Re: Options for upgrading 100 desktops to IE6?

From: Philip Herlihy (foof8501_at_herlihy.eu.veil.com)
Date: 02/23/05 

Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2005 19:57:08 +0000 (UTC)

Thanks! Still puzzling over options with my counterpart (who has more
control over the relevant servers than I'm allowed) but I'll look into this. 

-- 
####################
##  PH, London
####################
"Gerry Hickman" <gerry1uk@netscape.net> wrote in message 
news:ef7evnaGFHA.1296@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...
> Hi Philip,
>
> I've just run into a problem with IEAK. I only noticed it because of NOT
> applying a user group policy while testing the initial build.
>
> I installed my build to a laptop, logged on as a local user - everything
> looked fine, I then logged on as a domain user and IEAK branding 
> over-wrote
> the settings in the roaming user's HKCU. After logging the user back onto
> his own machine, the settings were carried across!
>
> In other words, the IEAK over-wrote the HKCU of the roaming user, meaning
> their settings were WRONG when they logged back onto their own computer.
>
> The problem stems from the way IEAK "branding" works. This was a pre-GPO
> technology and I believe it basically "re-brands" internet Explorer EVERY
> time a new user loggs on. This is not ideal, and certainly not what you 
> want
> when using a different technology such as group policy to manage the
> settings. The branding consists of a file called install.ins that gets
> copied to IE's folder in \program files\ . I believe this file is being
> processed every time a new user loggs on. There's a log file you can look 
> at
> in the user's profile \Application Data\Microsoft\Internet
> Explorer\brndlog.txt. If you check this file after a user logs on, you can
> see if branding was applied.
>
> I'm not sure of the correct way to deal with this.
>
> Of course, if GPOs are applied to all users, you'd never know any of this
> was happening, but I'd prefer to find a clean way of doing this, otherwise
> it means settings are constantly fighting with each other and being
> over-written.
>
> -- 
> Gerry Hickman
> SSRU SysAdmin
>
> "Philip Herlihy" <foof8501@herlihy.eu.veil.com> wrote in message
> news:cvhho1$fau$1@sparta.btinternet.com...
>> Thanks - will study carefully.
>>
>> -- 
>> ####################
>> ##  PH, London
>> ####################
>> "Gerry Hickman" <gerry666uk@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
>> news:%23ooTaPSGFHA.3368@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...
>> > Philip Herlihy wrote:
>> >
>> >> Just what I needed - thanks!  I've identified the Internet Explorer
>> >> Administration Kit (which I've never used)
>> >
>> > and which is now seriously deprecated by Micorosoft.
>> >
>> >> and Group Policies (which I dabbled with once, ages ago).  I'll study
>> >> these in depth.
>> >
>> > Are we talking using "Advertising" here??
>> >
>> >> Of course, there are usually six different ways of doing anything - 
>> >> are
>> >> there any alternatives I should consider before burning my bridges?
>> >
>> > Yes.
>> >
>> > Be sure to understand the terminology of the IEAK. Specifically the
>> > difference between the "customization wizard" and "profile wizard" (or
>> > what ever it's called), further be very careful not to confuse the
>> > settings in IEAK wtih those of group policy.
>> >
>> > IEAK was around long before group policy and was designed to work
> without
>> > AD or GPOs. It has the ability to push config settings using an
>> > "AutoConfig" script. However, if you're going to use group policy, you
>> > must NOT try to use AutoConfig.
>> >
>> > If you're going to use GPOs, here's the basic rules:
>> >
>> > 1. Use customization wizard to build a "flat" browser to a UNC path. Do
>> > not import an INS file, and make sure AVS is ticked. The previous
> sentence
>> > relates to the "Advanced" button of the first page of the wizard. 
>> > Choose
>> > the "hands-free" or "silent" option. Do _not_ try to press the 
>> > "updates"
>> > button at the AVS screen. Feel free to choose settings in the wizard,
>> > except those at the end where it says "policies and restrictions". Do
> not
>> > try to include patches either. It will now build IE6SP1 to the target
>> > folder.
>> >
>> > 2. Install the browser to a test machine (not the one you use to build
>> > it). Test the browser on that machine without group policy, test it 
>> > with
> a
>> > roaming user, then a local user, then back again - is the roaming HKCU
>> > still in-tact? Apply a test GPO with desired settings to a test user 
>> > and
>> > test that user on that machine, then do lots more testing. Disable the
>> > policy - what happens now? All ok?
>> >
>> > 3. Roll it out to the other machines and decide how and when any new
> group
>> > policy should be applied. You'll probably only be sending user settings
>> > here.
>> >
>> > In the case of (3), I've never used the MSI and "Advertising" thing so
>> > can't comment on that. I tend to run the CMD from the UNC.
>> >
>> > -- 
>> > Gerry Hickman (London UK)
>>
>>
>
>