I'm having an issue with a mapped drive that I deleted from a Group Policy Object (GPO) about five years ago. Initially, it was for IT use only, but even after deletion, it still appeared on some computers for users who had it assigned. I managed to disconnect the drive and refresh the GPOs without any trouble. However, during a current refresh of new laptops, this drive is unexpectedly showing up again for two users who had accounts back when the GPO was in place. The other newer users are not experiencing this problem. I'm trying to figure out how this is still occurring and where the settings might be hiding.
4 Answers
As mentioned, it’s likely a logon script either set via GPO or directly tied to the user’s AD profile. Running the GPResult /h command can give you a clear picture of what’s being applied to each user. Also, sometimes GPO issues arise from replication problems, so do check for those.
If the issue is consistent for those users, it’s worth checking their logon script in Active Directory. The script might be auto-mapping the drive when they log in. You can usually find these scripts in the SYSVOL directory under the path %LOGONSERVER%.
You should run the rsop or gpresult command on one of the affected machines. The drive mapping is being drawn from somewhere, so this will help you identify the source. If it's affecting those two users specifically, it might still be lurking in a GPO you forgot about. Using gpresult /h or the Group Policy Results wizard can help you trace the mapping.
Are you 100% sure it's definitely a GPO at work here? It might also be that the drive mapping corresponds to their home folder set in their AD account. It's worth checking that as well.
Exactly! But also keep in mind the idea of Group Policy Tattooing, which can complicate things. If you've made a change in GPO before and it didn’t apply correctly, changes might linger without obvious signs.