Controlling client installations through Group Policy

  • Article

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Controlling client installations through Group Policy

You can use the Group Policy snap-in to control whether the user of a RIS client computer must supply a computer name during installation, whether the remote installation attempt should be restarted if it fails, and whether users have access to tools before the operating system is installed. Group Policy is applied to sites, domains, and organizational units, and can be inherited within Active Directory. For more information on Group Policy, see Group Policy overview.

The Group Policy options for the Client Installation Wizard are as follows:

  • Automatic Setup
    Use this option if you want to predefine the computer name and a location within Active Directory for the client computer accounts. For more information about computer names and the options for predefining them, see Computer names. You can also prestage client computers; for more information, see Prestage client computers.
  • Custom Setup
    Use this option to allow users to define a unique name for this computer and specify where the computer account will be created within Active Directory.
  • Restart Setup
    This option restarts an operating system installation attempt if it fails prior to completion.

For each of the Client Installation Wizard choices, the following options are available:

  • Enable
    Users to whom this policy applies are offered this installation option.
  • Not Configured
    The policy settings of the parent container apply to this option. For example, if you choose Not Configured and the administrator for the entire domain has set Group Policy specific to Remote Installation Services, the policy that is set on the domain is applied to all users who are affected by that policy.
  • Disabled
    Users affected by this policy cannot access this installation option.

For procedural information on controlling access through Group Policy, see Set Group Policy for client installation options.

For information on the options offered by the Client Installation Wizard, see Installation options available through RIS.

Note

  • This topic does not apply to Windows Server 2003, Web Edition.