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Locking down desktop settings in XP

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by brandon jackson

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I am in charge of regulating background images inside of XP Professional. How is the best way to lock down the settings from normal users? Is there a group policy (W2K server) that will allow me to do this? We also would like to have a custom logo be their background, but these are remote computers that we will never "touch"- the vendor is imaging and sending the pc's. if anybody could help, I could use it!

3 replies

by beermonster

Hi,
Both win2 and xp workstations contain their own 'local' copy of the group policy object. If the machines are on a domain, this copy is loaded first, then overwritten by any conflicting settings as GPO's higher in the 'pecking order' are applied (IE site, domain and OU). To access the local GPO, type GPEDIT.MSC at the run box. There are settings that allow you to show custom wallpaper if required, and can be set at the local level or higher. The settings are in
user config\admin templates\desktop\active desktop
Note that you may need to activate the active desktop (in the same place) for your custom wallpaper to apply. If you are doing this at the site, domain or OU level then the settings will not be applied until the first time they log on to the domain. You will also need to have a copy of the wallpaper on their box, so will need to copy it down (perhaps as part of a logon script). Hope this helps...

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