What to do when Logon Scripts don’t Run

30/11/16

Microsoft Server 2012 R2 and Windows 8.1 no longer run scripts at login. Ross explains what this means for users and how to fix it.

In an effort to speed up login times, Microsoft has set scripts to run five minutes after login on Microsoft Server 2012 R2 and Windows 8.1. This can be quite frustrating and means your PC might not run as you'd like.

What does this mean for Users?

This will depend on how your PC is set up - or more to the point - if you have login scripts. For instance, if you had a login script that created Custom Start Menu Files, this would no longer appear as the Start Menu needs to be amended immediately before it appears. The only benefit of the five minute delay is that login time will be shorter as the script won't be slowing things down by amending background settings. In general though, I think this gap will hinder overall user experience as the majority of login scripts are for tasks that need to run during/prior to login.

How to Fix?

To set this back to previous behaviour, simply follow these instructions...

*NOTE*: For this to work it will need the Central Store for Group Policy to be updated to the latest version a guide for which can be found here:
https://4sysops.com/archives/group-policy-central-store

Setting Path: Computer ConfigurationAdministrative TemplatesSystemGroup Policy
Setting Name: Configure Logon Script Delay
Supported On: At least Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1

GPO Description info and settings:
Enter “0” to disable Logon Script Delay.

This policy setting allows you to configure how long the Group Policy client waits after logon before running scripts. By default, the Group Policy client waits five minutes before running logon scripts. This helps create a responsive desktop environment by preventing disk contention. If you enable this policy setting, Group Policy will wait for the specified amount of time before running logon scripts. If you disable this policy setting, Group Policy will run scripts immediately after logon. If you do not configure this policy setting, Group Policy will wait five minutes before running logon scripts.

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