I run a small LAN center with my brother. One main PC hosts Steam CyberCafe and our management software, and I'm new to system administration. I tried setting up Active Directory so I could centrally control the client computers, but creating a Group Policy fails while the setup is connecting to or creating NETLOGON. I've already reinstalled the Active Directory components and tried repairing the Windows image, but the problem remains. What should I check, and is Active Directory the right approach for preventing users from closing the management software or accessing Task Manager?
2 Answers
Please capture the complete error message and confirm the domain controller’s DNS configuration, hostname, and promotion status. Since the failure happens while connecting to or creating NETLOGON, verify that the server has a static address, uses the domain controller’s own DNS service, and has successfully completed promotion. Check that `SYSVOL` and `NETLOGON` are shared and that the relevant DFS Replication and Directory Services logs do not show errors. If this is only one server, rebuilding the test domain cleanly may be faster than repairing a partially completed promotion.
First run `net share` on the server. You should see both `SYSVOL` and `NETLOGON`. If either share is missing, the domain controller’s SYSVOL replication or promotion process did not finish correctly, so Group Policy has nowhere to store or retrieve policies. Check the domain controller and DFS Replication event logs for the underlying issue before trying to create more policies. Avoid manually setting `SysvolReady` or creating the shares yourself; that can make the domain controller advertise an incomplete or empty policy store. Also, hosting the domain controller, café software, and management system on one PC creates a single point of failure. A separate server or VM would be safer, and for a small LAN center, disk imaging or restore-on-reboot software may be simpler than introducing Active Directory.
The main reason I wanted Active Directory was to stop users from using Ctrl+Alt+Delete to open Task Manager and close the management program, or otherwise tamper with the client machines. I was hoping for a central way to control all of them. What would you recommend instead?
The setup reaches the stage where it says it is connecting to or creating NETLOGON, and then the Group Policy installation fails. I haven’t been able to get past that point.