Although the option remains to manually install ADM files by right-clicking the Administrative Templates node in the GPOE, you won’t be using that feature nearly as much after migrating to Windows server 2008/Vista. The reason is that these operating systems automatically load ADMX files from the central store when you open the GPOE. This solves a major headache for network administrators.
To prove this, you can conduct an experiment with a Vista or Windows server 2008 Server machine. Take ownership of one of the ADMX files in the central store, and relocate it to a different folder. Then run the GPOE and look for the settings contained in that ADMX file. They will have disappeared. Finally, reinstate the ADMX file into its rightful location, and run the GPOE again. You will see the settings magically reappear.
See recent blog posts…
Central Store Management
New Migration/Editing Utility
New Source File Format (ADMX/ADML) in WS2008
Key Changes in Group Policy Architecture in WS 2008
A step by step on how to add a role to Server Core
