Creating a Network Start Menu for Multiple/All Users on a Network (SVR 2012)

By adminUncategorised
  1. Create a folder structure for your start menu and desktop. For example in the server C Drive, create a network folder that will have the shared drives in etc. and then create a folder called Menu7 (or 8 if on Windows 8 etc…). In here you can then create a staff folder, student folder, admin staff folder etc.
  2. Share out the Menu7 folder.
  3. Open server manager -> Select File and Storage Services -> Click shares -> Right click on the Menu7 folder and click Properties. Go into settings on the left and tick the first box saying “Enable access-based enumeration”
  4. In the PC policy GPO (can be default domain, but best of creating a new PC policy), right click, edit and go to Computer Configuration -> Policies -> Administrative Templates -> System -> Group Policy -> Configure user Group Policy loopback processing mode. Enable this and set it to replace (may be different depending on the GPOs setup on the domain.
  5. Create or edit a staff policy for example, so that you can have different start menus for staff and student.
  6. Go to User Configuration -> Policies -> Windows Settings -> Folder Redirection -> Start Menu.
  7. Drop down the settings tab and click basic. On the Target folder location click redirect to the following location and have the root path as where you start menu is. Example below \SVR-01NetworkMenu7StaffStart Menu
  8. In the settings Tab, untick the “Grant the user exclusive rights to the Start Menu” or else the administrator account will be locked out of the folder. Keep the second box ticked for now as this will copy any shortcuts already on the desktop if there is any. We will be unticking it later on.
  9. Do the above two, but for Desktop instead of Start Menu.
  10. Go back to the Staff Policy GPO. (Any settings changed in the staff GPO will also need to be changed in the student GPO etc.). Navigate to User Configuration -> Policies -> Administrative Templates -> Start Menu and Taskbar -> Remove common program groups from the Start Menu. Set this to “Enabled”.

This is now all the necessary setup needed for the start menu and desktop, but it is important to do the next steps also.

  1. Use an existing staff account you’ve set up, or just create a template, temporary or test staff user for this next bit.
  2. Log onto a PC with a staff account with the above policies setup. Let the start menu and desktop then be copied over to the network start menu.
  3. You will then get the standard shortcuts that are on that PC, for example the administrative tools folder or Office if installed. Then deleted whatever folders not needed, preferably the ones that give users access they don’t need like administrative tools.
  4. You can now go back into the redirection settings and untick the move contents box. Go to User Configuration -> Policies -> Windows Settings -> Folder Redirection -> Start Menu. In the settings Tab tick the second box that says “Move the contents of Start Menu to the new location.

Creating useful shortcuts

  1. Go to the PC policy GPO. Navigate to User Configuration -> Preferences -> Windows Settings -> Shortcuts. Right click and create a new shortcut with similar settings to the ones in the below picture. That is if you’ve created a network drive to the user’s documents. If not, go to the below step.
  2. Go to the staff policy for example and navigate to User Configuration -> Preferences -> Windows Settings -> Drive Maps. Right click inside drive maps and create a new mapped drive. Use the below picture as an example.

Leave a Reply