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I'm trying to set Internet Explorer as the default browser for all users on a clients terminal server. I was trying to do it following this guide however I couldn't get passed step 4

Right-click on the entry labelled "Internet Explorer Maintenance" and select "Preference Mode."

That option is actually missing. After researching why this was missing I came across this article which explained that it was because they're running Windows Server 2012.

They then suggested that I should download this program to do the job.

Have you had any experience with this before and are there any other alternative solutions to setting IE as the default browser without doing it manually for each user?

user3399457
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In server 2012, IE management is done via IEAK (Internet Explorer Administration Kits)

You need to download and install the kit onto every domain controller for each version of IE that you want to manage.

The only exception to this is if you are running a GPCS (Group Policy Central Store) - in which case it only needs to be installed on one DC

To find out if you have GPCS installed, open the group policy manager on a domain controller and edit a random GPO, expand Computer/User Policies > Administrative Templates:

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If you see "retrieved from the central store", you are using GPCS... if you see "retrieved from the local computer" - you are not using GPCS

Once you have this installed, you can continue to build a group policy preference for IE.

Fazer87
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  • It's not actually a Domain Controller, it's a terminal server that has 30+ users connected to it meaning that there's no room for error and down time must be kept to a minimal. Would this still work? Or are there any better alternatives? – user3399457 Jul 27 '15 at 12:51
  • Should work either way, although I've never tried this as I've always worked with domains. – Fazer87 Jul 27 '15 at 14:55