IE7 Proxy gpo not applying (2003 R2 SP2)

[valkenaer]

If anyone has experience with/an idea on how to fix the following, I'm all ears because I'm almost literally stuck...

Our clients (450+) are running Windows XP SP2 and higher with IE7 installed. The group policy responsible for IE related stuff sets the homepage, the custom buttons and the custom title bar perfectly, but not the proxy settings. But if I roll back IE7 to IE6, everything works as it should: proxy settings are exactly the way they should be.

• The DC is running 2003 R2 SP2 and the gpo defining the internet and proxy settings is defined using the IE7 adm template.
  
• Disabling the "Make proxy settings per-machine" in Computer Configuration\Admin Templates\Windows Components/IE -as suggested in some related kb posts- did not help
  
• I'm this far from curling into a foetal position....
  

.

[cluberti]

I am assuming you configured the proxy settings in the Internet Explorer Maintenance section of the user configuration container. If you look at the user's brandlog, you can see what policies were applied from the IEM, what policies were not, and why the iedkcs32 engine decided which policies should/should not be applied.

Also, if you used IEAK to configure either IE6 or IE7, custom policies in place by the IEAK in \Program Files\Internet Explorer\Custom (if they exist) can also cause wierd policy behaviors.

Take a look at the logs and data stored in the following locations to start your investigation:

%userprofile%\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer

%userprofile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer

%ProgramFiles%\Internet Explorer\Custom

[valkenaer]

Thanks for your reply! The Proxy Settings are indeed configured in User Configuration/Windows Settings/IE Maintenance, as are the title bar text and the custom buttons.

%appdata%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\brandlog.txt is present but does mention any of the custom settings I configured.

%userprofile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\brandlog.txt also is present but does not mention any of the custom settings

%programfiles%\Internet Explorer\Custom is empty

As far as I know, the IEAK was never used to define policies relevant to IE6. So despite of not being mentioned in the brandlogs, the homepage, custom buttons and Title bar are set and the proxy settings aren't. Gpresult show the IE7 gpo as "applied" on all the machines I've tested.

Edited August 26, 2008 by valkenaer

[cluberti]

Hmm. Also look at any brandlog.bak files, as these are renamed every time processing takes place (and it can take place multiple times per login). However, I would strongly suggest creating a new group policy with only the IEM settings from an XP SP3 / IE7 machine, and remove the old GPO from the domain. If you create an IEM from a 2003 machine, bad things can happen on the client.

In the new IEM policy you're modifying from the XPSP3/IE7 machine, JUST set the proxy, and see if it applies - then, go ahead and change the titlebar and logo, etc once you're sure proxy is working.