Software install GPO's Can you move them?

[Stuart_C]

Currently I have a fairly organised Tree structure for my AD.
I have a computer OU and then beneath it OU's for all the departments.
When I was installing some software via GPO it rquired me to install it then make some config changes to the machines so I did each department individually applying the GPO to the sub OU.

Now I'm looking at tidying up. If I remove the software install GPO from all my Sub-OU's and apply it to the top OU are the clients going to try uninstalling the software and re-installing it? Just re-installing it? or not care?

Any ideas?

[Domino]

it depends - on the install packages, check properties and check the deployment tab, then see if the 'uninstall when it falls out of management' is ticked.

If thats unticked, it should stay installed and not try and reinstall on a reload.

[powdarrmonkey]

If I remove the software install GPO from all my Sub-OU's and apply it to the top OU are the clients going to try uninstalling the software and re-installing it?

Yes. I got bitten by this before, regardless of whether that box was ticked or not. If you just remove the object, it leaves well alone, but if you re-assign it somewhere else, it does a reinstall.

[srochford]

Yes. I got bitten by this before, regardless of whether that box was ticked or not. If you just remove the object, it leaves well alone, but if you re-assign it somewhere else, it does a reinstall.

Are you sure you didn't create a new GPO doing the same thing? Software installs are tracked by the GUID of the GPO and that won't change so it shouldn't reinstall the software just because you link it somewhere else. I've certainly been bitten because I've deleted the actual object (not just the link) and created a new one.

[FN-GM]

Have you made a special GPO for the deployment? If you have you can move the whole policy up a level by linking it to the OU and removing the link from the old one.

[powdarrmonkey]

Are you sure you didn't create a new GPO doing the same thing? Software installs are tracked by the GUID of the GPO and that won't change so it shouldn't reinstall the software just because you link it somewhere else. I've certainly been bitten because I've deleted the actual object (not just the link) and created a new one.

Mmm, possibly. It was a couple of years ago now, and I haven't dared try since, so I may have done.

Edit: sorry, I didn't read the OP carefully enough, and understood 'remove' to be literal.

[Stuart_C]

Have you made a special GPO for the deployment? If you have you can move the whole policy up a level by linking it to the OU and removing the link from the old one.

Yes it's a specific GPO for deployment of this software package. I'm just tidying up.

I take it I should be ok to move the same GPO. Though not 100%... It's just if it does a re-install it creates a massive ammount of work for me if it rests the software.

Second time round When I had to delpoy some software to computers slowly (as I needed to verify deployment) I created a GPO at the top level and then a group of computer for that GPO to applied to. As I went round the site I added more computers to that group until I had finished. Unfortunately that was SECOND time round....

[powdarrmonkey]

Yes it's a specific GPO for deployment of this software package. I'm just tidying up.

I take it I should be ok to move the same GPO. Though not 100%... It's just if it does a re-install it creates a massive ammount of work for me if it rests the software.
...

Yes, it should be fine in this case (dislaimer: I'm not responsible for Windows doing its own thing anyway).

[kennysarmy]

I now have a similar issue and wonder how you got on....

I've created an MSI for FLASH which I am deploying out by dept. after first manually uninstalling the old versions.....reason for doing this is I've been caught out by PC's refusing to boot on occasion when deploying FLASH via MSI without first removing old versions and I am taking it nice n easy this time...

Once I have all my sub OU's each with FLASH installed I then want to be able to just move the software install GPO up one level to the machines container....

Will this work?

[AngryTechnician]

As long as you are moving the GPO itself from one container to another, and not removing the software from one GPO and adding it to another, it should be fine.

I am curious as to why you created your own MSI for Flash when Adobe make their own?

[garethedmondson]

I now have a similar issue and wonder how you got on....

I've created an MSI for FLASH which I am deploying out by dept. after first manually uninstalling the old versions.....reason for doing this is I've been caught out by PC's refusing to boot on occasion when deploying FLASH via MSI without first removing old versions and I am taking it nice n easy this time...

Once I have all my sub OU's each with FLASH installed I then want to be able to just move the software install GPO up one level to the machines container....

Will this work?

This is how we do it. NO software is applied to the top level. Instead I apply to the individual departments. This makes it a lot easier if I need to test things.

GJE

[kennysarmy]

As long as you are moving the GPO itself from one container to another, and not removing the software from one GPO and adding it to another, it should be fine.

I am curious as to why you created your own MSI for Flash when Adobe make their own?

sorry bad englishes

i meant i'd created a GPO that installed the adobe MSI...

:0


<<<shoots himself...