Good riddance to Internet Explorer Maintenance! For years, IE Maintenance has been so easy to setup but so difficult to troubleshoot or remove. The worse things is that it looks like a policy but acts like a preference. Your first step to migrating off IE Maintenance is to get a list of any GPO that has that CSE configured. Your next step is to decide between administrative templates or Group Policy Preferences. Here is what you need to know to get full use out of Internet Explorer Maintenance Replacements:
Administrative Templates
By using administrative templates, you gain the ability to configure Internet Explorer from the computer and user side. With around 1,500 ways to configure these administrative templates, you can configure nearly every aspect of Internet Explorer.
Because many of the administrative templates exist on the computer and on the user side, you’ll need to choose where to configure it. To speed up your logins or to standardize on computer locations, configure the computer side administrative templates. Keep in mind that certain settings, like homepages, can only be set on the user side.
Group Policy Preferences
By using Internet Settings under Group Policy Preferences, you can configure Internet Explorer globally using the same Internet Explorer Tools GUI that is on an individual machine. When creating a new preference, you will have the option of configuring: IE 5/6, IE 7, IE 8/9, and IE 10. If you don’t have the IE 10 option, make sure you are using the latest RSAT tools (and a Central Store).
The screenshot above shows an Internet Setting preferences for IE 10. Although the preference GUI is nearly identical to IE, every option has a green or red line attached to it. By default, the home page setting is disabled because it has a red line attached. To enable or disable these settings, use these keys:
- To enable everything on a tab, press F5
- To enable a specific setting, select the setting and press F6
- To disable a specific setting, select the setting and press F7
- To disable everything on a tab, press F8
What’s left?
99% of Internet Explorer can be managed by Administrative Templates and Group Policy Preferences. Certain settings that change the way Internet Explorer looks will require IEAK to manage. These settings include setting a custom browser title or customizing the background/buttons. For a full list of ways to replace Internet Explorer Maintenance, see this link: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj890998.aspx
Most items can also be manually set in the registry. For a list of registry items that you can set, see this link: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc736412(v=WS.10).aspx
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The big point I got from this was the need to enable a setting when there’s a red line underneath. I was thinking that the preferences have no effect because the home page stayed the same! Once I read your post I was able to use them. Thanks
Not a problem!
If you haven’t, grab the Group Policy Notes from this page: https://deployhappiness.com/free-it-training-classes/group-policy-software-to-preferences-and-everything-in-between/
I cover a lot of the tricks in preferences in those notes.
Hi Joseph,
This is the only link I’ve found useful information about the registry key that manage the behavior of the feature.
http://goo.gl/dmUH8p
I’ve being looking on the Internet about this issue in the last few days and I came to the conclusion that the setting can’t be managed by GPP by now, but I saw in post from the MS Servers a guy showing a screenshot with that setting not grayed ou, that’s why I’m still doubtful about this issue.
I’ve sued the What’s Chagnged tool and it didn’t detect any change in the registry.
Thank you.
What is the exact setting that you are trying to configure?
Hi,
One of the most important settings in IE, at least in my opinion, Automatically detect settings (LAN settings – Connection tab), can’t be managed by GPP.
May be I’m wrong, I hope I’m wrong.
Thanks.
I don’t think you can directly manage it with IE Preferences. You CAN manage it with Registry Preferences though. Most of these settings are in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\.
Simply use What’s Changed to find the exact values that you need to make. Here is a guide to what’s changed: https://deployhappiness.com/what-changed-how-to-control-any-program-and-set-any-setting/
Let me know if you have any issues!
I use What’s Chnaged tool and it didn’t report any significant change.
You can manage that IE10 setting with the value
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\Connections\DefaultConnectionSettings
You can check the possible values in the link below:
http://atyoung.blogspot.no/2012/06/info-regarding-hkeycurrentusersoftwarem.html
Thank you.
Thanks for the link Georgi! These settings look way more complicated than they should have been.