NETWORKS: GROUP POLICY SUPPORT

Policies, although often used in Windows 9x networks as a method of enforcing standards, can prove problematic. In particular, group policies sometimes appear to not be enforced.

There are several possible causes for concerns. For example, you may need to ensure the group priority is set correctly in the Policy Editor for the users experiencing the problems, or you may find that a user policy is not overwriting the effects of a group policy.

You must ensure that the client Win9x systems are configured to take the policies on board. Check the \windows\system directory for the Grouppol.dll file to make sure that group policy support was added to your systems.

Additionally, check the registry for the following entries:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Network\Logon

Value name (STRING): PolicyHandler

Value data: GROUPPOL.DLL,ProcessPolicies

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSNP32\NetworkProvider

Value name (STRING): GroupFcn

Value data: GROUPPOL.DLL,NTGetUserGroups

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\NWNP32\NetworkProvider

Value name (STRING): GroupFcn

Value data: GROUPPOL.DLL,NWGetUserGroups

Double-clicking the Grouppol.dll file will set the registry keys. If you have to make the changes to the registry manually, take the usual care, and remember to back up your system.