How to Set Up Locally-Based System Policies

ID: Q168579

The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0

SUMMARY

Windows NT system policies are designed for when a user logs on to a domain account database. There are times, however, that it is necessary to have policies on a Windows NT workstation or server computer that is not participating in a domain or when you need a different policy for users who are logged on to the local account database.


MORE INFORMATION

There are two basic ways to set up locally-based system policies. To use these on a workstation or server running Windows NT 4.0 (not a domain controller), follow one of the following procedures:

Automatic Update Method

  1. Share the Winnt\System32\Repl\Import\Scripts folder (where Winnt is the name of your Windows directory) as Netlogon.


  2. Grant the group Everyone "Read" Permissions and the group Administrators "Full Control" to this share.


  3. Start System Policy Editor (Poledit.exe).


  4. On the File menu, click New Policy and make the changes for your policy. Start with something simple such as "Remove Run command from Start Menu" from Shell/Restrictions in the Users Properties window.


  5. On the File menu, click Save As, and then save the policy file in the Netlogon shared folder as Ntconfig.pol.


  6. On the File menu, click Open Registry.


  7. Double-click Local Computer, double-click Network, double-click System Policies Update, and then click the Remote Update check box to select it.


  8. In the Update Mode box, click Automatic (Use Default Path), and then click OK.


  9. Save your policy to the location listed above as Ntconfig.pol, and then quit Policy Editor.


  10. Restart Windows NT for the changes in the policy to take effect.


NOTE: This configuration allows you to use both a local and a domain-wide system policy, depending on which user account database the user logs on to.

Remote Update Method

  1. Start System Policy Editor(Poledit.exe) and make the changes for your policy.


  2. On the File menu, click Save As, and then save the policy file on your hard disk. For example, save the file as:


    3. c:\ntconfig.pol
  3. On the File menu, click Open Registry.


  4. Double-click Local Computer, double-click Network, double-click System Policies Update, and then click the Remote Update check box to select it.


  5. In the Update Mode box, click Manual (Use Specific Path), type a path name in the Path for Manual Update dialog box (for example, c:\winnt\ system32\repl\import\scripts\Ntconfig.pol), and then click OK.

    Note that to display error messages if the policy file is not found when Windows NT starts, you can click the Display Error Message check box to select it.


  6. Save your policy to the location listed above as Ntconfig.pol, and then quit Policy Editor.

    Note that while using the Manual Update, you may name the policy file anything you would like; just be sure to enter it into the path in step 5 above.


  7. Restart Windows NT for the changes in the policy to take effect.


TIP: Every person or computer that logs on after a policy is in place is subject to the policy. Therefore, it is a good idea to not edit the default user or computer until you are familiar with System Policies. A good idea to use is to make a test user/group account in "User Manager" and then make a specific policy for this user/group in System Policy Editor. After you have the policy working properly you can then transfer the policy to the production environment.


For information about how to use system policies on a standalone computer running Windows 95, see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q147381 How to Use System Policies On a Standalone Computer

Additional query words: 4.00

Keywords : kbenv kbtool ntdomain NTSrvWkst
Version : WinNT:4.0
Platform : winnt
Issue type : kbhowto


Last Reviewed: February 17, 1999
© 2000 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Terms of Use.