An Assigned Package Is Reinstalled Every Time Clients Log on to the Domain (828452)

CAUSE

This problem occurs when both of the following conditions are true:

The domain users are configured with roaming user profiles.
The domain or organizational unit where the users are located has a Group Policy that is configured to remove cached copies of roaming profiles.

This problem occurs because when you configure a policy to remove cached copies of roaming profiles, the DeleteProfile function is called to delete all user-related settings and to remove the per-user Microsoft Windows Installer package information from the following folder location when the user logs off:

System32\AppMgmt\User-SID

When the user next logs on to the domain, other related Windows Installer information in the registry hive of the user is downloaded from the server where the roaming profile is stored. The program installation engine then reinstalls the assigned package to match the information in the registry hive of the user.

RESOLUTION

Service pack information

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Windows XP. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

322389 How to obtain the latest Windows XP service pack

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Only apply it to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next Windows XP service pack that contains this hotfix.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support

Note In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

Prerequisites

You must be running Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP1) to install this hotfix. For additional information about how to obtain Windows XP SP1, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

322389 How to Obtain the Latest Windows XP Service Pack

Restart Requirement

You must restart your computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix Replacement Information

This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

File Information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

Windows XP Professional

   Date         Time   Version        Size       File name
   ---------------------------------------------------------
   22-Oct-2003  03:47  5.1.2600.1266    313,856  Cscui.dll
   12-Sep-2003  17:34                 1,515,616  System.adm
   22-Oct-2003  03:47  5.1.2600.1267    672,768  Userenv.dll

Windows XP 64-Bit Edition

   Date         Time   Version        Size       File name     Platform
   --------------------------------------------------------------------
   22-Oct-2003  04:04  5.1.2600.1266    688,640  Cscui.dll     IA-64
   12-Sep-2003  18:35                 1,515,616  System.adm
   22-Oct-2003  04:04  5.1.2600.1267  1,708,032  Userenv.dll   IA-64
   22-Oct-2003  04:47  5.1.2600.1266    313,856  Wcscui.dll    x86
   22-Oct-2003  04:47  5.1.2600.1267    672,768  Wuserenv.dll  x86

After you install this hotfix, a new Group Policy setting is available. With this setting, you can prevent the Windows Installer information from being removed. To enable this on a client computer, follow these steps:

Click Start, click Run, type gpedit.msc in the Open box, and then click OK.
Expand Computer Configuration, expand Administrative Templates, expand System, and then click User Profiles.
In the right pane, double-click Leave Windows Installer and Group Policy Software Installation Data.
Click Enabled, and then click OK.

Note After you apply this Group Policy setting, the assigned package is installed again when the user first logs on to the network. This behavior occurs because the Windows Installer information was removed when the user last logged off. However, the assigned package is not reinstalled during subsequent logons.

MORE INFORMATION

After you install this hotfix and then configure the new behavior by using Group Policy, the behavior of DeleteProfile is changed. DeleteProfile no longer removes the program installation information. This means that program installation information is never removed, even if a particular user never logs on to the client computer again. This hotfix provides a new System.adm template for Windows XP client computers. The following portion of the .adm template is changed:

CATEGORY !!AdministrativeServices

 

POLICY !!LeaveAppMgmtData

#if version >= 4

SUPPORTED !!SUPPORTED_WindowsXPSP2

#endif

 

EXPLAIN !!LeaveAppMgmtData_Help

KEYNAME "Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System"

VALUENAME "LeaveAppMgmtData"

END POLICY

You can add this information to an existing .adm template on your domain controller or you can use this code to create a custom .adm template. Microsoft recommends that you do not modify existing .adm template files, because these files might be updated by a future service pack. In this scenario, you might lose your changes to these files. When you add this information to an .adm file, you must also include the following Help text information in the [Strings] section of that file:

LeaveAppMgmtData="Leave Windows Installer and Group Policy Software Installation Data"

LeaveAppMgmtData_Help="Determines whether the system retains a roaming user's Windows Installer and Group Policy based software installation data on their profile deletion.\n\nBy default User profile deletes all information related to a roaming user (which includes the user's settings, data, Windows Installer related data etc.) when their profile is deleted. As a result, the next time a roaming user whose profile was previously deleted on that client logs on, they will need to reinstall all apps published via policy at logon increasing logon time. You can use this policy to change this behavior.\n\nIf you enable this setting, Windows will not delete Windows Installer or Group Policy software installation data for roaming users when profiles are deleted from the machine. This will improve the performance of Group Policy based Software Installation during user logon when a user profile is deleted and that user subsequently logs on to the machine.\n\nIf you disable or do not configure this policy, Windows will delete the entire profile for roaming users, including the Windows Installer and Group Policy software installation data when those profiles are deleted.\n\nNote: If this policy is enabled for a machine, local administrator action is required to remove the Windows Installer or Group Policy software installation data stored in the registry and file system of roaming users' profiles on the machine."

SUPPORTED_WindowsXPSP2="At least Microsoft Windows XP Pro with SP2"

For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

824684 Description of the Standard Terminology That Is Used to Describe Microsoft Software Updates