Local GPO refreshes outside of refresh interval

SITUATION:
We are experiencing an unique (may be not?) situation where local group
policies are getting reapplied only after what seems to be certain changes on
the AD GPO. In this case, we are talking about one particular policy:
User Configuration\Windows Settings\Internet Explorer Maintenance\URL\Home
Page URL.
On a few dozen machines that we rolled out using an OS (XP SP1) image, we
had implemented this particular policy via the Local Policy, setting the
users' hompage to be http://intranet. Subsequently, we decided to not force
a homepage on users and therefore, we never set this policy on the AD GPO.
Since then we have edited the AD GPO several times, never any settings within
the Internet Explorer Maintenance section, however. It appears that the only
time (this time) we edited the AD GPO in the IE Maintenance section, it
caused the local policy for that section on all machines to be read and
loaded again, causing the users to have http://intranet as their homepage
which was still set via local Group Policy. Un until this time, the
machines have be restarted dozens of times, users logged off and on hundreds
of times, and their customized homepages stayed on the machines in question.

Even though we knew that group policies are refreshed every 90 minutes on
the workstations, the 60 or so workstation that got the homepage set via
local group policy never complained as users could change the http://intranet
to whatever and the change stuck. Therefore, we figured that particular
policy must just set the initial page if set locally and allow changing to
something else, and only enforces the homepage if set via AD GPO.

TROUBLESHOOTING:
I checked the refresh interval settings in the AD GPO. I checked the local
settings for group policy processing. We even changed the homepage for some
users and set policies in other sections of the AD GPO and did a GPUPDATE
/FORCE (and let others just auto refresh at 90 mins) and the problem did NOT
reoccur. So, it doesn't seem like the local policy at every 90 minutes
setting the homepage to be http://intranet.

QUESTION:
What causes local group policies to be "reapplied"? Does GPO "refresh"
literally mean that all "set" policies are reapplied every 90 minutes on the
workstations, whether those policies are "set" locally, at different levels
of the AD (site, domain, OU, etc.)? If so, when we change other (non IE)
polcies on the AD GPO, why didn't those trigger the local group policies to
be reapplied, therefore, why didn't the homepage on those machines get set to
http://intranet? If policy1 (i.e. Homepage) in section1 (i.e. Internet
Explorer Maintenance) of the AD GPO changes, will that force the local GPO's
all policies of section1 to reapply?

I know this is a long message and that your time is precious. I appreciate
you taking the time. Thanks.
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Local GPO refreshes outside of refresh interval
    ... are changed via the GPO or local policy. ... > policies are getting reapplied only after what seems to be certain changes ... we are talking about one particular policy: ... > which was still set via local Group Policy. ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.group_policy)
  • Re: Local GPO refreshes outside of refresh interval
    ... I looked through my GPO's Windows Settings section ... > Some policies, including IE policies, have a checkbox that defines if this ... > it should apply EVEN if the value defined in GPO did not change since the ... we are talking about one particular policy: ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.group_policy)
  • Re: Local GPO refreshes outside of refresh interval
    ... Some policies, including IE policies, have a checkbox that defines if this ... it should apply EVEN if the value defined in GPO did not change since the ... we are talking about one particular policy: ... > which was still set via local Group Policy. ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.group_policy)
  • Re: "There are 0 filters" using IPSec via GPO
    ... 1)Deleting all IPSec policies in the GPO ... 4)Assigning "request security" policy in Local Security Settings, ...
    (microsoft.public.win2000.security)
  • Re: Windows 2003 Server - Group Policy
    ... Group Policies refresh time is 90-minute intervals by default. ... For Windows 2000 Computers see the follow KB: ... Policy Inheritance can be set to this OU it means no policies from higher ... You can also set No Override to a particular GPO. ...
    (microsoft.public.win2000.active_directory)
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