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Copying an existing policy to a new container so it can be edited

I want to copy, not link, an existing policy to a new container so it can be edited. I don't want to have to rebuild the whole thing. I want to copy the policy because of all the software deployed through it, but I need a separate copy, not a link, so I can deploy different software to the new container. Can you help?

Sure, help is on the way. What you will need to do is use the capabilities of the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC). You can download this free from Microsoft at www.Microsoft.com. Once installed, you will be able to see all of your GPOs. Pick the one that you want to "copy" and back it up from the right-click menu of the GPO. Then, create a new GPO. On this GPO, right-click on it and select Import. You will want to point to the backed up GPO that included all of your settings that you wanted copied. Now, you should have two different GPOs with the exact same settings, just not with the same name. (Just a note, no links, WMI filters, or IPSec filters are backed up or restored).

This was first published in September 2005

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