6.4. Why Isn't Group Policy Applying?

At times, you set up Group Policy from upon high and your users or workstations do not receive the changes. Why might that be the case?

First, remember how Group Policy is processed:

  • The GPO "lives" in the swimming pool in the domain.

  • The client requests Group Policy at various times throughout the day.

  • The client connects to a Domain Controller to get the latest batch of GPOs. (Group Policy isn't somehow "pushed" from upon high.)

  • If it's status-quo, that is

    • Nothing has changed inside the GPO (based on changed version number)

    • The location of the user or computer hasn't changed in Active Directory

    • The user or computer hasn't changed group memberships

    • Any WMI filters set on the GPO haven't changed

    the default behavior ...

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