BGinfo user

[Cazale]

Hey,

 

I know this question has been asked before (I'll explain why I ask again below), but has anyone had experience of running BG Info across the LAN, and if so, how did you get around the problem of it needing admin rights to run on client PCs over the network?

 

I'll explain the setup: bginfo and a settings file in a remote share on a server. A GPO then puts a shortcut in StartUp across the network pointing to the share, with options set to run from the settings file and to ignore the splash screen/EULA (etc).

 

Tested on several PCs and this set up runs fine, but only if you are logging in as admin, once you use a normal user account it fails to launch. The reason I'm asking this question again is because the solutions I've seen (here and elsewhere) used a registry trick to get around this problem. I'd really rather avoid going down that route unless absolutely necessary.

 

There is a bunch of stuff I haven't tried (i.e. I know I can push BGinfo and the settings file out using a GPO and run them locally. I'd prefer for them to be centrally managed but that is one solution). It's just that I've just go to the point where I've realised that many people have probably encountered this exact problem and I can probably save some time by just asking. So, anyone got any other solutions?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

p.s. I definitely do not want to store admin credentials anywhere in plain view (I've seen some people use runas, with username and password in plain view or relying on security through obscurity. For quite obvious reasons, that isn't happening).

[3s-gtech]

I use GPP to copy a small, 1x1 .bmp file to C:\Windows. This is the bginfo background file on the local machine. I then set the properties on this via GPP so that users have permission to change it.

 

I then use bginfo from a central share, so I can customise a single file and script. I don't need runas, reg hacks or anything like that with this method. I do also set this file as the background using Group Policy, as sometimes the bginfo script only updates the file, it doesn't apply it to the desktop.

Edited June 9, 2015 by 3s-gtech

[Boredguy]

On startup we have a script that copies our central BGInfo files and template wallpapers to the local computers.

It then runs BGInfo from that local folder to set the station logon screen wallpaper (and subsequently converts it to jpg and moves it into the oobe folder)

 

Student and Staff have a logon script that calls their BGI config file from the local folder.

At no point is any user credentials used to run BGInfo.

[hallb15]

Or just stick it in the netlogon folder...

[sonofsanta]

We just have bginfo.exe and the .bgi config file in the GPO Logon Scripts folder and call bginfo.exe as a startup script with the arguments filename.bgi /timer:0 /NOCLIPROMPT /SILENT

 

The .bgi file points at a JPG file on the local hard drive these days, but only to cut down on network traffic at logon; we used to just call it from a central share. Can't say I've ever had any problems with permissions.