Suddenly Users Can't Access Desktop Icons/My Computer

[JRA]

Just had a find - If we make staff local admins the problem goes away. However, students don't have any problems at all. If we blow staff profiles away and they're created anew it solves the problem too.

[6Foot2]

Just had a find - If we make staff local admins the problem goes away. However, students don't have any problems at all. If we blow staff profiles away and they're created anew it solves the problem too.

Windows update solved the problem, but only after staff profiles are deleted?

[JRA]

Windows update solved the problem, but only after staff profiles are deleted?

I don't think Windows Update is sorting anything. If we remove them from local admins problem remains. We did wonder a single login as local/domain admin might just shunt whatever it was holding things up along enough to fix itself, but shot in the dark really.

 

It's adding staff as local admins that seems to fix it for staff, for the duration of them being local admins.

[sted]

do pupils have gpo settings so that they can access the all user start menu and staff dont?

or other permissions issues maybe allow c drive access for a test user

[Passat1983ICTech]

hi there have you got any pictures of the desktop dose this have blue arrows on the icons

[kjadams]

I don't think Windows Update is sorting anything. If we remove them from local admins problem remains. We did wonder a single login as local/domain admin might just shunt whatever it was holding things up along enough to fix itself, but shot in the dark really.

 

It's adding staff as local admins that seems to fix it for staff, for the duration of them being local admins.

 

Our staff are already added to the local administrators group.

 

I’ll try deleting their local profile but don’t think that will help me as I am logging in to random computers that my test users would not have logged on to before.

[leegcvcc]

are the DC's replicating ok?

[JRA]

do pupils have gpo settings so that they can access the all user start menu and staff dont?

or other permissions issues maybe allow c drive access for a test user

 

Hi - students get a redirected start menu (to a folder in netlogon) and also a script that pins some icons (office etc) to the start menu, but the 'All Programs' bit is all users yes.

 

hi there have you got any pictures of the desktop dose this have blue arrows on the icons

Hi - no pictures just now but only blue arrows on shortcuts as I'd expect to see, nothing different.

are the DC's replicating ok?

Hi - yes they are.

[kjadams]

Windows update solved the problem, but only after staff profiles are deleted?

 

Which updates did you remove @DaveP?

[6Foot2]

Which updates did you remove @DaveP?

 

We didn't have quite the same issues, only similar, and it was quite some time ago. I am commenting here occasionally when I think I might have something useful to contribute. As I recall part of the solution for us was keeping the time of the servers in step. To do this we added a command to DC2:

 

net time \\server /set /y

 

Link: http://www.edugeek.net/forums/windows-7/207678-suddenly-users-cant-access-desktop-icons-my-computer.html#post1776406

[JRA]

Hi all - we found a rogue group policy was causing the issue. No idea why it started to do so, but removing it solved the problem, at least for the time being. It was:

 

User Configuration

Policies

Administrative Templates

System/User Profiles

Exclude directories in roaming profile - prevent the following directories from roaming with the... - AppData\Local;AppData\LocalLow;$Recycle.Bin

Limit profile size - max 55000kb, show registry... - disabled, notify user... Enabled, Remind every X mins - 30.

 

So, now at least people are working but amassing huge profiles. Not sure if this policy itself got corrupted or not, will try and creep back the settings of it in a new policy and see where that gets me.

[leegcvcc]

good work!