Microsoft KB Archive/253672

= Expected System and Group Policy Behavior with Windows 2000 Clients =

Article ID: 253672

Article Last Modified on 2/28/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional Edition
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server

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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.

