ADM File Is Loaded But Certain Policies Are Not Displayed (228723)

CAUSE

Administrative Template (ADM) files define registry settings (also referred to as individual policies) that are displayed in the Group Policy snap-in under the Administrative Templates node for both computer and user configuration. Two different types of settings can be defined.

Policies in Windows 2000 are settings that the administrator defines in the Group Policy snap-in. When applied to the client computer, a setting is not modifiable by the user but can be undone if the administrator disables the policy. This type of setting is displayed in the Group Policy snap-in with a blue icon.

Policies that are configured by the administrator but can be changed by the user are referred to as "preferences." Preferences are written to the client computer, but are located in registry keys that can be modified by the user or by a program running on the user's computer. If the user or program changes any of these settings, the changes are overwritten with the preferences established in the Group Policy Object the next time the user logs on. If a preference is not reversed before the Group Policy Object is disabled, the setting on the client computer remains. These settings are identifiable in the Group Policy snap-in with a red icon.

The Group Policy snap-in identifies policies that are preferences and does not display them by default. The default policy templates (Conf.adm and System.adm) loaded into the Group Policy snap-in by default do not contain any preferences, and therefore none are displayed. Other templates (such as Inetres.adm) do contain preferences, and therefore are displayed.