Synchronous logon scripts - FFS!!!

[SpuffMonkey]

Not sure whether this should be here or in the FFS area. We have been having probs with slow logins and logon stuff not being fully applied. Reading up on MS suggests running the logon scripts synchronously, so that they all have to finish before the PC can be used - seems a good idea...

However, it becomes apparent after a while that certain bits of the scripts no longer actually work (eg TerminatorX which stops the kids running naughties). After much faffing about and days of testing each part of the scripting process - it appears that running the scripts synchronously has the effect of killing off any child processes when the script finishes - great what a gotcha - advise me to run synchronously so that the scripts will apply properly - but if you do - kill off the processes that the scripts kick off - brilliant - a work of genius! Further searching on MS after I discover this shows that this is not a problem - but a design feature.

Any body got a work round that leaves my scripts working??

[sahmeepee]

KLUDGE ALERT

I'm ashamed of myself for suggesting it but you could make your script schedule a task that runs once (i.e. now+2 seconds) then deletes itself. I've never scripted the creation of scheduled tasks, but everything's possible.

[Geoff]

You could use the 'start' command to run the command in a seperate process.

[SpuffMonkey]

You could use the 'start' command to run the command in a seperate process.

I was using the start command - which is one of the reasons it took me a long while to find the problem - it just didn't seem possible that it would get chopped off

[Ric_]

You could run the process as a Windows service using that MS tool whose name I have forgotten

[DMcCoy]

What you really need to do is work out why the policy isn't applying properly. Do you have the option enabled to make windows wait for the network before it logs in?

[mark]

at the risk of sounding stupid, can't you run the critical scripts [that prevent users geting up to no good] first and less important stuff like adding printers last [maybe frustrating]? - is that an option?

[SpuffMonkey]

at the risk of sounding stupid, can't you run the critical scripts [that prevent users geting up to no good] first and less important stuff like adding printers last [maybe frustrating]? - is that an option?

Yeah - but my moan was that as soon as the script finishes - any child processes are terminated without warning - so the prevention programs that are started simply end. I wasn't expecting a solution as MS say this "works as designed" - but it seems flippin daft to me!

[ZeroHour]

Hmm hate to say it but I would not even bother with terminatorx when you could just use proper group policy file execution paths to stop them running the vast amount of things and it also gets around a process sitting in the system.
But thats more of a side point, if you must use terminatorx I would say roll out a package that uses the machine run area of the registry to start it up, or even just create your own service to run the app although this does mean it probably wont be executing as the logged in user but if it reports back the useful data it would be fine.
If you wanted to be sneakier you could just get the script to create a lnk to the terminator app on there startup folder regardless of its existance. It would then run after the scripts and be running as the current user
Just depends on your network alot matey though.