7 and a Windows Server 2008 R2 computer running Service Pack 1 and I was very pleased to see that in both cases it does not required a reboot to install. Previously I have installed IE9 on 3 Windows 7 computers that were not running service pack 1 however they all required a reboot to install IE9. Therefore it seems that with Windows 7 / 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 installed it is now possible to install IE9 without a reboot. (see images below).
Disclaimer: I have only seem this behaviour on one computer so far but I am testing it one more really soon. I have now repeated this process on a Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 and Windows 7 SP1. It looks more likely that this option to install IE9 without a reboot is a new feature of Service Pack 1.
One of the dialogue boxes (see below) on Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 during the IE9 install asks if you want to the installer to close your running programs to install it without a reboot. So if you select the “Close programs for me (I already save my work)” opting the browser will be installed without a reboot.\
( FYI: The screenshots below are from a computer running Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 with the Domain Controller role installed and running. )
The next screen is the dialogue box during install of IE9. As you can see IE8 and the Explorer shell has been closed during the install but the OS has NOT rebooted.
After IE9 is installed the Explorer Shell is launched again still without interruption to the OS.
This is a huge deal as it means that it is likely that updates to the browser will be able to be installed without having to require a reboot of the OS. Now this may be a nice have for end users however this is a much bigger deal for Windows Servers as IT administrators as they can now patch what is the most vulnerable part of the server OS (the browser) without any down time. This should hopefully mean that IT administrators will not need to revert to installed “Server Core” versions of the server OS’s just to ensure that they don’t have to reboot them every patch Tuesday to keep them secure.
I know this is not specifically a Group Policy topic however this is a really super cool find that I just had to share with everyone…
18/02/2011, 10:02 am
Microsoft today announced (after what seems to be a very long time) they have RTM’d Windows 7 / Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 and it will be released to the public on February 22nd.
Update: Service Pack 1 is now available for download for TechNet and MSDN subscribers.
Previously I had listed the hotfixes in the beta version of the service pack, so I have again combed through the hotfix list for you convenience and I have updated the list to include the release candidate hotfixes. While this is not the final list of hotfixes Ned Pyle [MSFT] says “it’s very doubtful that the lists below will be altered much” so you can pretty much take the following list as final. In any case I will review the list when the final list of fixes is out but for now here is the list of issues.
Updated: The final list of hotfixes is now out ( Here ) and after a quick look they appear to be the same as expected.
If you have anything to do with supporting group policy in your organisation then I recommend that you at least take a look at the articles to see if you have encountered any of the problem described.
| KB Article / Link |
KB Description |
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http://support.microsoft.com/kb/969867
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FIX: You cannot import or paste some group policies across domains by using the "Group Policy Management" MMC snap-in
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http://support.microsoft.com/kb/970840
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Some settings in Group Policy Preferences for Internet Explorer 7 do not deploy correctly to computers that are running Windows Server 2008 or Windows Vista
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http://support.microsoft.com/kb/972069
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A terminal server that is running Windows Server 2008 cannot obtain terminal licenses from a Terminal Server license server that is running Windows Server 2008 after you enable the "License Server Security Group" Group Policy setting
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http://support.microsoft.com/kb/976398
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LDAP filters in the Group Policy preference settings do not take effect on a computer that is running Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7
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http://support.microsoft.com/kb/976399
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FIX: You cannot apply Group Policy settings on a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 when security group filters are used in Group Policy preference settings
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http://support.microsoft.com/kb/977353
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A Group Policy Immediate Task preference item does not run on a client computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2
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http://support.microsoft.com/kb/977695
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The SceCli 1202 events are logged when some Group Policy settings are refreshed in Windows Server 2008 R2 and in Windows 7
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http://support.microsoft.com/kb/977944
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The "Desktop Wallpaper" Group Policy setting is not applied in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2
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http://support.microsoft.com/kb/978489
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Logoff process stops responding after you create a logoff Group Policy script on a client computer that is running Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008
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http://support.microsoft.com/kb/978837
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The Group Policy Management Editor window crashes when you apply some changes for NRPT policy settings
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http://support.microsoft.com/kb/979039
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Error message when you view or modify the migrated Group Policy objects in Windows Server 2008 R2: "Attribute cannot be empty"
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http://support.microsoft.com/kb/979731
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Some Group Policy preferences are not applied successfully on computers that are running Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2
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http://support.microsoft.com/kb/980259
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The SNMP service does not respond to any SNMP requests after a Group Policy refresh in Windows Vista or in Windows Server 2008
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http://support.microsoft.com/kb/980628
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The "Load a specific theme" Group Policy setting is not applied correctly on a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2
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http://support.microsoft.com/kb/981054
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The Group Policy preference settings for the "Terminal Session" item-level targeting item are not applied in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2
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http://support.microsoft.com/kb/981177
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You can still unpin a program from the taskbar unexpectedly when you enable the "Do not allow pinning programs to the Taskbar" Group Policy on a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2
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http://support.microsoft.com/kb/981265
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You cannot create a software installation Group Policy setting on a read-only domain controller in Windows Server 2008 R2
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http://support.microsoft.com/kb/981750
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Error message occurs when you use GPMC to view a software restriction Group Policy setting in Windows 7 and in Windows Server 2008 R2: "An error has occurred while collecting data for Software Restriction Policies"
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http://support.microsoft.com/kb/982606
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The value of the "State" registry item is changed after a Group Policy preferences setting is applied in Windows Server 2008, in Windows Vista or in Windows Server 2008 R2
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http://support.microsoft.com/kb/982709
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Only the first search term is searched for when you configure the "Pin Internet search sites to the ‘Search again’ links and the Start menu" Group Policy setting in Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2
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http://support.microsoft.com/kb/983618
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Some Group Policy settings are not displayed in the Group Policy Results report in Windows Server 2008, in Windows Vista, in Windows Server 2008 R2, or in Windows 7
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http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2096902
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Virtual machines in a VDI environment are not rolled back as expected if the disconnected Remote Desktop connections on the virtual machines are stopped by Group Policy
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http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2284538
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"Apply once and do not reapply" Group Policy setting is never applied after the first GPO deployment fails on a client computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2
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http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2254754
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You experience a GPO report-generation issue in the GPMC window when you try to generate the report in a localized version of Windows 7 or of Windows Server 2008 R2
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http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2258620
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You cannot find the "Find Now," "Stop," and "Clear All" buttons in the GPMC snap-in on a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2
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http://support.microsoft.com/kb/979383
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After you apply a WMI filter, the GPO does not take effect on a client computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2
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http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2028960
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The Offline Files Disk Usage Limits settings do not reflect the settings that are defined in the GPO in Windows 7
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You can also see the complete list of Active Directory Hotfix’s at Ask the Directory Services Team blog posting SP1 and Directory Services: What’s New .
16/08/2010, 8:39 am
In the July 29 to August 12th Hot-fix release for Windows 6/7 there have been a number of Group Policy related hotfixes released. As far as I can tell none of these hotfixes are listed as being in Windows 7 Service Pack 1 that is currently in beta (see The complete list of Group Policy Hotfix’s in Windows 7/2008 R2 Service Pack 1) so if you are experiencing any of the above hotfixes it will be some time before you will be able to deploy them as part of a service pack.
- KB2250489 You cannot turn off the screen saver in the Windows Mobility Center when the "Prevent changing wallpaper" Group Policy setting is enabled on a computer that is running Windows Vista SP2
- KB2261826 You cannot find a network drive in the "Browse For Folder" dialog box in the GPMC MMC snap-in on a computer that is running Windows Server 2008 or Windows Vista
- KB2096902 Virtual machines in a VDI environment are not rolled back as expected if the disconnected Remote Desktop connections on the virtual machines are stopped by Group Policy
- KB2254754 You experience a GPO report-generation issue in the GPMC window when you try to generate the report in a localized version of Windows 7 or of Windows Server 2008 R2
- KB2258620 You cannot find the "Find Now," "Stop," and "Clear All" buttons in the GPMC snap-in on a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2
- KB2275315 You cannot read the GPO in the SYSVOL directory in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2 if you enable the "Deny write" permission of the GPO
- KB2284538 Apply once and do not reapply Group Policy setting is never applied after the first GPO deployment fails on a client computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2
Source: Jul. 29 – Aug. 12 Hot-Fix KB articles Weekly Release – Windows 6/7 – The Hot Blog – Site Home – TechNet Blogs
13/07/2010, 8:32 am
The beta of Windows 7/Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 beta has now been released to the public for testing. For your benefit I have parsed through the complete list of hotfixes and I have listed out all the group policy specific setting. If you just want the service pack right now you can download it here http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/ff183870.aspx
I have highlighted the two hotfixes that stand out it my mind as the issues that have been most annoying bugs with group policy with Windows 7 RTM.
I have also posted an installation screenshot walk though on my other blog here http://www.smartergeek.info/2010/07/install-screenshots-windows-7-service-pack-1-beta/
