I have been told by more than one Microsoft tech that there is no way to clone a Group Policy Object. That is wrong; there is an EASY way to clone GPO’s.
- Launch Group Policy Management Console
- Expand GROUP POLICY OBJECTS (NOT the GPO’s attached to you OU’s but the actual GROUP POLICY OBJECTS folder)
- Right click on the GPO want to clone and select BACKUP then complete the wizard
- Right click on GROUP POLICY OBJECTS and select NEW, then name it what you want
- Right click on the new GPO and select IMPORT and complete the wizard (I would not bother with BACKUP because it is an empty GPO)
- Bingo! Have a nice day. You now have a cloned GPO
This is super frustrating for me. I have been using GPO’s since they were invented in 1999 with Windows 2000, have been an MCSE since 2002 so I should have known better.
2 Comments
Javier serna · March 18, 2025 at 10:36 pm
Thanks, very helpful. Why there is no copy as a normal task to do? It’s something you do regularly to test new configs.
Ian Matthews · March 19, 2025 at 4:20 pm
Absolutely maddening! I agree Javier. I am glad you found it helpful. Thanks for commenting.