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Active Directory Startup Scripts

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by mtagg

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We are a large eductation establishment and we have just installed Windows 2000 advanced servers (load balanced) to serve our 700 pc network. As we have a large curriculum area from Art to Technology we have a bewildering number of applications and multimedia titles.
Consequently having one desk top for all would be clumsy and confusing. We would like to create individual desktops for each department with the users pointing to a profile for each one. to do this we need to create a mapped drivethat is machine specific not user (a pupil can be in music one lesson then maths the next). i.e.
profile = x:\students
anf dor the maths department x: =\\server\profiles\maths

This cannot be achied in the conventional login script as it is specific to the user.
Active directory does have Startup scripts for computers but "net use x: \\server\profiles\maths" in a bat file does not seem to work Could anyone help please.

9 replies

by joseph moore

Well, this might seen like a foolish idea, but it would work.
Why not define every workstation name in the logon scripts used by the students, and using the IF command, you could say that if a Math workstation is being logged on, then map drive X: to \\server\profiles\math; if it is a Art workstation, then map X: to \\server\profiles\art.

Here is what I mean. For example, in every logon script used by your users have this section:

cls
if %computername% == MATH1 goto MATH
if %computername% == MATH2 goto MATH
if %computername% == MATH3 goto MATH
if %computername% == MATH4 goto MATH
if %computername% == ART1 goto ART
if %computername% == ART2 goto ART
if %computername% == ART3 goto ART
if %computername% == ART4 goto ART

:MATH
ECHO Workstation %computername% is in department MATH
NET USE X: \\SERVER\PROFILES\MATH
EXIT

:ART
ECHO Workstation %computername% is in department ART
NET USE X: \\SERVER\PROFILES\ART
EXIT

I think you get the point. Put in every machinename in the IF %COMPUTERNAME% section, pointing to the department they belong to. Then, after all that, build the :sectionname sections with the appropriate drive mapping. That way, user Bob can log into a Math computer and get the Math drive X: mapping, but then, when BOB goes into his Art class, he gets the Art drive X: mapping.

It might sound tedious to get the initial computer names defined, and I won't lie: yes it will be boring. But, you can have a junior tech do this in Notepad. Thatis what the junior techs are for!

Hope this helps.
ECHO Workstation %computername% is in department MATH

by christophe.guillarme

Why don't you use scripting (kixtart, wsh ...) to create shortcuts on desktop and/or modify startup menu ? With script, you know "computername" and can decide which drive must be mapped. We use this solution with Kixtart with .INI files to map drives for users and groups and it works fine.
Hope it will help you.

by rvkempen

If you do not want to add each workstation, you might want to consider kixtart, a tool written by microsoft employees.
It is downloadable from www.kixtart.org.
Then you script would be somathing like:

$x = %computername%

SELECT

CASE (instr($x, "pcart") use x: "\\server\profiles\art"
CASE (instr($x, "pcmath") use x: "\\server\profiles\math"

ENDSELECT

Then you can simply name your pc's pcart001,pcart002, etc.

Kixtart has been a good solution for me in a lot of difficult logon scripting problems.

Good luck,
Ron.

by cruncher_1

You didn't say if all 700 PCs are the same OS. Would it be easier to turn off profiles on the designated machines? For example, W98 control panel>passwords>user profiles>all users have the same desktop and preferences. I know this doesn't answer your question, but thought I would throw it out there.

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