Working with Starter GPOs using GPMC

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This topic contains procedures for managing Starter Group Policy Objects as a Group Policy administrator using the Group Policy Management Console in Windows Server® 2012.

About Starter Group Policy Objects

Starter Group Policy Objects are derived from a Group Policy Object, and provide the ability to store a collection of Administrative Template policy settings in a single object. You can import and export Starter GPOs, which makes them easy to distribute to other environments. When you create a new GPO from a Starter GPO, the new GPO has all of the Administrative Template policy settings and their values that were defined in the Starter GPO.

System Starter Group Policy Objects (GPOs) are read-only Starter GPOs that provide a baseline of settings for a specific scenario. Like Starter GPOs, they derive from a GPO, provide the ability to store a collection of Administrative Template policy settings in a single object, and can be imported. You can determine whether a Starter GPO is a System Starter GPO by viewing the Starter GPO type on the Details tab of the Starter GPO.

A variety of System Starter GPOs are included with Windows Server. For information about the recommended use of each System Starter GPO, see the Comment on the Details tab for that Starter GPO.

How to create a Starter GPO

Create a Starter GPO

  1. Open the Group Policy Management Console.

  2. Right-click Starter GPOs and then click New.

  3. In the New Starter GPO dialog box, type the name of the Starter GPO in the Name box. Optionally, you can type comments in the Comments box.

  4. Click OK.

How to edit a Starter GPO

Edit a Starter GPO

  1. Open the Group Policy Management Console. Expand the Starter GPOs node.

  2. Right-click the Starter GPO you want to edit and then click Edit.

  3. In the console tree, click the folder under Administrative Templates that contains the policy settings you want to configure.

  4. In the Setting column, click the name for a policy setting to read a description of the policy setting.

  5. To change a policy setting, double-click the name of the policy setting.

  6. In the policy setting dialog box, click one of the following:

    • Not Configured: The registry is not modified.

    • Enabled: The registry reflects that the policy setting is selected.

    • Disabled: The registry reflects that the policy setting is not selected.

  7. Select any other available options, and then click OK.

How to copy a Starter GPO

Copying a Starter GPO

  1. Open the Group Policy Management Console. Expand the Starter GPOs node.

  2. Right-click the Starter GPO you want to copy and then click Copy.

  3. Right-click the Starter GPO node and then click Paste.

  4. Click OK.

How to delete a Starter GPO

Delete a Starter GPO

  1. Open the Group Policy Management Console. Expand the Starter GPOs node.

  2. Right-click the Starter GPO you want to delete and then click Delete.

  3. Click OK to confirm the deletion.

How to create a new GPO from a Starter GPO

There are two ways to create a new Group Policy object from a Starter GPO. You can create a new Group Policy object from a Starter GPO at the Starter GPOs node or at the Group Policy objects node.

Using the Starter GPOs node

Create a new GPO from a Starter GPO at the Starter GPOs node

  1. Open the Group Policy Management Console. Expand the Starter GPOs node.

  2. Right-click the Starter GPO you want to use to create a new Group Policy object and then click New GPO from Starter GPO.

  3. In the New GPO dialog box, type the name of the new Group Policy object in the Name box.

  4. Click OK.

Using the Group Policy Objects node

Create a new GPO from a Starter GPO at the Group Policy Objects node

  1. Open the Group Policy Management Console. Right-click the Group Policy Objects node.

  2. In the New GPO dialog box, type the name of the new Group Policy object in the Name box.

  3. Select the Starter GPO from the Source Starter GPO list that you want to use to create a new Group Policy object.

  4. Click OK.

How to back up a Starter GPO

Backing up a Starter GPO

  1. Open the Group Policy Management Console. Expand the Starter GPOs node.

  2. To back up a single Starter GPO, right-click the Starter GPO, and then click Back Up. To back up all Starter GPOs in the domain, right-click Starter GPOs and click Back Up All.

  3. In the Backup Starter GPO dialog box, in the Location box, enter the path for the location where you want to store the Starter GPO backups. Or click Browse, locate the folder in which you want to store the Starter GPO backups, and then click OK.

  4. In the Description box, type a description for the Starter GPOs that you want to back up, and then click Back Up. If you are backing up multiple Starter GPOs, the description will apply to all Starter GPOs you back up.

  5. After the operation completes, click OK.

    Important

    To secure backed-up Starter GPOs, ensure that only authorized administrators have permission to access the folder to which you are backing up the Starter GPOs.

How to restore a Starter GPO

Restoring a Starter GPO

  1. Open the Group Policy Management Console. Expand the Starter GPOs node.

  2. Right-click Starter GPOs and then click Manage Backups.

  3. In the Manage Backups dialog box, in the Backup location box, type the path for the backup folder. You can also use Browse to locate the backup folder.

  4. In the Backed up Starter GPOs box, select the Starter GPO that you want to restore from the list of Starter GPO backups shown, and then click Restore.

  5. When prompted to confirm the restore operation, click OK.

  6. After the operation completes, click OK and then click Close.

How to work with reports of Starter GPO settings

To view, print, and save a report of Starter GPO settings

  1. Open the Group Policy Management Console. Expand the Starter GPOs node.

  2. Click the Starter GPO that has the settings you want to view.

  3. Click the Settings tab to view reports in GPMC.

  4. If you want to print or save the report, right-click the settings report in the results pane and do one of the following:

    • Select Print to print the report.

    • Select Save Report to save the report.

      Note

      To customize the information displayed in a report, click Show or Hide to display only the data you want to view or print.

How to import a Starter GPO

Importing a Starter GPO

  1. Open the Group Policy Management Console. Click the Starter GPOs node.

  2. Click Load Cabinet. Then click Browse for CAB.

  3. Use the Load Starter GPO dialog box to locate the Starter GPO cabinet you want to load. Click the file name and then click Open.

  4. Click OK to complete the import.

How to export a Starter GPO

Exporting a Starter GPO

  1. Open the Group Policy Management Console. Click the Starter GPOs node.

  2. Click Save as Cabinet.

  3. In the Save Starter GPO as Cabinet window, type the name of the file in the File name box. Optionally, you can click Browse Folders if you want to change the location where the cabinet file is saved.

  4. Click Save.

How to add a comment to a Starter GPO

You can include comments for each Starter GPO. You can use this text box to further document the intended use of the Starter GPO or the name of the user who last updated the Starter GPO. Commenting Starter GPOs allows you to later use keyword filter to help you quickly find a Starter GPO with matching keywords.

Adding a Comment to a Starter Group Policy object

  1. Open the Group Policy Management Console. Expand the Starter GPOs node.

  2. Right-click the Starter GPO you want to comment and then click Edit.

  3. In the console tree, right-click the name of the Starter GPO and then click Properties.

  4. Click the Comment tab.

  5. Type your comments in the Comment box.

  6. Click OK.