Group Policy Basics

Introduction

Group Policy lets administrators centrally manage configuration for users and computers in Active Directory.

Prerequisites

• Domain Controller available
• Domain Admin rights
• Basic Windows admin knowledge

Create Management Console

Open the Group Policy Management Console:

gpmc.msc

Enforce Desktop Wallpaper

1. Create shared folder & place image (e.g. C:\Wallpapers\corp.jpg)
2. Share it (read) and assign UNC path: \\SERVER\Wallpapers\corp.jpg
3. Create new GPO and link to target Users OU
4. Edit: User Configuration > Policies > Administrative Templates > Desktop > Desktop
5. Enable "Desktop Wallpaper" and set UNC path, Style: Fill
6. Force update on client: gpupdate /force

Best Practices

• Test in a staging OU first
• Use descriptive names (e.g. U-Wallpaper-Standard)
• Document purpose & owner of each GPO
• Periodic clean-up of unused GPOs

More Coming Soon

Future sections will cover loopback processing, security filtering, WMI filters and starter GPOs.