Group Policy Software Deployment Conundrum.

[synaesthesia]

Right, this is doing my nut in.I think in all the years I've been in this job, the bit about how Group Policy manages installed applications has clearly passed me by.

 

Many a moon ago I installed an MSI via Group Policy - specifically the Lightspeed user agent for all computers. It didn't quite go out to all as expected, so used PDQ Deploy to push out to everything as well.

 

This appears to have been a bad move.

 

Group Policy appears absolutely insistent that it shouldn't be there. It uninstalls it on logon, regardless of whether I remove/disable the policies to install it in the first place.

I can only think of the appmgmt bit in registry, with something flagged to remove it and I assume update with the version GP is trying to push. But it doesn't, leaving the client without the vital application installed. I wonder if I've accidentally selected "uninstall and prevent future users from reinstalling" however I can't see how that does or could work.

I can push out again with PDQ, but GP keeps removing again. And I can't get GP to reinstall it either.

 

Any advice gratefully received! I'm at the point with this where I'm now clearly overthinking things so it's likely simple!

[jertsy]

Have you got 'uninstall this application when it falls outside scope of management' ticked in the deployment tab of the GPO? Edited January 18, 2017 by jertsy

[synaesthesia]

No, that definitely wasn't ticked.

[jertsy]

How did you uninstall it, was it via GPO?

[synaesthesia]

It wasn't uninstalled, at least it wasn't planned to be. Updating the GPO appears to have gotten it stuck in a loop. I may have tried an uninstallation via GPO in my attempts last week to resolve it.

[jertsy]

It wasn't uninstalled, at least it wasn't planned to be. Updating the GPO appears to have gotten it stuck in a loop. I may have tried an uninstallation via GPO in my attempts last week to resolve it.

 

Hmmm, maybe you could create a new GPO to reinstall it and see what happens, if the old GPO is still linked you could order the new GPO to process after the old one. That might at least get your stations to settle down until you can work out whats happened or rebuild them if all else fails.

[synaesthesia]

Already tried that. Have now removed all mentions of that GPO so there's nothing remaining on the server, at least not that I know of. I'm now looking at a client to see if it's something on there, a GPO cache or similar or maybe just not pulling in GPO at all.

[jertsy]

Already tried that. Have now removed all mentions of that GPO so there's nothing remaining on the server, at least not that I know of. I'm now looking at a client to see if it's something on there, a GPO cache or similar or maybe just not pulling in GPO at all.

 

One last thing, I guess you have tried this but RSOP and the GP event viewer on the station would tell you if the GPO is still applying some how and where from.

[Sephiroth]

Try running gpresults on an affected machine. I've had policy objects in the past that just leave unknown registry changes when removed. This might at least give you somewhere to start.

[synaesthesia]

Indeed, it's telling me that a GPO that no longer exists is attempting installation. Diags on the server (dcdiag etc) all comes out clear.