GPO - Setting Default Search Provider doesn't work in IE8

Using info in MS article 918238 we made a custom adm file to populate the
list of available search providers and set the default search provider.
GPO settings restrict the list to the specified search providers and prevent
users from changing the default search provider.

In IE7 this works fine since we implemented this over a year ago.

We now have a few machines running the latest version of IE8 8,0,6001,18702.
On these machines the list gets populated with the specified search
providers but setting the default search provider doesn't work anymore.

Something has changed in the way IE8 handles this. Maybe User Preference
Protection is causing this but I could be wrong.

I have not found the cause, solution or a proper workaround yet but maybe
someone else did.

This one freaks me out, why does this work in IE7 and not in IE8?

Maybe User Preference
Protection

"R. vd Horn" <R. vd Horn@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:B4D60F6D-9758-4555-8B87-44E552412640@microsoft.com...
> Using info in MS article 918238 we made a custom adm file to populate the
> list of available search providers and set the default search provider.
> GPO settings restrict the list to the specified search providers and
> prevent
> users from changing the default search provider.
>
> In IE7 this works fine since we implemented this over a year ago.
>
> We now have a few machines running the latest version of IE8
> 8,0,6001,18702.
> On these machines the list gets populated with the specified search
> providers but setting the default search provider doesn't work anymore.
>
> Something has changed in the way IE8 handles this. Maybe User Preference
> Protection is causing this but I could be wrong.
>
> I have not found the cause, solution or a proper workaround yet but maybe
> someone else did.
>
> This one freaks me out, why does this work in IE7 and not in IE8?

I found out that IE8 is neglecting the policy value
HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchScopes\DefaultScope.
Instead it sets the default search provider to the search provider with the
key that comes first in the sort order.

In our list with search providers we have the following GUID's:
{0633EE93-D776-472f-A0FF-E1416B8B2E3A} - Live Search
{84CBB9A2-6089-4BC9-91DB-B948E1907E8B} - Google
{DEA6C301-90B8-4B12-9C32-2A9935D739EE} - Yahoo

Setting the DefaultScope to {84CBB9A2-6089-4BC9-91DB-B948E1907E8B} makes
Google the default search provider in IE7.
In IE8 Live Search becomes the default search provider because the GUID
{0633EE93-D776-472f-A0FF-E1416B8B2E3A} comes first in the sort order.

I changed the custom adm file.
Instead of using GUID's for the keynames of the search providers i've
changed the keynames to:
1-Google
2-LiveSearch
3-Yahoo

Setting the DefaultScope to 1-Google makes it the default search provider in
IE7.
Because the keyname 1-Google is the first in the sort order it becomes the
deafult search provider in IE8 too.

Microsoft recommends to use GUID's for the keynames to make them unique.
There's no harm in using other keynames though.



"R. vd Horn" wrote:

> Using info in MS article 918238 we made a custom adm file to populate the
> list of available search providers and set the default search provider.
> GPO settings restrict the list to the specified search providers and prevent
> users from changing the default search provider.
>
> In IE7 this works fine since we implemented this over a year ago.
>
> We now have a few machines running the latest version of IE8 8,0,6001,18702.
> On these machines the list gets populated with the specified search
> providers but setting the default search provider doesn't work anymore.
>
> Something has changed in the way IE8 handles this. Maybe User Preference
> Protection is causing this but I could be wrong.
>
> I have not found the cause, solution or a proper workaround yet but maybe
> someone else did.
>
> This one freaks me out, why does this work in IE7 and not in IE8?

[Bill_Hood]

[quote=R. vd Horn;1215162]I found out that IE8 is neglecting the policy value
HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchScopes\DefaultScope.
Instead it sets the default search provider to the search provider with the
key that comes first in the sort order.

In our list with search providers we have the following GUID's:
{0633EE93-D776-472f-A0FF-E1416B8B2E3A} - Live Search
{84CBB9A2-6089-4BC9-91DB-B948E1907E8B} - Google
{DEA6C301-90B8-4B12-9C32-2A9935D739EE} - Yahoo

Setting the DefaultScope to {84CBB9A2-6089-4BC9-91DB-B948E1907E8B} makes
Google the default search provider in IE7.
In IE8 Live Search becomes the default search provider because the GUID
{0633EE93-D776-472f-A0FF-E1416B8B2E3A} comes first in the sort order.

I changed the custom adm file.
Instead of using GUID's for the keynames of the search providers i've
changed the keynames to:
1-Google
2-LiveSearch
3-Yahoo

Setting the DefaultScope to 1-Google makes it the default search provider in
IE7.
Because the keyname 1-Google is the first in the sort order it becomes the
deafult search provider in IE8 too.

Microsoft recommends to use GUID's for the keynames to make them unique.
There's no harm in using other keynames though.


Hi,

I followed the steps above with IE 8 and changed the custom .adm file provided by Microsoft with the changes to both the DefaultScope and the search providers (using the keynames also intead of the GUID's) but it still doesn't work with IE8 but it does work with IE 7. If I look at the registry, the values are there under "policies" but they don't seem to apply. I've only done this for the "User" portion and not the "Computer" portion of the Group Policy if that makes a difference.

Any thoughts, ideas, etc. on this are appreciated.

Thanks!

" I've only done this for the "User" portion and not the "Computer"
>> portion of the Group Policy if that makes a difference."

Yes that would make all the difference.

Your default user search providers are being overwritten by the machine
settings whenever you do an REIS or when one of your Addons tries to change
the default search provider by reinstating the machine settings.

Your Machine Search Providers are incorrectly configured. (viz. the Default
Search Provider GUID, does not appear in the User's default list)


Regards.

"Bill_Hood" <Bill_Hood.41e9o3@no-mx.forums.vistaheads.com> wrote in message
news:Bill_Hood.41e9o3@no-mx.forums.vistaheads.com...
>
> R. vd Horn;1215162 Wrote:
>> I found out that IE8 is neglecting the policy value
>> HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet
>> Explorer\SearchScopes\DefaultScope.
>> Instead it sets the default search provider to the search provider with
>> the
>> key that comes first in the sort order.
>>
>> In our list with search providers we have the following GUID's:
>> {0633EE93-D776-472f-A0FF-E1416B8B2E3A} - Live Search
>> {84CBB9A2-6089-4BC9-91DB-B948E1907E8B} - Google
>> {DEA6C301-90B8-4B12-9C32-2A9935D739EE} - Yahoo
>>
>> Setting the DefaultScope to {84CBB9A2-6089-4BC9-91DB-B948E1907E8B}
>> makes
>> Google the default search provider in IE7.
>> In IE8 Live Search becomes the default search provider because the
>> GUID
>> {0633EE93-D776-472f-A0FF-E1416B8B2E3A} comes first in the sort order.
>>
>> I changed the custom adm file.
>> Instead of using GUID's for the keynames of the search providers i've
>> changed the keynames to:
>> 1-Google
>> 2-LiveSearch
>> 3-Yahoo
>>
>> Setting the DefaultScope to 1-Google makes it the default search
>> provider in
>> IE7.
>> Because the keyname 1-Google is the first in the sort order it becomes
>> the
>> deafult search provider in IE8 too.
>>
>> Microsoft recommends to use GUID's for the keynames to make them
>> unique.
>> There's no harm in using other keynames though.
>>
>>
>> Hi,
>>
>> I followed the steps above with IE 8 and changed the custom .adm file
>> provided by Microsoft with the changes to both the DefaultScope and the
>> search providers (using the keynames also intead of the GUID's) but it
>> still doesn't work with IE8 but it does work with IE 7. If I look at the
>> registry, the values are there under "policies" but they don't seem to
>> apply. I've only done this for the "User" portion and not the "Computer"
>> portion of the Group Policy if that makes a difference.
>>
>> Any thoughts, ideas, etc. on this are appreciated.
>>
>> Thanks!
>
>
> --
> Bill_Hood
> Posted via http://www.vistaheads.com
>
>

[Bill_Hood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rob^_^

" I've only done this for the "User" portion and not the "Computer"
>> portion of the Group Policy if that makes a difference."

Yes that would make all the difference.

Your default user search providers are being overwritten by the machine
settings whenever you do an REIS or when one of your Addons tries to change
the default search provider by reinstating the machine settings.

Your Machine Search Providers are incorrectly configured. (viz. the Default
Search Provider GUID, does not appear in the User's default list)


Regards.

"Bill_Hood" <Bill_Hood.41e9o3@no-mx.forums.vistaheads.com> wrote in message
news:Bill_Hood.41e9o3@no-mx.forums.vistaheads.com...
>> Hi,
>>
>> I followed the steps above with IE 8 and changed the custom .adm file
>> provided by Microsoft with the changes to both the DefaultScope and the
>> search providers (using the keynames also intead of the GUID's) but it
>> still doesn't work with IE8 but it does work with IE 7. If I look at the
>> registry, the values are there under "policies" but they don't seem to
>> apply. I've only done this for the "User" portion and not the "Computer"
>> portion of the Group Policy if that makes a difference.
>>
>> Any thoughts, ideas, etc. on this are appreciated.
>>
>> Thanks!
>
>
> --
> Bill_Hood
> Posted via http://www.vistaheads.com
>
>[/color]

Okay and thanks for the reply and quick response. I can at least follow the logic! I'll give that a try.

[Bill_Hood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rob^_^

" I've only done this for the "User" portion and not the "Computer"
>> portion of the Group Policy if that makes a difference."

Yes that would make all the difference.

Your default user search providers are being overwritten by the machine
settings whenever you do an REIS or when one of your Addons tries to change
the default search provider by reinstating the machine settings.

Your Machine Search Providers are incorrectly configured. (viz. the Default
Search Provider GUID, does not appear in the User's default list)




Regards.

"Bill_Hood" <Bill_Hood.41e9o3@no-mx.forums.vistaheads.com> wrote in message
news:Bill_Hood.41e9o3@no-mx.forums.vistaheads.com...
>
> R. vd Horn;1215162 Wrote:
>> I found out that IE8 is neglecting the policy value
>> HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet
>> Explorer\SearchScopes\DefaultScope.
>> Instead it sets the default search provider to the search provider with
>> the
>> key that comes first in the sort order.
>>
>> In our list with search providers we have the following GUID's:
>> {0633EE93-D776-472f-A0FF-E1416B8B2E3A} - Live Search
>> {84CBB9A2-6089-4BC9-91DB-B948E1907E8B} - Google
>> {DEA6C301-90B8-4B12-9C32-2A9935D739EE} - Yahoo
>>
>> Setting the DefaultScope to {84CBB9A2-6089-4BC9-91DB-B948E1907E8B}
>> makes
>> Google the default search provider in IE7.
>> In IE8 Live Search becomes the default search provider because the
>> GUID
>> {0633EE93-D776-472f-A0FF-E1416B8B2E3A} comes first in the sort order.
>>
>> I changed the custom adm file.
>> Instead of using GUID's for the keynames of the search providers i've
>> changed the keynames to:
>> 1-Google
>> 2-LiveSearch
>> 3-Yahoo
>>
>> Setting the DefaultScope to 1-Google makes it the default search
>> provider in
>> IE7.
>> Because the keyname 1-Google is the first in the sort order it becomes
>> the
>> deafult search provider in IE8 too.
>>
>> Microsoft recommends to use GUID's for the keynames to make them
>> unique.
>> There's no harm in using other keynames though.
>>
>>
>> Hi,
>>
>> I followed the steps above with IE 8 and changed the custom .adm file
>> provided by Microsoft with the changes to both the DefaultScope and the
>> search providers (using the keynames also intead of the GUID's) but it
>> still doesn't work with IE8 but it does work with IE 7. If I look at the
>> registry, the values are there under "policies" but they don't seem to
>> apply. I've only done this for the "User" portion and not the "Computer"
>> portion of the Group Policy if that makes a difference.
>>
>> Any thoughts, ideas, etc. on this are appreciated.
>>
>> Thanks!
>
>
> --
> Bill_Hood
> Posted via http://www.vistaheads.com
>
>

Hi again, that did the trick- using the "Computer" settings in Group Policy- actually in my case, I didn't need the "User" level settings from the custom policy but I did need to enable "Restrict search providers to a specfic list".

Thanks again.

Hi Bill,

Yes, a few get tricked by it.

To test your deployments, on a client you can delete the key

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchScopes (archive
it first)

and then restart IE. You should find that when IE7/8 restarts the Machine
SearchScopes have been copied to the empty User SearchScopes.

If you also delete the Machine SearchScopes, IE will automatically create at
least one user SearchScope (Bing) and make it the default. (because there is
only one in the list.)

Regards.

"Bill_Hood" <Bill_Hood.41f489@no-mx.forums.vistaheads.com> wrote in message
news:Bill_Hood.41f489@no-mx.forums.vistaheads.com...
>
> rob^_^;1601112 Wrote:
>> " I've only done this for the "User" portion and not the "Computer"
>> >> portion of the Group Policy if that makes a difference."
>>
>> Yes that would make all the difference.
>>
>> Your default user search providers are being overwritten by the
>> machine
>> settings whenever you do an REIS or when one of your Addons tries to
>> change
>> the default search provider by reinstating the machine settings.
>>
>> Your Machine Search Providers are incorrectly configured. (viz. the
>> Default
>> Search Provider GUID, does not appear in the User's default list)
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Regards.
>>
>> "Bill_Hood" <Bill_Hood.41e9o3@no-mx.forums.vistaheads.com> wrote in
>> message
>> news:Bill_Hood.41e9o3@no-mx.forums.vistaheads.com...
>> >
>> > R. vd Horn;1215162 Wrote:
>> >> I found out that IE8 is neglecting the policy value
>> >> HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet
>> >> Explorer\SearchScopes\DefaultScope.
>> >> Instead it sets the default search provider to the search provider
>> with
>> >> the
>> >> key that comes first in the sort order.
>> >>
>> >> In our list with search providers we have the following GUID's:
>> >> {0633EE93-D776-472f-A0FF-E1416B8B2E3A} - Live Search
>> >> {84CBB9A2-6089-4BC9-91DB-B948E1907E8B} - Google
>> >> {DEA6C301-90B8-4B12-9C32-2A9935D739EE} - Yahoo
>> >>
>> >> Setting the DefaultScope to {84CBB9A2-6089-4BC9-91DB-B948E1907E8B}
>> >> makes
>> >> Google the default search provider in IE7.
>> >> In IE8 Live Search becomes the default search provider because the
>> >> GUID
>> >> {0633EE93-D776-472f-A0FF-E1416B8B2E3A} comes first in the sort
>> order.
>> >>
>> >> I changed the custom adm file.
>> >> Instead of using GUID's for the keynames of the search providers
>> i've
>> >> changed the keynames to:
>> >> 1-Google
>> >> 2-LiveSearch
>> >> 3-Yahoo
>> >>
>> >> Setting the DefaultScope to 1-Google makes it the default search
>> >> provider in
>> >> IE7.
>> >> Because the keyname 1-Google is the first in the sort order it
>> becomes
>> >> the
>> >> deafult search provider in IE8 too.
>> >>
>> >> Microsoft recommends to use GUID's for the keynames to make them
>> >> unique.
>> >> There's no harm in using other keynames though.
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> Hi,
>> >>
>> >> I followed the steps above with IE 8 and changed the custom .adm
>> file
>> >> provided by Microsoft with the changes to both the DefaultScope and
>> the
>> >> search providers (using the keynames also intead of the GUID's) but
>> it
>> >> still doesn't work with IE8 but it does work with IE 7. If I look at
>> the
>> >> registry, the values are there under "policies" but they don't seem
>> to
>> >> apply. I've only done this for the "User" portion and not the
>> "Computer"
>> >> portion of the Group Policy if that makes a difference.
>> >>
>> >> Any thoughts, ideas, etc. on this are appreciated.
>> >>
>> >> Thanks!
>> >
>> >
>> > --
>> > Bill_Hood
>> > Posted via http://www.vistaheads.com
>> >
>> >
>
> Hi again, that did the trick- using the "Computer" settings in Group
> Policy- actually in my case, I didn't need the "User" level settings
> from the custom policy but I did need to enable "Restrict search
> providers to a specfic list".
>
> Thanks again.
>
>
> --
> Bill_Hood
> Posted via http://www.vistaheads.com
>
>

[barryb]

Hi,

I am pulling my hair out with this created a custom ADMX as per KB article (2008 server hosting GPO, XP the target clients), it applies OK, to MCH and User policy hive, have switched on the setting in the policy, setup the Search Scope as suggested 1-Google etc but it does not work!

IE8 installs and sets a key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchScopes\{0633EE93-D776-472f-A0FF-E1416B8B2E3A}

My 2 policy defined providers Google and Bing appear in the drop down but Bing is default not Google? It's as if IE8 is ignoring the policy setting and going with the above key I delete the key restart IE and it works.

I don't want to create a transform for the IE install to remove the above key as I should not have to! just checked the MSI is a wrapper for the Setup

Any ideas?

Barry

Hi,

Do you have either of the Bing, Live or Google Toolbars installed?

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet
> Explorer\SearchScopes\{0633EE93-D776-472f-A0FF-E1416B8B2E3A}

Is this UID "{0633EE93-D776-472f-A0FF-E1416B8B2E3A}" also in the
HKCU\\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchScopes

Node? It should be already set as the default and appear as a value in the
root node of SearchScopes node.

Regards.

"barryb" <barryb.49ge44@no-mx.forums.vistaheads.com> wrote in message
news:barryb.49ge44@no-mx.forums.vistaheads.com...
>
> Hi,
>
> I am pulling my hair out with this created a custom ADMX as per KB
> article (2008 server hosting GPO, XP the target clients), it applies OK,
> to MCH and User policy hive, have switched on the setting in the policy,
> setup the Search Scope as suggested 1-Google etc but it does not work!
>
> IE8 installs and sets a key
> HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet
> Explorer\SearchScopes\{0633EE93-D776-472f-A0FF-E1416B8B2E3A}
>
> My 2 policy defined providers Google and Bing appear in the drop down
> but Bing is default not Google? It's as if IE8 is ignoring
> the policy setting and going with the above key I delete the key
> restart IE and it works.
>
> I don't want to create a transform for the IE install to remove the
> above key as I should not have to! just checked the MSI is a
> wrapper for the Setup
>
> Any ideas?
>
> Barry
>
>
> --
> barryb
> Posted via http://www.vistaheads.com
>