Q. How does Windows process logon scripts that you define via Group Policy?

A. Group Policy lets you define scripts at multiple levels (i.e., site, domain, organizational unit--OU). You can define multiple scripts at each level by using multiple Group Policy Object (GPO) links or by defining multiple scripts in one GPO. You can also define a logon script at the User-object level. The scripts you define run in the order in which the GPOs are applied, so site-level scripts run first, then domain-level scripts, OU-level scripts, and finally User-object scripts. However, the scripts don't run in series; they run parallel. Therefore, you can't rely on GPO application order to set the precedence of actions performed in logon scripts because the scripts might run at different speeds and finish at different times. You also need to ensure that your logon scripts don't overwrite the actions of other logon scripts. Remember that logon scripts that run via Group Policy run in the background; you can't see them execute. You can, however, change this behavior by modifying a GPO setting, as I explain in the FAQ "How can I configure Group Policy-based scripts to display when they're executed?"