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Re: Public Access Computer Configuration Tool checkboxes disabled
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Public Access Computer Configuration Tool checkboxes disabled
3:02 PM EDT 7/9/08
I'm trying to set up restricted profiles on an XP machine that has either never had the Gates profiles set up or had them set up improperly (I'm not sure which). I uninstalled all the PAC tools listed in Add/Remove Programs and reinstalled the Public Access Computer Configuration Tool files. Now when I run the tool the program comes up but all the choices (System Restrictions, Profiles, and Profile Restrictions) are disabled, so I can check any box, and I can't install anything.

Does anyone know what's going on here?

Thanks,

Owen
Re: Public Access Computer Configuration Tool checkboxes disabled
12:13 PM EDT 7/18/08 as a reply to Owen Leonard.
Hi -

Sorry for not getting to this sooner, it's a little crazy at WJ these days.

Do you know whether this is an actual Gates PC, or just a computer that someone was using the PAC Security tools on? An actual Gates PC will be a Gateway model, that has a separate D: hard drive partition that contains folders for all the applications and also a Utilities folder. IF that is the case, the files to reinstall the security and profiles are in there. If that isn't the case, let me know.

If this turns out not to be an actual Gates PC, I highly recommend using the current version of Microsoft's SteadyState, which is a much more stable and complete tool than the old Gates tool. You can get more info on it via the link on the left side of this page, under Tools.

Dale
Re: Public Access Computer Configuration Tool checkboxes disabled
4:25 PM EDT 7/18/08 as a reply to Dale Musselman.
Thanks Dale,

It is /not/ an actual Gates PC. Not having any better ideas, I ended up using the restore partition to return the PC to its original configuration and start from scratch. I installed the PAC Security Tools using a different copy, and I'm not sure which step (or both) made the difference, but we're back up and running.

We've tried SteadyState on one of our new non-Gates PCs and have not been entirely happy with it...Every morning we turn it on only to get a message that the machine will shut down in 10 minutes.
Re: Public Access Computer Configuration Tool checkboxes disabled
4:02 PM EDT 7/25/08 as a reply to Owen Leonard.
And so what - your patrons think they need more than 10 minutes? Just think of it as free time management functionality!

But they do continue to improve it, and the Gates Tool does get further out of date with every new patch - and especially browser version.

But if it's working for you for now...