Windows startup script using Samba to install programs

Question

I'm trying to install a couple of programs - McAfee's ePO agent & MS's SMS client via a startup script on our ~300 PCs.

The problem I have is that the startup/login scripts that the System Policy Editor (Poledit.exe) allows me to set are run at user logon with the logging on user's credentials - since all of our users have "limited" accounts the install fails.

So a logon script is no good - I think I need to use a startup script, which is run as the system account, which has high enough credentials to perform an install. However startup scripts are set in the local Group Policy, which isn't present in SPE so I can't set it.

Am I missing something very obvious here??? How do people install/update programs when using a Samba domain?

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To clarify I am using a Samba (PDC style) domain not a Windows domain - hence no group policy only Systems Policy Editor

Answer 1

I've used http://wpkg.org/ in the past to do this sort of thing when there was not a WSUS server available. It uses jscript which runs off a remote server so you don't have to install anything on the client machines unless you need some of the features that the client gives you. If all you want to do is install a couple of programs it shouldn't take very long to set that up and the client shouldn't be necessary.

Answer 2

What do you think about runas?

I might solve your problem.

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/runas.mspx?mfr=true