IT Knowledgebase Articles

How does Ntdsutil.exe know it’s in Directory Restore mode? NTDSUTIL is a tool used for many Active Directory database maintenance tasks, such as defragmenting the DB, moving the DB and/or log files to a different place, cleaning the DB and more. NTDSUTIL will allow you to perform many of it’s functions while the DC is…

How do I defragment the Active Directory to make it smaller in size? The size of NTDS.DIT will often be different sizes across the domain controllers in a domain. Remember that Active Directory is a multi-master independent model where updates are occurring in each of the domain controllers with the changes being replicated over time…

MS KB 326480 has more info: This article describes how to set up the Active Directory Migration Tool (ADMT) to perform a migration from a Windows NT 4.0-based domain to a Windows Server 2003-based domain. You can use the ADMT to migrate users, groups, and computers from one domain to another, and to analyze the…

When migrating to Windows 2000 Active Directory Services, many organizations choose the path of restructuring rather than upgrading. This involves building a pristine Windows 2000 ADS environment and then adding the organization’s users, groups, and computer accounts rather than upgrading a Windows NT4 domain. Of course, with a clean ADS domain structure, you still have…

The process of installing an Active Directory domain is quite simple, but if you don’t know your basics you might stumble across a few pitfalls. For additional information about any of the information in this article, refer to the Windows 2000 online Help and the Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Deployment Planning Guide Chapter 9 of…

How do I install the Exchange 2000 Active Directory Connector on a Windows 2000 computer? To install the ADC: Log on to the Windows 2000 domain controller as a member of the Domain Administrators, Enterprise Administrators, and Schema Administrators groups. Insert the Exchange 2000 Server CD-ROM in the CD drive. Click Start, click Run, and…

In Exchange 2000/2003, what is the Active Directory Cleanup Wizard and what is it good for? MSKB 270652 has the following information: The Active Directory Account Cleanup Wizard is a utility designed to merge duplicate Microsoft Windows NT accounts that are created when multiple directories are migrated or upgraded to Active Directory. The Active Directory…

  The process of installing an Active Directory domain in Windows Server 2008 is quite simple, but some beginners or IT professionals that have never had a chance to get their hands on AD installations and that are not familiar with its requirements might stumble across a few pitfalls. So, what do we need in…

What’s the difference between Product Activation and Product Registration? In one short line: Activation is mandatory, registration is optional. Activation is anonymous, registration is not. Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, retail and OEM products, contain software-based product activation technology, which means you need to activate your copy of Windows XP/2003 in order to use…

How do I activate Windows XP by using an Unattend.txt file? To activate Windows XP using an unattended installation procedure, add the following information to the Unattend.txt file or the Winnt.sif answer file: In the Unattended section, type AutoActivate = Yes Under the UserData section, type ProductID = “XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX” (Where XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX is your product key)…