Ok,
In regards to the various O/S's, I'm not sure there is another way aside
from burning separate images for each O/S's or upgrading to a standard O/S, and
burning a single O/S.
To your next point, if you are only interested in standardizing IE settings,
I wasn't able to find any packaged program to do just that. On the otherhand, if
one notes that practically everything of interest (specifically the settings)
are stored in the registry, why not make your own registry file? Assuming you
all share the same version of IE, this should work.
Now, I wasn't able to find a complete list of settings for IE, but I did
find the following list of restriction values that you could use to make your
own patches.
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=823057
And, as more general guide,
http://www.winguides.com/registry/
Now, although the above lists cover restriction patches, it doesn't address
the more mundane settings. Although I tried searching for them, I came up empty.
So, I propose an alternate method.
Download 'RegistryMonitor', a free tool available from:
http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/source/regmon.shtml
This program will tell you which programs are accessing the registry and the
changes they make. I submit the following; take a clean (ie. freshly burned)
system which has had all ancillary programs installed. Then, install and Run the
Registry monitor. Open Internet Explorer, and make all the changes you deem
appropriate. Registry monitor will list the keys and values modified. You can
then include these values, along with any restriction values you choose to
include, in a registry file you make. You can then apply this patch to all
computers sharing the same IE version. *In theory*, this should work regardless
of O/S (provided they are all Windows machines).
You can also convert the registry file you created above to an executable
using the following freeware program:
http://www.softpedia.com/public/cat/5/3/5-3-4.shtml
(I've never used the above program, but it seems reputable.)
In the event you are not familiar with the registry editing, or the creation of
registry patches, I highly recommend the following resource, at minimum, to
better understand the nature and navigation of the beast.
http://www.j79zlr.com/reg_tutorial.php
On dealing with the registry file format, you may find the following rather
useful;
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310516
If you have any questions of comments, you are more than welcome to reply to
this thread or email me.
Regards,
Altrus
: I appreciate the info. I do have a program called NetSupport Manager for
: Remote Administration. As for the boot image, how do I account for having
: multiple computers with multiple operating systems ranging from Windows 98 to
: Windows XP SP2? Also, at this time I am only interested in synchronizing
: Internet Explorer's security and other options. Thanks again!
:
: "Altrüs" wrote:
:
: > Hi,
: >
: > There any many programs available for remote
: > administration, and it's really a matter of situation as to
: > which one you use - you may consider PCAnywhere as a start.
: >
: > In regards to setting a common configuration, the standard
: > method is to create a boot-image of a perfectly configured
: > computer, and then burn that image on the computers in
: > question. Norton Ghost is one of such programs that take ISO
: > images and then burn that onto the computer.
: >
: > If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not
: > hesitate to ask,
: >
: > Regards,
: >
: > Altrus
: >
: >
: >
: > "Matthew Shaffner"
: > : > : I work at a dealership with 20 some users and computers
: > running various
: > : versions of Windows. Most of the computers are on
: > Internet Explorer 6.0 and
: > : I would like to know what I can do to help me administer
: > that application
: > : remotely. I'd also like to be able to set one
: > configuration and distribute
: > : it to all users on all PC's. Any ideas?
: >
: >
: >
