/Boot - Restart the machine after the Group Policy settings are applied./Sync - Change the foreground (startup/logon) processing to synchronous./Logoff - Log the user off after the Group Policy settings have been updated.Other options are available in conjunction with /force, including:
In that case, you need to use the /force switch with gpupdate, as follows: However, sometimes you might want to apply all GPOs to a computer - not just new or changed GPOs but old ones as well. The discussion so far applies only to new GPOs and changes to existing ones. If the updated GPO does not require a reboot, the GPO settings are applied and the user remains logged on.īoth the /Logoff and /boot switches are optional. Running gpupdate with the /boot switch will figure out if a policy has something that requires a reboot and automatically reboot the computer.
- Similarly, if Fast Boot is enabled, a restart is required to apply GPOs that have Software Distribution settings.
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If not, the new settings are applied immediately if so, the user will automatically be logged off and the Group Policy settings will be applied when they log back in. Running gpupdate with the /Logoff switch will figure out if a policy change in Active Directory requires the user to log off.If you use the right switches, gpupdate can figure out if newly changed items require a logoff or reboot to be active: In Windows XP and later, Fast Boot, Software Distribution and Folder Redirection are enabled by default, so settings are processed only at the next logon time.
Running gpupdate while a user is logged on to a machine immediately gives Windows the new GPO settings (assuming, of course, that the domain controller has the replicated GPO information). To refresh just one half or the other, use this syntax: Note that running the gpupdate command with no parameters will refresh both the User and the Computer halves of the Group Policy objects. However, you must physically trot out to each user machine and enter the gpupdate command, thereby refreshing the Group Policy object, along with any other new or changed GPOs, manually. Your first option is to run a simple command that tells the client to skip the normal background processing interval and update all new or changed GPOs from the server right now. Group Policy Best Practicesįorcing a Group Policy Update using the Command Prompt.