Theme GPO and slow login

[gshaw]

I've been working on the problem that I originally posted as a DFS issue a while back on http://www.edugeek.net/forums/windows/173662-dfs-folder-redirection-preparing-your-desktop-delay.html this morning and after some detective work seem to have found the root cause but it's rather strange.

 

• Folder Redirection for Documents, Pictures, Videos and Music enabled
  
• target is a DFS share (doesn't seem to make a difference using UNC)
  
• all other GPOs are enabled as normal
  

The problem was a very long (30 second) delay on "Preparing Desktop" when logging on a new profile. This then followed by a blank wallpaper for 20 seconds or so then desktop would finally appear. Any additional logins would be fine until the next reboot, when again the first login would be delayed.

 

I tried the same setup on my test network with no GPOs present and it logged in immediately so went back to the live environment with the plan to strip back GPOs one by one until I got a fast login again. Eventually narrowed it down to a User Settings GPO and again stripped settings back block by block, eventually arriving at

 

Administrative Templates > Control Panel > Personalization

 

It seems if I have the "Load a Specific Theme" setting enabled (to turn on Aero) it causes the slow first logon. Turning it off gives me a normal sub 10-second login speed with everything working OK, albeit with Classic Theme rather than Aero.

 

Was wondering if anyone has seen anything like it as does seem a rather strange and specific issue. In the past we've been using a legacy style of GPO for folder redirection and it seems changing to the Windows standard method now we notice the clash.