Expected System and Group Policy Behavior with Windows 2000 Clients (253672)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server
This article was previously published under Q253672

SUMMARY

This article explains the expected behavior of System Policies in Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 and Group Policies in Windows 2000 in a domain. The focus of this article is on the default behavior of a Windows 2000 client in different domain configurations.

MORE INFORMATION

In general, a Group Policy is dependent on the source location for the machine or user account. For example, if you apply a computer Group Policy and the machine account resides in an Windows NT 4.0 domain, Windows 2000 uses the Ntconfig.pol file for the policy. If the computer is a member of a Windows 2000 domain, the Group Policy is applied and the Ntconfig.pol file is not processed. This scenario is also true when you process user Group Policies.

Below is a matrix of the possible policy scenarios a Windows 2000 client may encounter. We use the following acronyms for the objects:
  • UAO: User Account Object
  • MAO: Machine Account Object
  • GPO: Group Policy Object (unique to Windows 2000
  • SP: System Policy (Windows NT 4.0 .pol files)
NOTE: Each scenario assumes that the workstation or server client is running Windows 2000.

The UAO and MAO Both Reside in a Windows 2000 Domain

  • UAO applies the GPO.
  • MAO applies the GPO.

The UAO Resides in a Windows 2000 Domain and the MAO Resides in a Windows NT 4.0 Domain

  • UAO applies the GPO.
  • MAO applies the SP.

The UAO Resides in a Windows NT 4.0 Domain and the MAO Resides in a Windows 2000 Domain

  • UAO applies the SP.
  • MAO applies the GPO. (Windows 2000 loopback is not available in this scenario.)

The UAO and MAO Both Reside in a Windows NT 4.0 Domain

  • UAO applies the SP.
  • MAO applies the SP.

REFERENCES

For additional information about loopback processing, click the article number%2 below to view the article%2 in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

231287 Loopback Processing of Group Policy

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:12/17/2003
Keywords:kbenv kbinfo KB253672
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