How can you create a starter GPO?

If you open the Group Policy Management Console, for example on a Windows Server 2008 machine or a pre-Service-Pack-1 Vista machine, you will see a new container in the navigation pane, titled "Starter GPOs." If you have never created a starter GPO before, a button will prompt you to create a folder in which to store your starter GPOs (see Figure X). This folder will be named StarterGPOs and will reside in the SYSVOL share (in a subfolder based on the domain name) on all domain controllers.

Once you've built the folder, creating a new starter GPO is as easy as right-clicking the Starter GPOs node in the GPMC navigation pane and choosing New. Name your GPO and give it an optional comment.

Right-click the starter GPO and choose Edit to open up the Group Policy Starter GPO Editor (see figure). This console is a bit different from the normal GPO editing console, in that it only gives you access to the Administrative Templates nodes (see figure). Make whatever settings you wish and close the Group Policy Starter GPO Editor.

To create a production GPO from the template, simply right-click the starter GPO that you would like to use as the starting point, and choose New GPO from Starter GPO... You will be prompted to name the new GPO and click OK, after which the new GPO will appear in the Group Policy Objects container in the GPMC.

Your next step will be to right-click the new GPO and choose Edit to open the GPO in the Group Policy Management Editor (formerly called Group Policy Object Editor), where you can fine-tune it as desired. Finally, you would link the GPO to the appropriate AD structure.

Note that whatever comment you may have entered for the starter GPO does not migrate to any new GPOs that you create based on that starter GPO. If you want to create a new comment for your "child" GPO, you must open it for editing, right-click the name of the GPO in the navigation pane, choose Properties, and click the Comment tab.

See recent blog posts...

When would you use a starter GPO?

Everything you need to know about Server 2008 Group Policy Objects (GPOs)

Your Migration and Deployment Toolbox in WS 2008