Back Up, Restore, Import, and Copy Group Policy Objects Back Up a

Back Up, Restore, Import, and Copy Group

Policy Objects

Back Up a Group Policy Object

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Updated: April 17, 2012

Applies To: Windows 8, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012

To back up a Group Policy object

1. In the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) console tree, open Group Policy

Objects in the forest and domain containing the Group Policy object (GPO) to back up.

2. To back up a single GPO, right-click the GPO, and then click Back Up . To back up all

GPOs in the domain, right-click Group Policy objects and click Back Up All .

3. In the Backup Group Policy object dialog box, in the Location box, enter the path for

the location in which you want to store the GPO backups, or click Browse , locate the

folder in which you want to store the GPO backups, and then click OK .

4. In the Description box, type a description for the GPOs that you want to back up, and

then click Back Up . If you are backing up multiple GPOs, the description will apply to

all GPOs you back up.

5. After the operation completes, click OK .

Important

To secure backed-up GPOs, ensure that only authorized administrators have permission

to access the folder to which you are exporting the GPOs.

Additional considerations

 You must have Read permissions on the GPO and Write permissions on the folder

containing the GPO backup to perform this procedure.

 The backup function also serves as the export capability for GPOs.

Restore a Deleted or Previous Version of an

Existing Group Policy Object

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Updated: April 17, 2012

Applies To: Windows 8, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012

To restore a deleted or previous version of an existing Group Policy object

1. In the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) console tree, in the forest and domain

containing the Group Policy object (GPO) that you want to restore, locate Group Policy

Objects .

2. Right-click Group Policy Objects and then click Manage Backups .

3. In the Manage Backups dialog box, in the Backup location box, type the path for the

backup folder. You can also use Browse to locate the backup folder.

4. In the Backed up GPOs box, select the GPO that you want to restore from the list of

GPO backups shown, and then click Restore .

5. When prompted to confirm the restore operation, click OK .

6. After the operation completes, click OK and then click Close .

Additional considerations

 You must have privileges to create GPOs in the domain and Read permissions on the file

system location of the backed-up GPO to restore a GPO that has been deleted.

 You can also restore an existing or deleted GPO using the Manage Backups function by

right-clicking Domains .

Copy a Group Policy Object

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Updated: April 17, 2012

Applies To: Windows 8, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012

You can copy a Group Policy object (GPO) either by using the drag-and-drop method or right-

click method. Both methods are described in this topic.

To copy a Group Policy object (drag-and-drop method)

1. In the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) console tree, click the Group Policy

object (GPO) that you want to copy.

2. Do one of the following:

o To create a copy of the GPO on the same domain as the source GPO, drag and

drop the GPO you want to copy to Group Policy Objects , select a permissions

option under Specify the permissions for the new GPO , and then click OK .

o To create a copy of the GPO in a different domain, double-click the destination

domain, then drag and drop the GPO you want to copy to Group Policy objects .

Answer all the questions in the cross-domain copying wizard that appears, and

then click Finish .

To copy a Group Policy object (right-click method)

1. In the GPMC console tree, right-click the GPO that you want to copy, and then click

Copy .

2. Do one of the following:

o To create a copy of the GPO in the same domain as the source GPO, right-click

Group Policy objects , click Paste , specify permissions for the new GPO in the

Copy GPO box, and then click OK .

o To create a copy of the GPO in a different domain, double-click the destination

domain, right-click Group Policy objects , and then click Paste . Answer all the

questions in the cross-domain copying wizard that appears, and then click Finish .

Additional considerations

 You must have privileges to create GPOs in the destination domain to complete this

procedure.

 For copy operations to another domain, you may need to specify a migration table.

Import Settings from a Group Policy Object

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Updated: April 17, 2012

Applies To: Windows 8, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012

To import settings from a Group Policy object

1. In the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) console tree, expand the Group

Policy Objects node in the forest and domain containing the Group Policy object (GPO)

to import settings.

2. Right-click the GPO and click Import Settings .

3. Follow the instructions in the Import Settings Wizard .

Additional considerations

 To complete this procedure, you must have Edit permissions on the GPO into which you

want to import settings.

 For import operations to another domain or forest, you may need to specify a migration

table.