Workstations experience slow logon after changing network policies

Hi,
Running a Windows 2000 server with 2000 and XP workstations. I changed proxy settings in IE for the users via group policy and now users experience a slow logon if its the first time they logged on since I changed the policy.

Once they are on, all future logons are normal - but if I have just made the change and they are logging on, it takes approximately 30 seconds to logon instead of 3!
This issue occurrs everytime I change a network policy, and affects XP workstations but not 2000.

It's not a huge hardship but would like to know what's wrong if possible.

 

I've moved this post from the Network forum as the problem is a server configuration issue.

It looks to me that the setting causes the XP systems to query the Proxy server and timeout before trying locally.

Have you configured your systems so that your Active Directory server is the Primary DNS server?

Have you selected options that force systems not to use proxy for local address (a good idea) and does the Proxy server know all the local networks this will apply to?

Is the Proxy server set up to use the AD server for it DNS?

 

I was just using the proxy situation as an example (it is our HTTP proxy). Yes, the computers DNS is working correctly and is pointing at the DNS server. It is only the first time a user logs on since the policies have changed - all logons after this initial logon are fine.

For example:

I change something in group policy, lets say I set the home page in IE...
USER1 logs on PC1
(Slow logon)
USER1 logs off PC1
USER1 logs on PC1
(Quick logon)

All further logons are fine.


Hope I'm illustrating this properly

P.S The delay occurs at the "Applying your personal settings..." stage.

 

That's interesting. So the delay is after the authentication. That suggests to me that the system is downloading a new IE profile. The delay sounds to me about the same as you get when you log on to a system for the first time and it has to build a new profile for you.

This feels like a "feature ". I wonder if IE can only renew all its setting or none. If you change something in the profile that might effect IE, it reloads the complete IE profile. I don't think you are going to get an answer to this one, unless someone else has hit the same problem.

 

Are "Roaming Profiles" turned on?

 

No they're not. It happens with all policy changes, not just IE I mean its quite an old server - hardware is fairly old, runs Windows 2000 Server etc... but it's only been a problem recently. Any ideas at all?

 

Have you looked over your Event Viewer? Usually a good place to start with AD stuff.