New To 2008 Can't Log In Locally

[dana]

Hi all!
My name is Dana, and I am starting to learn Windows Server 2008. I am going through the book configuring Windows Server 2008 Active Directory Training kit my Microsoft press. I have the OS installed on Virtual Box, and I can't log in as other users. I get the "You cannot log on because the logon method you are using is not allowed on this computer" Ok, so I do some searching on the internet, and I find Group Policy Editor- User Rights Assignment- Allow log on locally needs to be changed, however the box to make any changes is grayed out so I can't add local domain users, or users for that matter.

How can I fix this? And is this normal for WinServer to have this switch on, or was it something Microsoft added in one of their updates?

Thanks for any help you may provide.

 

[mmthomas]

Hi, Dana. Normally, you do not want end users logging directly into servers unless it is a terminal server. Usually, you will only your server administrators logging in. This is for the security of your data and computer services. This is especially true on your domain controllers which hold the keys to all of the rest of the security in your network in most cases. If you see a policy option greyed out in the group policy editor, it is probably because the option has already been set at a higher level policy and you will need to change it at the higher level.