Persistant mandatory profile issues...

[CtrlAltDel]

Hi

I've been having ongoing problems with W7 mandatory profiles.

The problem is the fact that W7 machines randomly allow access to certain pupils, while others get a failed logon. When these symptoms occur some pupils occasionally have the deployed printers greyed out too.

The problem can be temporarily fixed by deleting the profiles and registry profile information.

All pupils use the same V2 mandatory profile from a server 2003 DC. The profile was created using the windows enabler method.

Group policy is managed from a W7 RSAT admin workstation with the central store populated with .admx files.

 

I am aware that lots has changed in the V2 profiles, including roaming registry settings that are no longer as flexible as it was in XP. Grrrr! why cant printer settings stay with the profile too.

 

I am currently trying to create a profile using the official microsoft method but sysprep is giving me a couple of problems. I'm hoping that a profile created in the proper sense will help ease some of the problems with logging on and off (which seem like registry problems to me)

I have managed to create the unattend.xml file with true set to "true" in the specialise pass. I have also run the commands as documented by microsoft to initiate the copy of the customised local profile over the default user profile, however when the machine reboots I get an error saying "Windows could not finish configuring the system. To attempt to resume configuration, restart the computer."

The computer then gets stuck in a loop with this message on every reboot.

 

Suffice to say, I'm not the biggest fan of V2 profiles at the moment. I like windows 7, and i'd like as many pupils to have the chance to use it as is possible but it cant happen when things are as twitchy as they are. I hope microsoft continue work to try and ease the compatibility issues with thier V2 profiles. I noticed the slow loading of blank backgrounds has been fixed already.

 

Any input welcome

Cheers, Mike

[Arthur]

Not sure if it helps, but I thought I would post the link any way...

 

http://blog.brianleejackson.com/sysprep-a-windows-7-machine-%E2%80%93-start-to-finish-v2

Edited June 9, 2010 by Arthur

[HCC]

Hi,

 

I've had the exact problem with sysprep - once you're stuck in that loop there's no way back but to re-install. All I wanted to do was modify the default profile, a job that was simple in XP!

 

I gave up on modifing the default profile after this, as all I wanted to do was change the default pinned icons, and run the office welcome setup. So I thought I could just do this via group policy, since there was mention from some research that pinned apps are unpinned during sysprep profile prep anyway.

I copied the standard default user from a 7 pro computer, but when I logon to the domain with a test user I get aero basic and just a plain blue colour background. yuk. I know the system is using the network mandatory profile because if I don't delete the documents folder in the network profile location I end up with two documents folders etc. If I make a local account that uses the same default profile I copied it works as expected.

I don't understand why a basic default profile works differently depending on if it's network mandatory (aero basic, no wallpaper) or local (aero on, standard wallpaper) even though the only difference is the .man change. It has to be an XP group policy messing with it.

 

This is what I would like to achieve in 7 that I already have in XP:

 

No Office Welcome/config screen for users

Aero theme with standard wallpaper set - OK XP doesn't have aero but you get the idea

Office apps pinned to taskbar

Computer icon on desktop

Set choice of apps in default start menu list - since there is no classic menu

 

Has anyone achieved the above with Windows 7?

[ravenadsl]

Hi,

 

This is what I would like to achieve in 7 that I already have in XP:

 

No Office Welcome/config screen for users

Aero theme with standard wallpaper set - OK XP doesn't have aero but you get the idea

Office apps pinned to taskbar

Computer icon on desktop

Set choice of apps in default start menu list - since there is no classic menu

 

Has anyone achieved the above with Windows 7?

 

Hello HCC

 

We have got some of the things you need working.

 

No Office Welcome/config screen for users

there is a group policy item in the extended ADM filed with office

We have added registry keys to fool internet explorer to this its run the first configuration using group policy preferences

 

Aero theme with standard wallpaper set - OK XP doesn't have aero but you get the idea

We force our logo onto staff and students desktops useing group policy preferences to make a hidden folder on C: and move images from the server to the local drive

 

Office apps pinned to taskbar

We have hidden this for students and staff have a normal default profile and can build it themselves

 

Computer icon on desktop

Im sure there is a group policy setting for this

 

Set choice of apps in default start menu list - since there is no classic menu

again we have this blank for students and staff build there own.

 

hope this helps

[Arthur]

Office apps pinned to taskbar

On the same website I posted a link to above I noticed this...

 

When running sysprep in Windows 7 with the unattend.xml file, you will probably notice that the taskbar icons are something that don’t copy over. Well that is because the icons are not part of the users profile. So the copyprofile=true command does work for almost everything, but it doesn’t copy over your taskbar icons.

 

Thankfully the “Deployment Guys” already have a VBS script that will pin and unpin icons. I have edited this script and done most of the hard work for you. Basically we are going to dump a few scripts into the “startup folder” (and yes I said startup folder, it is messy but it works and finishes clean) which will run only the first time every new user logs in. It will pin the icons you want, in any order you want, both to the taskbar and the startmenu and then the script is deleted from the startup folder and never runs again for that user. It does work perfectly and I currently am using this in a corporate environment with around 400-500 computers.

 

Source: http://blog.brianleejackson.com/copy-taskbar-icons-windows-7-sysprep

[HCC]

Hi,

 

Thanks for the Link Authur, I'll look into it. I was just thinking it might just be easier for users and myself if I just stick with desktop icons a la XP for now.

 

I found out what was making windows 7 revert to aero basic - computer policy - software restriction policies. I first unlinked both the user and computer polices to find that aero and the wallpaper worked as expected. Then turned on computer policy and found it lost the wallpaper and the aero theme. I then spent ages trying to guess which part of the policy caused the problem, until I found that if I removed the software restriction policies by right clicking in the tree, then 'detele software restriction policy' that it worked.

I'm not sure why though - because the only thing that was in that SR policy was a path rule for %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files to stop programs being run from IE and the two rules the policy made itsself, the other part of the policy was set as unrestricted. This worked fine in XP and Vista with no side effects. Odd?