1. Start – run – mmc. File – Add/Remove Snap-in
2. Select “Security Configuration and Analysis” and “Security Templates” and click Add. Select OK
3. Right click “Security Templates” and select “ New Template”. Provide a template name(Template1) and description and click ok.
4. To create a new database – Under console root – Right click Security Configuration and Analysis and click “ Open Database” – “ Provide a name for database (Database1) “ – Select “Template1” (The template which we created in the previous step) and click open.
5. Go to security templates, Expand “Template1” and configure the required policies.
6. Right click “Template1” and save the changes.
Now the database and the template is created and it can be moved to standalone computers/servers .
To apply it on a computer/server
1. Open mmc – File – Add/Remove Snap-in – Add “Security Configuration and Analysis”.
2. Right click “Security Configuration and Analysis” – Select “ Open Database” – Select “ Database1” and click ok .
3. Right click “Security Configuration and Analysis” – and select “Analyze Computer Now” .
4. Once the process is complete, it will list you the default policies and policies configured in database. The ones with red mark indicate the difference between the policies.
5. Right click “Security Configuration and Analysis” – and select “Configure Computer Now” to apply the policies from Database1.
Formatting the system is not always the solution 