IE10 Homepage via GPP - every other setting works apart from home page?

[sidewinder]

I've been trying to configure a group policy preference to set the homepage in IE10. There have been a few other threads about this I know but none have helped.

The thing is, the preferences are definately applying, as if I tick a random option anywhere else and then check it on a client, it has worked. It is only the homepage that will not work - it insists on defaulting to about:blank

I know about pressing F6 to make the line green underneath the setting, which I have done (screenshot attached)

 

I'm setting the GPO on our 2012 DC, domain level is still only 2008R2 (though that shouldnt matter surely?) and clients are Win 7 x86

 

What am I doing wrong?

 

[tomgrindle]

When I tried using Group Policy it didn't work for me either.

 

I ended up importing the following into the Registry at login:

 

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main]

"Start Page"="http://www.google.co.uk"

"Default_Page_URL"="http://www.google.co.uk"

 

Tom

[tomgrindle]

Did it by having saved as a .reg file and ran the following script in our login.bat:

 

objShell.Run("cmd.exe /c regedit.exe /s " & AUP & "\\domain.local\netlogon\InternetSettingsStaff.reg")

[sidewinder]

Thanks. I've tried adding those registry entries using a GPP registry option which should work as well as a script but still it gets set to about:blank. I have a suspicion that something else is setting this!

[sidewinder]

Ok this is driving me insane - why does the GPP registry setting not apply??? I've even created a brand new GPO with just this setting and applied it to another OU but no, it will not change the settings in HKCU. No errors are logged. Changing settings in HKLM always works fine, why not HKCU? Tried update, create and replace, none work.

[googlemad]

Did you ever sort this? This is happening to us too despite trying the registry keys!

[InterwebsGuy]

I got this to work, I had to use the GPP Preference Items tool.

Enable and Disable Settings in a Preference Item

Edit: Just re-read your original post. I had the same problem, but the preference item setting is definitely what made it work.

Edited November 6, 2013 by InterwebsGuy

[whartomt01]

Any Chance you used MDT to deploy your images. Is about:blank the homepage your task sequence sets. I had similar problem. Just showed whatever homepage was set on my task sequence. But after a while I figured it set the homepage on second login just not the first

[googlemad]

We do use MDT, that did go some way to explaining it however not much use to resolving the issue on the 300+ PCs already imaged!

 

But just this morning I've found a fix!

 

As above you create a GPP for IE8 under User Configuration > GPP > Control Panel Settings > Internet Settings of your relevant group policy putting in the relevant homepage (And pressing F5 to make a green line appear under it before clicking OK!).

 

Then you go to C:\windows\sysvol\sysvol\yourdomain.ac.uk\Policies and search for InternetSettings.xml. Once found, open up the file in notepad and modify the line type="VERSION" gte="1" min="8.0.0.0" max="11.1.0.0" to that (so the max is 11).

 

Clint Boessen's Blog: Changing Home Page for Internet Explorer 10 through Group Policy