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About Group Policy
Centralized policy-based administration enables an administrator to control the following settings:
Registry-based policy settings. Specify registry-based settings using the Administrative Templates node of the Group Policy snap-in.
Security settings. Define security settings for the local computer, domain, and network.
Software installation. Deploy applications as either assigned (you mandate the installation) or published (you provide applications that users can choose to install). Update or remove applications.
Scripts. Specify scripts to run at computer startup and operating system shutdown, and when a user logs on or logs off.
Remote Installation Services. Control the behavior of the remote installation feature, as displayed to client computers.
Internet Explorer maintenance. Manage and customize Microsoft Internet Explorer on computers running Microsoft® Windows® 2000 and later, and export settings for clients running Windows 95/98/Me or Microsoft Windows NT® 4.0.
Folder redirection. Redirect Shell special folders to the network.
The administrator can apply these settings to groups of computers or users using the infrastructure provided by the Microsoft® Active Directory™. The administrator can manage these settings from a single location, without physically touching the computers in the organization. For more information, see Group Policy Architecture.
Application developers should adhere to system-level policy settings. In addition, they can provide policy settings that are specific to their applications. For more information, see Providing Policy for Your Applications.
Group Policy
Purpose
Beginning with Microsoft® Windows® 2000 the features provided by Microsoft Windows NT® 4.0-style system policy have been greatly enhanced by using centralized policy-based administration, or Group Policy. Group Policy uses directory services and security group membership to support extensive configuration information and provide flexibility. Policy settings are specified by an administrator; unlike profile settings, which are often specified by the user. They are created using the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in for Group Policy. Windows XP supports an enhanced Group Policy infrastructure that uses Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) to allow administrators to easily determine the policy settings that apply to, or will apply to, a user or computer. This is known as the Resultant Set of Policy (RSoP).
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The definition of administrator varies slightly from Windows XP Professional to Windows XP Home Edition, but essentially it means a user who has control over the computer, can install software, and can change user passwords. Check the box to open Advanced Settings when you’re done.
http://www.annoyances.org/exec/show/article10-002 Log on to your computer using the Administrator account (The user name is Administrator and the password is what you chose during Windows XP installation).
Click on the Start button and click on Control Panel. Then click on User Accounts.
Why do not all of my applications show up for all user accounts in Windows XP?
There could be several reasons why the application does not show up under all user accounts.
During installation, some applications prompt you to install on the current user account or on all user accounts. If the application is not selected to install on all user accounts, the application does not show up properly.
The application may be installed, but the shortcut to the application may simply be missing from the new user account. Use these steps to copy the shortcut for all users.
Log on to the user account that has administrator access.
Open Windows Explorer.
From the Windows XP default Start menu, point to All Programs, Accessories, and then click Windows Explorer.
From the Windows XP classic Start menu, point to Programs, Accessories, and then click Windows Explorer.
In the My Documents window, click the plus sign (+) next to My Computer, Local Disk (C:), and Documents and Settings.
Click the plus sign (+) next to the name of the user account that the program is installed on.
Click the plus sign (+) next to Start Menu, and then select Programs.
Select the shortcut for the application that you want to add to another user account. Click Edit, and then click Copy.
Click the plus sign (+) next to the name of the user account that needs access to the application or the "All Users" account to give all users access to the application.
Click the plus sign (+) next to Start Menu, and then select Programs.
Select the directory that you want the shortcut to appear in. Click Edit, and then click Paste.
Repeat steps g through i for each additional user who needs access to the application.
The application may need to be installed on each user account one at a time.
For each user account that does not see the application, install the application.
If the user account cannot install the application, because it requires administrator rights, have a user with administrative rights run the application in this user account.
Select the setup installation file of the application. Click File, and then click Run as.
Have the user who has administrative rights type the user name and password, and then click OK.
Go through the installation of the application.
Note: Some applications require an administrator account in order to be used. If a non-administrator account is used, the application does not work even if it is installed properly.
For more information about applications not creating shortcuts for all user accounts, reference Microsoft Knowledge Base article Q301494.