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Configure the System State Data feature on a domain or organizational unit

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

To configure the System State Data feature on a domain or organizational unit

  1. Open Active Directory Users and Computers.

  2. In the console tree, right-click the domain or organizational unit for which you want to set Group Policy.

    Where?

    • Active Directory Users and Computers [domain_controller_name.domain_name]/domain/organizational unit/child organizational unit
  3. Click properties, and then click the Group Policy tab.

  4. Click an existing Group Policy object in the list box, and then click Edit.

    or

    Click New to create a new Group Policy object, and then click Edit.

  5. Click Activate Shutdown Event Tracker System State Data feature

    Where?

    • Group policy object name/Computer Configuration/Administrative Templates/System
  6. On the Setting tab, click Not Configured, Enabled, or Disabled.

  7. Click Apply, and then click OK.

Notes

  • To perform this procedure, you must be a member of the Domain Admins group in Active Directory, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority. As a security best practice, consider using Run as to perform this procedure. For more information, see Default local groups, Default groups, and Using Run as.

  • To open Active Directory Users and Computers, click Start, click Control Panel, double-click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Active Directory Users and Computers.

  • When this policy is enabled, Shutdown Event Tracker writes out a system state data file when a user with shutdown rights designates a restart or shutdown as unplanned. This file is stored in the %windir%\system32\LogFiles\Shutdown\ directory, and only members of the Administrators group may view it or, optionally, send it to Microsoft.

  • You can configure the number of days a system state data file will be saved to the %windir%\system32\LogFiles\Shutdown\ directory using the registry. See "Resources" in Related Topics for more information.

  • To view Microsoft's privacy policy on error reporting, see "Resources" in Related Topics.

  • When this policy is disabled, Shutdown Event Tracker does not create a system state data file.

  • This policy is not configured by default on Windows XP Professional and Windows Server 2003 family operating systems.

  • To apply the policy setting to a site, see "Group Policy" under Related Topics, below.

  • You cannot use Group Policy to manage computers running Windows Server 4.0, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Millennium Edition, and Windows XP Home Edition.

  • Administrative Templates provide a friendlier user interface (UI) for editing the registry than does Registry Editor (Regedit.exe), as well as an added degree of security: They expose only the registry keys that Microsoft has determined to be frequently useful.

Information about functional differences

  • Your server might function differently based on the version and edition of the operating system that is installed, your account permissions, and your menu settings. For more information, see Viewing Help on the Web.

See Also

Concepts

Active Directory Users and Computers (Windows Server 2003)
Enable error reporting
Group Policy (pre-GPMC)
Shutdown Event Tracker overview
Configure the System State Data feature on your local computer
Shutdown Event Tracker Resources